I can't believe that I've rambled on and on about so many wedding details and hadn't even mentioned the place where all of the excitement will take place and how it came about...
Kyle and I both knew that we wanted an outdoor wedding and something not too fancy, definitely had to have an element of fun - and, on the water would be the icing on the cake! We searched out a few options, some in Dallas, Houston, the Hill Country - it was tough because we had family and friends spread out all over and it was important to us that we pick the location with them in mind. Finally, after a couple of weeks of constantly thinking about it and talking it over with anyone and everyone a light when off in my head! My stepdad had found a place for Jayson, my stepbrother, to look at for his wedding. OMG, this is perfect! I couldn't believe that I had forgotten about this jewel...and I knew that Jay would be excited that he was the one who found the venue.
I called Kyle immediately and told him to hop on the computer. I directed him to the site and it was an instant love connection. The location was central for everyone. It was rustically charming or charmingly rustic, depending on your point of view. It would allow us to not just share a few hours with our closest friends and family, but an entire weekend. We could have an outdoor ceremony and the reception in the old barn. And, an added bonus, it sat on the Brazos River...which is where I learned to wakeboard! So many important elements all in one place.
We quickly shared the news with our family. Everyone loved the place! We were so excited. This was the first step in the planning process, we were on the road to planning OUR wedding!
My mom and I had the opportunity to go visit the location early on, but it was important to Kyle and I that all of our parents had the chance to see it before the real planning got underway. Well, when you are dealing with four sets of parents this can get pretty tricky. Do we plan 2 weekends and split up the parents? Do we just plan it and not tell the other that the other is going to be there? How in the world were we going to make this work?
The more I thought about it, the more I stressed over the whole planning process. So many moms to keep in mind, so many opinions to filter through, so many words to stumble upon and possibly take the wrong way...all I could think was
OMG, my sensitivity is surely to get the best of me!
I am very blessed to have a mom who is also my best friend. It hasn't always been that way, but it is so nice to be able to talk to her, transparently, about issues such as this. I explained my situation and my thoughts. I tend to be a bit of a people pleaser, and I wanted to make sure that my anxiety and stress was legit and not just me being a sensy sally. My mom reassured me that it would all work out. She went on to say that she was perfectly fine and thought it would be best for all of the parents to make the trip together. Awesome, that meant that both of my parental units would be on board! Next up, Kyle's trio of parents.
Since I was fairly new to his family I wasn't quite sure how to approach it. I talked to him about it and he said that I should just send an email to everyone and see what happened. Well, voila, easy as pie! (
don't really get that saying because pie isn't all that easy) All three of his parents were on board!
Woo Hoo! Mission Accomplished...or was it?
