Always a Bridesmaid…and it Never Paid Off!

By Jenn Rozendal
CBN.com

CBN.com – It has been only two weeks of official engagement and already I have been not immersed mind you, but dunked into the vast ocean of wedding tulle and floral arrangements.

I am not what you would call a “girlie girl”. I am not a fan of bows, liberal amounts of the color pink, or marathon shopping sprees. That said it is no surprise that at the tender age of thirteen, rather than drooling over Bride’s lavish gowns with my girlfriends and planning our respective weddings, I was practicing basketball with the junior high boys team. Therefore, aside from knowing my own personal style tastes and the experience of being in a handful of weddings, not a whole lot of thought had gone into the logistics of planning “the big day”. “But how hard could it be?” I surmised. “I’m organized and I’ve planned many a successful party before…”

And then the confidence evaporated.

Alongside an engagement comes the sharing of many helpful tips by friends and family…tips that are welcome and apparently needed. With wide eyes and a racing mind I listened to the numerous ideas, quickly realizing how green I was. I felt inadequate, overwhelmed, and seriously considering an elopement. But I know I, as well as our families, would have regrets if we ran off to Vegas, so I decided to proceed with the planning…

Date? Ceremony location? Reception location? Budget? Wedding dress? Bridesmaids dresses? Silk or real flowers? Hors devours or a meal? DJ or band? These questions flooded through my mind. But it’s just one foot in front of the other, right?

I figured the first step was to choose a date and a location, which was further reiterated by my many knowledgeable girlfriends. Ok, sounds simple enough. However, my fiancé and I currently live in cities a two-hour drive apart, and it is yet to be determined which city we will reside as a couple. (I think it would be nice to actually plan the wedding from the location I am.) So we discussed it as any good communicating couple does and we realized that we have to plan with the knowledge of today, so my city it is. Proceed.

So I compiled some location suggestions and began making my requests. But guess what? Unbeknownst to me, most churches won’t allow you to rent their facilities if you aren’t going to use their pastor! In fact some of them are even a little rude about it! I understand that they wouldn’t want just anyone presiding over a sacred event such as this, but after so many refusals, I wasn’t feeling particularly catered to, and I hadn’t expected that. Still proceeding.

And then there was that other little detail. Just when you think you’ve found a good location, you’re informed of the photography restrictions during the ceremony. That makes for an easy cross off the list for this photographer! I can’t believe there are brides out there that don’t care about capturing the “I do” moment on film! That’s a non-negotiable in my book, but judging from the look on the church administrator’s face, she didn’t see things from my perspective.

Why was I feeling like so many people and places were unhelpful? The world should be thrilled to assist me in achieving the day of my dreams! This was becoming a little more complicated than I had envisioned. Is this a sign? Should I switch cities? Maybe go a more non-traditional route? It should not be this difficult so early on. Proceed with extreme caution.

And it was at this moment that I received the pearl of all pearls of wisdom. Having listened to my woes of frustration and anxiety, a dear friend reminded me that God is the best wedding planner there is…and He’s been planning my wedding for me since before I was even conceived. He planned who my parents would be. He planned the day I would be born. He planned the schools I would attend, the friendships I would make, the jobs I would take. And best of all, He planned the intricate details that allowed my fiancé and me to meet and fall in love.

Something tells me He’s got it already figured out.