Your Wedding Isn't Just One Day: Finding Gratitude in the Season Before "I Do"
There is something I've been thinking about a lot this week.
As I've been packing boxes for our move, I keep finding myself thinking about weddings.
At first, it seemed like an odd connection. What does packing up a home have to do with planning a wedding?
The more I reflected on it, the more I realized they have something important in common.
We spend so much time preparing for the milestone that we can accidentally rush through the season leading up to it.
Your wedding isn't just one day.
It's every memory that's created along the way.
It's asking your closest friends to stand beside you.
It's finding the dress and sharing that moment with the people you love.
It's choosing the venue, meeting your vendors, picking out the flowers, tasting the cake, and watching all the little pieces slowly come together to tell your story.
Those moments aren't simply leading to your wedding.
They are part of your wedding story.
I think we sometimes put so much pressure on the finish line that we forget to appreciate everything that's happening before we ever get there.
The engagement.
The conversations.
The excitement.
Even the challenges.
Because one day you'll look back and realize those ordinary moments became some of your favorite memories.
The same is true for so many seasons of life.
The Move Is More Than the Destination
As we've been preparing for our move, I've noticed something about myself that makes me laugh.
Most people think moving is one of life's biggest stressors.
Don't get me wrong, there have certainly been stressful moments. Between paperwork, apartment logistics, legal conversations, transferring utilities, and trying to make sure everything falls into place, there have been plenty of opportunities to feel overwhelmed.
But if I'm being honest...
I love packing.
Maybe that's the wellness coach in me.
Maybe it's because I genuinely enjoy organizing.
Or maybe it's because creating order in the middle of change helps me feel grounded.
Whatever the reason, this has become one of my favorite parts of the moving process.
Each box feels like a chance to decide what comes with us into this next chapter and what we're finally ready to leave behind.
There is something incredibly freeing about that.
But what I've loved even more is realizing that packing hasn't become my whole life.
The boxes are important.
They need to get packed.
The apartment needs to be ready.
But those things haven't come at the expense of the moments happening around me.
There have been breaks to play with Eriana.
Moments where we've laughed in the middle of a room full of boxes.
Conversations with Errol about what we're excited for in our new home.
Simple dinners together after long days.
Those moments will never appear on my moving checklist.
But I have a feeling they'll be some of the memories I carry with me the longest.
Every Journey Looks Different
One of the greatest gifts of being a wellness coach is having the privilege of walking alongside people during some of the biggest transitions of their lives.
Many of the couples I work with begin coaching more than eighteen months before their wedding.
When people hear that, they're often surprised.
"What do you even work on for that long?"
Ironically, we don't spend much time talking about the wedding itself.
Instead, we build a foundation.
We talk about balancing work and home life.
Planning meals ahead so life feels a little less chaotic.
Finding movement they genuinely enjoy instead of forcing workouts they dread.
Learning how to communicate through stressful seasons.
Practicing self-compassion when life doesn't go according to plan.
Creating routines that support the life they're building together.
Over time, something beautiful happens.
Healthy habits stop feeling like another thing on the to-do list.
They simply become part of everyday life.
By the time the wedding arrives, wellness isn't something they're trying to squeeze in before they walk down the aisle.
It's already become part of who they are as individuals and as a couple.
That allows them to spend less time worrying about doing everything perfectly and more time enjoying one another.
Of course, every couple is different.
Some are navigating demanding careers.
Some are caring for aging parents.
Some are managing financial stress or family dynamics.
Some simply need someone to help them slow down enough to see the bigger picture.
There isn't one perfect timeline.
There isn't one perfect journey.
Just like every wedding is different, every couple is different.
There Isn't One Right Way
The same is true outside of weddings.
Motherhood looks different for every family.
Trust me, I never imagined I'd still be nursing a toddler.
Some moms breastfeed for weeks.
Some for months.
Some for years.
Some can't breastfeed at all.
None of those journeys determine whether someone is a good mother.
Every family is different.
Every career path is different.
Every move is different.
Every health journey is different.
I think we spend so much time comparing ourselves that we forget our lives were never supposed to look exactly like someone else's.
Your season is allowed to look different.
Slow Down Enough to Notice
Over the past few weeks, I've found myself feeling something I didn't expect.
Gratitude.
Not because everything is finished.
Not because life suddenly became less busy.
Not because every problem has been solved.
I'm grateful because I've slowed down enough to notice what has been here all along.
The laughter.
The conversations.
The excitement.
The people walking beside us.
Those are the moments that matter.
The wedding day will come.
The move will happen.
The baby will grow.
The promotion will arrive.
Life has a way of carrying us toward the next milestone.
My hope for you is that you don't become so focused on arriving that you miss the beautiful season you're living today.
One day, you'll realize the milestone wasn't the whole story.
The memories you created along the way were part of the destination all along.
