I got married on Sunday, July 30th in Jamaica!
Connecting with so many friends and family members filled me to the brim with love. And being able to drink Pina Coladas in the pool during the days before and after was the icing on the cake.
It was an amazing experience. And it taught me so much about love, planning, collaboration, intention…the list goes on and on.
I couldn’t help but share it all with you.
By the time we got to the wedding – I had spent most of my weekends this year either shopping or planning for the big day.
When I started planning the wedding, there was so much fire and excitement.
But by the time I got closer to the event, I had gone through typical event frustrations.
Decision Fatigue. You have already made so many decisions that you just start to avoid them or not care anymore. And you wish someone else could come in and do it for you.
Vendor Mishaps. No matter how great a vendor is, there’s mistakes that cause frustration and setbacks.
Inter-Team Arguing. This is when your team starts to point fingers at each other.
“You were going to handle this. No you said you were handling this!”
Jai and I want through all of these issues. And they are common no matter what you are doing – whether it is a wedding, a long vacation, a launch, a business event or writing a book.
I started to wonder: “Is this really worth it? Jai and I have been together 9 years and already have the civil paperwork for marriage – do we need the family celebration?”
But the key is to make sure you have a partner to help you giggle amidst the drama, remember the big picture when minutiae feels like 1000 paper cuts. And most importantly, during the dim moments of planning to find the magic! In this case, Jai and I supported each other to fulfill on our vision for a wedding experience which renewed the love between all our guests.
In the case of business – that’s why it’s so important to have a business coach. Someone who can help you hold the vision through the countless obstacles (which are often most likely opportunities) and help you get to the finish line.
And the result? It was worth every minute of planning and every sacrifice. It was 5 days of quality time with friends and family from all over the world. The connections made there will never happen again. I watched a guest who had never met anyone in the wedding party give my sister very crucial and personal parenting advice – and thought – wow this could only happen here.
I’m so glad I trusted myself to create this experience – it was more than I could have imagined.
I also used the power of intentions and rituals. Our intention for this wedding was that everyone who was a part of it would get the opportunity to renew their own love alongside Jai and I. Whether it was love between spouses, love between siblings, love between cousins, or love between new friends.
Jai and I created the wedding experience with this intention in mind.
We rented poolside cabanas (that had a private pool!) each day so everyone would have a chance to connect in one place.
We created a Ladies-Only event – so the women would know each other by name and relationship to us.
We set up a WhatsApp group (group text messaging) for everyone at the wedding.
And it was amazing! There were fierce Jenga games in the cabana and lots of poolside margaritas amongst friends. And the WhatsApp group is still being filled with pictures and messages.
It even worked in ways I couldn’t imagine. My middle sister and I haven’t gotten a chance to really connect in person, just the two of us in a long time. The day after the wedding, we ended up spending 3 hours in the pool connecting in the most beautiful way! It was a lovely and unexpected renewal of love.
Here’s to the beauty of a wedding and every lesson learned along the way.
