Wedding Wednesday: Cutting the Guest List?

I think it's different for every bride, but for me, the hardest and peskiest part of wedding planning is the continuing battle between guest list and budget.

Via

Think about it. On one side it's your family and on the other side it's your partner's family and then you add in as many of your friends as you can afford. Let's take just a quick second to break down the definition of family. I have a large family, but not everyone is related to me by blood.

I have many, many friends of my parents or friends of my aunts and uncles who are my family. They have simply always been another "aunt" or "uncle" or "cousin" to me. Also, through family drama, we have disowned part of my dad's family. This happened at a very young age - my brother doesn't even remember our real grandmother. Luckily, my dad's sister's husband's family [have I lost you yet?] stepped in to fill that void in our childhood.

Therefore, I have all of the cousins that are by blood and then I have all of the aunts and uncles that are once removed. That's the real definition of a cousin once removed, by the way. "Removed" means through marriage. Anyway, you also have to add onto that the fact that I'm Mexican. So I have a lot of "cousins" that are actually kids of my dad's cousins, etc. Anyone in mine or my brother's generation is a cousin. Anyone older is an aunt or uncle and then anyone under 2 has now just started calling me aunty because it's easier.

THEN you have Iman's family. Then we have our friends who we want there more than anything. But of course, those are going to be the people we cut first. So of course, I don't want to make cuts and neither does Iman.

He jokes that the whole guest list is my family. The truth is, they've become his family, too. Take my Aunt Nik for example. I'm pretty sure he'd go and hang out at her house without me if he was in the area and had nothing to do.

Here's a picture from a childhood birthday (mine or my brother's).

All of my childhood birthdays took place at a park because we'd always have at least 100 people. Once I became a teen, I'd have two parties - friends and family. In this picture, the only person related to me by blood is my little brother. Everyone else is a "cousin." I'm also pretty sure that Sadie is going to kill me for this picture. WELL that's what you get for putting bunny ears on me!

Anyway, this is the reason behind downgrading our wedding's fancy-o-meter. This way we can fit these people, that we love. This way we can all be together. Isn't that what it's all about? Isn't that why wedding parties began? To share the love and experience with the people who love you most?

What have you been up to in your wedding planning? 



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The Gratitude List

I'm going to try this blogging from my phone thing. Please excuse any typos from this grammar nazi! It isn't even that this technology is so advanced. It is just that I hate touch screens. My mind moves at a very fast pace (seeing as I have an incredibly high wpm and my brain is still thinking faster than that). Which means my fingers son't always hit the touch screen letters or I move too fast for my phone to put them in or something.

Anyway, I have felt a lot better emotionally since I decided to make this more personal and excited to write but still faced with the dilemma of when. Lol. I always do my best blogging at 2am and as an adult (ew I can't believe I have finally embraced a normal sleep cycle) I am asleep at 2am.

I think everyone at work views me as a grandma. When did I become the old one? I guess it is the curse of working at a restaurant after graduating college. But I am still on the hunt for a full time job, and convinced it will happen soon.

Making this more personal means for awhile this might be a dump of random things. That is how my mind works (read my beginning posts in the archives! Hahaha) so today I wanted to make a list. (DUH)

My Gratitude List (in no particular order)

1. Iman treats me so right. That kid. He is seriously just fantastic for me. Like every part that I'm missing and then everything in between.

2. Southern California drives. NOT my commute time or freeway time but my drives through the canyon or by the beach or even down the toll road. SERENE. I love when Iman and I carpool home and take the canyon over the traffic.

3. My momma! This lady. She always knows exactly what to say when I am having a breakdown. Even if it's her bday and we don't even see each other.

4. Daddy! Even when he's being a butthead and trying to push my buttons, he always has my interest at heart and love love loves me!! Oh and he and Iman hang out and love each other  sooo what more could a daughter want?

5. All of the comfort things that I have. I.e. anything beyond food, shelter and water. I need to appreciate my comforts MORE. Aka, take care of my things ans living space. And donate those that I am not using!

6. Health insurance, a place to live, all of my jobs, the choice of food available to me...all of my 1st world privileges!! Oh thank you for this.

7. Postive reinforcement and love. I. Can. Not. Live. Without. It. Seriously. To this I owe my friends and family.

8. My freedom from any addictions or true ailments.

9. My empathy. I am forever and ever grateful for this.

10. My new blog family. Thanks to Kaitlyn at Wifessionals, I have made two new blogging friends that I hope to keep (Amanda at Pixies and Periwinkles and Laura at Simply Me, As I See It). They inspire me to write! I am so excited to be getting to know Shannon at The Life of Poole for Bigs and Littles as well. I can't wait to truly connect with more people.

I thought some gratitude was in order after everything going on last week and this week (in the US, world, and just my family life.)

What are you thankful for?

P.s. I'm also thankful for my little bother, we can fight about the stupidest things but when I'm sick or sad he always knows how to take care of me