How to Cope When Someone Steals Your Wedding Thunder!
by Caitriona Foley, True Romance Weddings
Bride Wars was on RTÉ One last night, did you watch it? It’s a movie we’ve probably all seen countless times, and it’s great to gush over the stunning Vera Wang gowns and the impressive stylings of the Plaza Hotel, but let’s look at the real issue. Two best friends, who do everything together, get engaged around the same time. They both want the same thing – a June wedding at the Plaza, and happily agree on dates three weeks apart. However, due to a mix-up with another bride, it turns out both of their weddings have been booked in for the same day. Neither will change dates, and chaos ensues as each one tries to outdo the other with attempted sabotage, including fake pregnancy announcements, oompah-loompah tan disasters, and who could forget Kate Hudson with blue hair? Their mutual friends are completely stuck in the middle, while for each girl, the person they wanted the most to be by their side is now their mortal enemy.
When you reach a certain age, it’s likely that the engagement and baby announcements will start flying at you from all corners. So when you finally get the proposal, you’re absolutely over the moon! You immediately get into planning mode, telling your best buddy all about your venue, the flowers you want, what colour bridesmaids’ dresses you’d like. And why wouldn’t you? You want her to share in your journey, get her advice, and most importantly, for her to be happy for you. But then, she drops a bomb of her own – she’s engaged too! Great news, right? Until she announces that her wedding is two week before yours…in the same venue. Nightmare!
First of all, don’t panic. This is not the end of the world. In fact, if you are very close friends, this could be the beginning of an amazing experience for you both, where you can plan your weddings together and have fun doing it. You may be worried that she’s going to steal all of your ideas, but take this opportunity to keep the conversation flowing. She won’t want your wedding to be identical to hers, and vice versa. You can bounce ideas off of each other, and by being honest with one another, you can avoid a situation of resentment for liking the same first dance song, or having cupcakes instead of a cake.
However, if this girl is more of a ‘frenemy’ than a true BFF, this might be the time to start keeping your wedding ideas to yourself. This way, your wedding will be a complete surprise to everyone. Look on the bright side – if her wedding is before yours, it gives you some time to change things for your own big day if it’s looking a little too similar.
Finally, bear in mind that wedding comparison is going to be inevitable, regardless of how far apart your weddings are. If you two are really that close, you’re bound to have similar tastes and this could lead to you both having similar ideas without meaning to. You’ll need to keep yourself in check too – she may be telling you all of her great ideas too, leading to you wanting what she has. If you truly value each other’s friendship, keep calm, be supportive and have fun.
Thanks for this wonderful blog post Caitriona with such great advice. Nobody likes to have their thunder stolen! Check out the True Romance Weddings website for more.
