photo by India Earl
I have dreamed of a big wedding my whole life. When my fiancé Patrick and I first got engaged, our families agreed that a big wedding was the only way to go. Our personal networks are large enough for the huge, inclusive event we had always hoped for, and we couldn’t imagine a better way to celebrate our marriage than with an endless sea of smiling faces toasting to our future.
photo by Kym Ventola Photography
At first, planning a big wedding felt perfect. Patrick and I fell in love with a sprawling, modern venue in the Texas Hill Country that could perfectly accommodate our guest list of 230. We secured all of our vendors, created a day-of timeline, and started planning our DIY projects. I even bought my wedding dress and began to schedule fittings. In the midst of creating timelines and discussing tablescapes, something started to feel off. I could feel it, my fiancé could feel it, and even our families felt it. Instead of brainstorming my vows, I was stressing out over the metallic finish of our 50 flower vases. Rather than smiling when I imagined my walk down the aisle, I frowned when I thought about the money we’d be spending on ceremony chair rentals. My heart began telling me a massive wedding wasn?t right, but my brain didn?t care. After all, the venue we fell in love with accommodated our guest list, and it seemed really important at the time to invite my fiancé?s 4th grade math teacher.
photo by Vue Photography
After weeks of...