TWIRL BRIDE BLOGGER || EMILY RHOADS (ALMOST EMILY HALL!!)

Hello Friends! I know its been a little while since I wrote about my wedding planning and bridal life but that’s because I was wedding planning! It is so crazy how fast our engagement has flown by and how what felt so far away is now only 7 days away. It really just hit me yesterday how soon our wedding is and man oh man am I excited! I know that our wedding day is going to go by so SO fast that I am making it a point to soak up these last few days as a fiancée.

This whole time I’ve been wondering why everyone gets so stressed when planning their wedding, but in this last month I totally get it. Now we are getting down to the nitty gritty of finalizing everything from the guest count aka tracking down all those people who never slipped that RSVP card back in the mail to figuring out how much beer and wine to buy to scheduling those last minute appointments and finally making sure everyone is going to be where they need to be when they need to be there. It’s a lot of stuff. And because of that a lot of wine has been drank in the process, oops! But at the end of the night next Saturday we will still be married even if some people don’t show up or our grandparents are a little late for pictures or if heaven forbid it rains. Y’all seriously pray that it does not rain next Saturday.

Austin and I have tried to cut out some time for ourselves to relax and enjoy these final days as an engaged couple. We let ourselves enjoy a few quiet days at the lake for Memorial Day. We go for evening walks and try to talk about our plans for after wedding day, like what’s still on our travel bucket list or pick out our favorite houses in the neighborhood. I think we are both a little more excited about being married and building our life together than we are about the actual wedding.

I had no idea what to expect in this last few weeks so here are some tips for all you brides for handling the craziness that is the month before your wedding!

Set those “RSVP by” dates a little earlier than you think you will need, because there is nothing more stressful than trying to contact those sixty people who didn’t RSVP in a few days before the numbers need to be back to all of your vendors.
Speaking of RSVP card, if you aren’t giving every guest a plus one, put ‘__ of 1 guest is/isn’t attending’ trust me, I didn’t do that and I wish I had.
Enjoy your parties and showers to their fullest. Put the phone down, stop checking your email, guest counts and details can wait a day or two and it wont be the end of the world, I promise!
Go to the county clerk’s office as early in the morning as you can and you’ll get in and out of there faster than it took to find a parking space. We got our marriage license yesterday, YAY!!
Take some time to relax and get your skin photo ready at the same time. I love put on a facemask and take a few minutes to relax and read or watch a movie while it does its thing.
Don’t stress if you didn’t hit your fitness goal or attain your dream wedding body. Your groom thinks you are the most beautiful woman in the world and you are going to rock that dress!
Drink lots and lots of water. Your skin will thank you, your body will thank you. That’s just a good life tip.
Talk about anything but the wedding for an hour with your fiancé daily. Talk about dogs, food, movies, sports, or whatever it doesn’t really matter but I promise he will appreciate it!
Make an itinerary for all of the really important people in the wedding such as parents, grandparents and the bridal party so everyone knows where are supposed to be and hopefully it will keep you from answering the same questions over and over again.
Last but not least, take a deep breath and remember you and your honey will be married no matter what happens!

To our sweet Em,

We cannot WAIT to celebrate this much anticipated wedding day next week!! We've seen you as a "bride" so many times over the last 4/5 years but when we see you as a real bride... there won't be a dry eye to be found.

What a joy it's been to witness your relationship with Austin develop and grow over the years. There is so much to celebrate next weekend and celebrate we will!!

Can't wait until the "just married" sign marks the beginning of your new season of life next Saturday! Yay!!

Xoxo, Your Twirl Girls