Love, Weddings, and Living Happier

So today I have some big news.  Some big news in my personal life  Some news I never thought I would be sharing let alone on my blog. Over the weekend I got engaged, yep the nearest and dearest and I are tying the knot!!  I have to confess--I NEVER thought I wanted to get married, after years of singledom I have found a wonderful, supportive, funny guy and we are making it official.  So this week has been a flurry of wedding wishes/plans/laughter/announcements and just down right fun. This week has been a wonderful reminder to me that life is not just made up of one area but a wonderful mixture of friends, family, work, interests, loves and activities.

First thing my nearest and dearest and I said to each other was that we wanted a wedding that was true to us as a couple.  We made a pact to not get caught up in all the wedding hype and have a wedding that expresses our values and our life.  We are crafting a wedding day that will be authentic to who we are and what we want to share with our friends and family.  Similarly to the message of building our lives in a way that expresses our values and interests.  The glitch I have already found (and I am only 4 days in) is that people have a lot of opinions of what a wedding SHOULD look and feel like.  Not necessarily those people closest to me but the outliers in my life, the peripherals if you will have many thoughts on what should be done.  It is challenging to buck the trends, go against the grain and plan a wedding that makes our heart sing :)

What I realized is that planning a wedding is a small microcosm of planning ones's life.  So often in life we run up against people--usually those who are NOT very close to us--telling us what we SHOULD do or how we SHOULD live our lives and we have a hard time shaking them off and moving forward.  It is my belief the only way to do live a life that is true to you, that is indeed working and living happier is to make the same pact with yourself that my nearest and dearest and I made with each other.  From here forth I am living a life that is true to me, true to my values, true to my authentic self.  That needs to be set in stone--then as people start pecking away at your dreams, ideas, and baby steps.  You can quietly remind yourself this is MY LIFE, I get to make the decisions.

Here's to creating lives and weddings that authentically express our souls!!

Thanks to LadyDragonFlyCC--February Blues for the great proposal pic!