This is it - January 2020.
A year full of potential. A year of new dreams and goals. And perhaps, it's your year for a new last name!
Can you feel it? The exciting potential... the immense pressure?
A new year brings many new experiences - planned and unplanned. Brides, what could make your wedding planning more enjoyable? How can you thrive in a chaotic season when a million questions are constantly bombarding you? What could help you keep perspective when things don't go according to plan?
Bridal Squad, what can you do to help your bride make it through wedding planning stress-free and prevent bridezilla (or your own jealousy) from sucking all the joy out of the day?
There is a way to find peace in the planning.
And it's the Rebel Bride way.
Before I can give you the secret Rebel Bride formula, let's go back to your January goals. Do you want to...
Improve your finances?
Lose weight? You know. the mantra, "Sweatin' for the Wedding!"
Read more books? This one is my 2020 goal.
Get Married to the love of your life?!
Find a new job?
Survive your bestie's (or daughter's) wedding?
What are your goals? I'd love to know, please share your in the comments below!
Now, I wonder if you find yourself focused on the end result rather than experiencing the journey as I do.
Perhaps we are wired that way. We rather get to the mountaintop than gratefully embrace the journey.
For example, we want to be x pounds lighter. Be married. Buy a house. Have the latest phone. We are so focused on the next thing. We lose the wonder of experience, growth, and grace.
In pursuit of the next thing, do we ever pause to evaluate who we are becoming?
Rather than worrying about losing weight to fit the dress, ask who are you becoming? You may not be the one wearing the white dress but you can still ask yourself if your New Year's Resolutions help you become better rather than achieve or have more?
We all need less rush and more rest, less stress for more peace, less consuming for more savoring.
I had a "Come to Jesus" moment during my wedding planning. Or more accurately, God gave me a vision for how to better celebrate and enjoy wedding planning. And now the secret is to...
Set Your Intention.
Obsess less on consuming resolutions. Instead, focus on a guiding value to help you become the woman you want to be instead of achieving things you want to do/have.
Hear me out, babe:
Stating your intention at the beginning of your wedding day won’t be enough.
You must revisit it often and call it to your mind when you feel overwhelmed, stressed, or confused. Practice aligning your thoughts to your intention and use it to guide your actions.
Your intention should stem from your heart and rise above all other goals as an altruistic pursuit. Transcend the physical world to pursue something greater - who you want to become on this journey. Setting your wedding intentions early can help you stay connected with what matters most - and they are fun too!
Sharing your intentions with loved ones can provide accountability but also a fun opportunity for your friends and family to encourage you in a thoughtful, surprising, personal way throughout your journey down the aisle and beyond!
Imagine this blessing, Sis! For my wedding, I chose 3 values to shift my focus from the physical (gaining arm muscle and toning my thick thighs to look good in my dress) to adopting a spirit of gratitude, creating an inclusive experience and environment, and spending quiet time with God preparing my heart for marriage. And this mindset shift made all the difference for me! I know it will help you as well.
I could not be more excited for my Rebel sisters getting married this year, and the besties getting to be a part of it all.
Brides, what are your wedding-day intentions? Sis, what are your intentions for this season?
Check out our 31 Day Wedding Devotional to help you stay grounded and set your intentions!
Photo Credit: Kristen Hernandez Photography
Next Month we will have a guest blogger - Adria Bee, Author, Visionary, Innovator, content developer & Co-founder/Creative Director of Brooke & Lee. IG: @godandthegoaldiggers