Here is my NW Essay!
Hello ladies -
This may be my last time on before my wedding on Sunday and I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for getting me through this past year of laughter, tears and support!! I know that a lot of us talk about how no one understands about this site and the relationships you make with people who, many, you never meet. I was trying to describe it to one friend and she actually got it - she called it a sisterhood and that's exactly what it is. I feel so close to so many of you and I just want to say thanks!!
THe above is part of my pre-wedding goodbye message two days before my August 1 wedding.
That message still sums up how I feel about LIW and the friendships I've made - 8 months after I am married!!
If I had to describe what LIW has meant to me in one thought, it would be lifesaver!!
In terms of vendors and doing wedding research and planning, I truly don't know how I would have done it without this site!!!
Although I already had my reception hall and my band, I got from LIW:
my officiants
my florist
my hair and makeup artists
my travel agent
my photographers
my limo company
What I have gotten though from LIW, that I treasure more than vendors, is the friendships. No one can understand exactly what a bride to be is going through besides another bride to me. I know my husband is truly thankful for LIW because when he would laugh at the amount of hours I would spend glued to the computer, I would remind him how he only heard 10% of my complaints and his life would be a lot worse if he had to listen to the other 90% of my 'bridezillaness' which I could get off my chest on this site!
Having a mom who lives 1,500 miles away and a MIL who didn't seem to care made wedding planning hard on me and somewhat of a lonely time. This website became my 'mom', my cheerleaders, my sisters.
I have shared every emotion I have felt along the roller coaster of wedding planning on this site. LIW has been my diary, my friend, my confidant, my amusement during boring work days!
Who else besides other LIW posters would understand being invited to your wedding 2 weeks before because you can't make your minimum?
Now that I am married, I spend most of my time on NW and NWR. NWR is google to me - I can get an opinion or information about anything and everything! I have gotten everything from personal advice to job leads, Friday night trivia, and a running game of 80's music trivia that is now in it's 101st page!!!
I can speak my mind - sorry for the drama, Ron and know that there is always someone to talk to along the way.
The thing I really love about LIW is how you can grow with it - you go from BHB to NW, to TTC and Parenting to buying a Home!! I have support in the weight loss game and in sharing pics of our pets!
A lot of us newlyweds are figuring out the bumps and bruises of married life and helping each other with that too.
I have been to countless GTG's and the 04 brides are in the process of planning our biggest one yet!
I feel a sense of loyalty and friendship in the real life friends I've made. Friends that extend far beyond the pages of the website. As I try and write this essay, I am getting FM's from LIW posters who are now on my Buddy List! I have laughed with these friends, cried with them, spoken on the phone and met in person. They are truly my sisters and my support.
I think I have also learned to open my mind to different people and different thoughts. LIW has introduced me to some incredible women like Aliciahelene, who is adopting two sons, and Kdelace who shared the most intimate details of the end of her marriage - which I think is a very brave thing to do. Kdelace has become one of my closest real life friends and has helped me a great deal as well as I navigate the ups and downs of married life.
I have made so many new friendships since my wedding and these friendships are as strong as any I have my whole life! If I had even had some of these friendships 8 months ago, there would have been a whole table of LIW friends at my wedding!
For better or worse, this site is an obsession. Now that I am at a job where I am too busy to post during the day, I look forward to being able to post in the evenings. I relish the moment or two that I can sneak on during the day. This site is my best friend on the lonely three nights a week my husband works overnight.
I've enjoyed bringing new brides to be over to the site as well. One of my sorority sisters became engaged last weekend and posted her first message the other day!! She'd been lurking for months (once I told her about the site) and started posting the second she could!! Welcome, Rafiki!!!
My story isn't great or amazing or incredible, but it's the truth. And it's heartfelt. This site and my friendships mean so much to me and from the bottom of my heart, thank you Ron and Liz!!
This may be my last time on before my wedding on Sunday and I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for getting me through this past year of laughter, tears and support!! I know that a lot of us talk about how no one understands about this site and the relationships you make with people who, many, you never meet. I was trying to describe it to one friend and she actually got it - she called it a sisterhood and that's exactly what it is. I feel so close to so many of you and I just want to say thanks!!
THe above is part of my pre-wedding goodbye message two days before my August 1 wedding.
That message still sums up how I feel about LIW and the friendships I've made - 8 months after I am married!!
If I had to describe what LIW has meant to me in one thought, it would be lifesaver!!
In terms of vendors and doing wedding research and planning, I truly don't know how I would have done it without this site!!!
Although I already had my reception hall and my band, I got from LIW:
my officiants
my florist
my hair and makeup artists
my travel agent
my photographers
my limo company
What I have gotten though from LIW, that I treasure more than vendors, is the friendships. No one can understand exactly what a bride to be is going through besides another bride to me. I know my husband is truly thankful for LIW because when he would laugh at the amount of hours I would spend glued to the computer, I would remind him how he only heard 10% of my complaints and his life would be a lot worse if he had to listen to the other 90% of my 'bridezillaness' which I could get off my chest on this site!
Having a mom who lives 1,500 miles away and a MIL who didn't seem to care made wedding planning hard on me and somewhat of a lonely time. This website became my 'mom', my cheerleaders, my sisters.
I have shared every emotion I have felt along the roller coaster of wedding planning on this site. LIW has been my diary, my friend, my confidant, my amusement during boring work days!
Who else besides other LIW posters would understand being invited to your wedding 2 weeks before because you can't make your minimum?
Now that I am married, I spend most of my time on NW and NWR. NWR is google to me - I can get an opinion or information about anything and everything! I have gotten everything from personal advice to job leads, Friday night trivia, and a running game of 80's music trivia that is now in it's 101st page!!!
I can speak my mind - sorry for the drama, Ron and know that there is always someone to talk to along the way.
The thing I really love about LIW is how you can grow with it - you go from BHB to NW, to TTC and Parenting to buying a Home!! I have support in the weight loss game and in sharing pics of our pets!
A lot of us newlyweds are figuring out the bumps and bruises of married life and helping each other with that too.
I have been to countless GTG's and the 04 brides are in the process of planning our biggest one yet!
I feel a sense of loyalty and friendship in the real life friends I've made. Friends that extend far beyond the pages of the website. As I try and write this essay, I am getting FM's from LIW posters who are now on my Buddy List! I have laughed with these friends, cried with them, spoken on the phone and met in person. They are truly my sisters and my support.
I think I have also learned to open my mind to different people and different thoughts. LIW has introduced me to some incredible women like Aliciahelene, who is adopting two sons, and Kdelace who shared the most intimate details of the end of her marriage - which I think is a very brave thing to do. Kdelace has become one of my closest real life friends and has helped me a great deal as well as I navigate the ups and downs of married life.
I have made so many new friendships since my wedding and these friendships are as strong as any I have my whole life! If I had even had some of these friendships 8 months ago, there would have been a whole table of LIW friends at my wedding!
For better or worse, this site is an obsession. Now that I am at a job where I am too busy to post during the day, I look forward to being able to post in the evenings. I relish the moment or two that I can sneak on during the day. This site is my best friend on the lonely three nights a week my husband works overnight.
I've enjoyed bringing new brides to be over to the site as well. One of my sorority sisters became engaged last weekend and posted her first message the other day!! She'd been lurking for months (once I told her about the site) and started posting the second she could!! Welcome, Rafiki!!!
My story isn't great or amazing or incredible, but it's the truth. And it's heartfelt. This site and my friendships mean so much to me and from the bottom of my heart, thank you Ron and Liz!!
