I replied to an email on Wednesday “I’m getting married next week!” without the gravity of that statement fully setting in. It was purely logistical, letting someone know I wouldn’t be around, and when they responded back excited for me it was a needed reminder: hey, this is exciting. July 18 has felt like a dream that would never come true for so, so long and all of a sudden – it’s next week. Next week! I’m getting married next week.

When I got engaged, I did what would surprise no one who knows me: started reading & researching every list possible of “What to do When You’re Engaged” and “Timeline to the Wedding” and nonsense like that. I quickly found out I was much behind schedule: we had a 9 month engagement but one carefully curated timeline explained I should have started trying out nail polish colors at the 12 month mark, so to have chosen my color by month 10. Another timeline had a bridal skincare routine that started 16 months before the wedding. All of my research reinforced what I already knew: wedding culture is bonkers.

Let me be clear: I was never going to be the kind of bride who stressed about nail polish color (or even thought about it) more than 2 weeks before the big day. But this week, the week before our wedding and the week the hell that is 2020 has continued on in full force, I thought about all those silly lists with a deep longing. How I wish something as little as nail polish could be the thing stressing me out. How I wish nail polish had even had a chance to cross my mind in the past few months. Read More