WRITING A WEDDING JOURNAL
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The concept of the daily diary takes on special meaning when it becomes the basis for your Wedding Journal. The time beginning with your engagement, up to and through your wedding day, is a period in your life that will always have special meaning to you. At this moment, you probably think and feel that you will never forget even the smallest detail of these days, and months, but the passage of time has a way of taking its toll on even the most precious of memories. It is for that reason that I suggest you consider writing a Wedding Journal.

Unlike so many of the events and activities that precede your wedding, this one has no rules, no etiquette, no history, or traditions. It's up to you to set the guidelines and the parameters and to make the choices of how your Wedding Journal will look and what purpose it will serve for you. The months, days and then the hours that mark the countdown to your wedding day will be filled not only with many activities and events, but also with what may sometimes feel like a deluge of feelings and emotions. It's hard to say which of the two sides of you, as a prospective bride, will be more important. The nice thing is that you don't have to make a choice here either. You can include whatever you would like in your Wedding Journal.

As a professional writer, it is my very pleasant task to give you some pointers that may get you started and keep you going. Remember that these are only suggestions and that the choices and, ultimately, all the decisions are up to you.

Why Should You Write a Wedding Journal?
Time has a way of passing too quickly and the passage of time has a curious way of dimming even the brightest of thoughts and memories. A Wedding Journal can serve as your personal record, a recording of your journey from being a single woman to becoming a married one.

One day you may find that being able to share your thoughts and feelings will prove helpful or comforting to someone you know and love, perhaps even your own child or children. As you grow and mature you certainly will gain wisdom and that will change who you are. It may be of value to you to keep a record of how, who and what you are at these very moments in time, rather than to filter them through memory and maturity.

Your Wedding Journal can be something you share with your partner , as it is written or after it is completed. What better way to let someone you love understand the magnitude of the feelings you are feeling and the thoughts you are thinking than through a daily accounting.

What Should I Include in My Wedding Journal?
Some brides-to-be write their Journals much as they would a daily planner, keeping records of all their activities in a calendar-like fashion. There are other options, as well.

1. Pick one event each day that is special or important. The event needn't necessarily be important in the larger scheme of things, just special in some way to you. Write about it as you would if you were a journalist covering "the story."
2. Write how you feel. This is often much more difficult an assignment than writing about events. Many writers find it really cathartic to write about how they are feeling. Oftentimes what may seem overwhelming becomes more manageable when you write it down and read it back to yourself. This process can be a real stress-buster.
3. Write about the people in your life. Short (or lengthy) biographies of the people you are close to during this significant time in your life, may be a source of great joy in later years. Write a mini-biography of such "characters" in your life as your mother, mother-in-law, family members and members of your wedding party. It will be fun for you to look back at your impressions of people in your life as they were "once upon a time," and to see how your impressions and feelings about those people change over the years.
4. Write about your hopes for today and tomorrow. It may be fun for you to make a list of what you wish for. The wish list can be anything you would like it to be . . . practical wishes, possible wishes, or even some fantastic, improbable wishes. It will be a mixture of joy and sadness to learn, down the road, which of your wishes materialized and which didn't.
5. Write about your relationship with your husband-to-be. What is he like? What do you like about him? What do you love about him? What made you fall in love with him? In what way(s) do you wish he might change? This will be interesting to check out in years to come.
6. Write about yourself. What are you like? What does he like about you? What do you like about yourself? What does he love about you? What do you think made him fall in love with you? In what way(s) do you wish you could change and what, if any of those changes, do you think are possible? It should be interesting to see how well you analyzed yourself and your capabilities. This is a way of testing an old adage that my mother shared with me when I was a new bride. She claimed that it was exactly those things we fall in love with that drive us crazy in later years. Is the guy you fell in love with because he is so neat and tidy going to drive you nuts when, in later years, he organizes his socks by color and insists you clean the top of the toothpaste tube? Let me know!
7. Make predictions. Where do you think you and your husband-to-be will be in five years? ten years? What do you think your lives will be like? What do you envision your family to be like?

Should You Let Others Contribute to Your Journal?
Because there are no rules, the answer is why not! You can ask people who are sharing this important time in your life to "contribute" to your Wedding Journal. You might consider asking them several questions to guide them. One bride I know wanted really honest answers, but felt that people wouldn't be totally candid for fear of being hurtful. She asked for her contributions in a sealed envelope and promised she wouldn't open the envelopes until her tenth wedding anniversary.

These are some of the questions you might give your friends and family to help them:
1. What part do you feel you are playing in my life today and where do you think our relationship will be in five, ten, or twenty years?
2. If you had five wishes for me, what would they be?
3. If you could give me a piece (or two) of marital advice, what would it be?
4. Share a household tip or a favorite recipe with me.

What "Practical" Things Can I Write in My Wedding Journal?
There can also be a very practical side to your Wedding Journal. You might consider writing from the back of the book or setting aside a section that is devoted to notes to yourself, a to-do list, or reminders to others. In this way, your Wedding Journal can, in a sense, double as your wedding planner.

Any Other Ideas?
There are so many other ways you can use your Wedding Journal and make it something you will treasure for many years to come. Consider including photos (candids, perhaps), articles, poems, quotes and just about anything that strikes your fancy or touches your heart.

Whatever you do and however you compile your Wedding Journal, please do keep in mind that it should be a pleasant task not a rigorous assignment. Enjoy writing your Wedding Journal as I hope you do every aspect, of every moment in this most wonderful time of your life!

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