Why I Wish I Was More Like Rachel Green Than Monica Gellar

YYes, we are talking the phenomenal sitcom Friends here. Let me set the scene for those of you who are unfamiliar: Rachel and Monica are best friends. Monica is super organized – some might even call her anal and Rachel is a bit light-headed but easygoing, you could say what one lacks, the other has.

Every few months I get a catalog from the wedding branch of Oriental Trading. When I open my mailbox and see that catalog sitting there I always cringe. I just find the items so cheesy. But instead of throwing it right in the recycling bin, what do I do? I look through every page. That’s strange, right? Most of the items in the catalog are the same every time and whatever seasonal items they have that are new aren’t better than the old ones. So I wonder what draws me into looking through every issue that lands in my mailbox. Is it because I have nothing better to do? Or maybe it’s because it’s like a car crash, I don’t want to but I just can’t help but look.

The most likely reason is because I wish I was more like Rachel instead of Monica.  I wish I wasn’t so picky and I could buy the things I needed from one simple place, instead of scouring the internet and spending countless hours designing all of the paper goods. I think in all honesty, I’m jealous of the brides out there who just don’t give a sh** if the purple on their invitations matches the purple on the cake.

Which brings me to the catch-22 of designing my own wedding invitations. Since I am a blessed with the most unusual talent of being a graphic designer there are a few great reasons for going this route:

1. It’s a money saver. I think we all know that invitations can be a big drain on the budget. And since the wonderful folks at Print Connection are helping me out and do an amazing job with invitations, it’s a win-win situation.
2. Justin and I get to have invitations that are customized just for us, which nobody else will have.
3. I can match the colors exactly to everything else I have picked out for the wedding.

 
But of course wherever there are upsides there are downsides as well and designing my own wedding invites is no exception. Here’s why:

1. I can’t design just any old invitation, duh! They have to be unique, astronomically amazing, and perfect. That’s a lot of pressure for someone who is also planning every aspect of her own wedding.
2. I actually can’t think of another reason. But I think the pressure of reason number one counts as reason number two as well.

 
In the end, the invites are looking better than I could have ever imaged so I suppose I can say that it was worth it and that being a “Monica” can pay off sometimes. But I do have to admit it was much more fun to design wedding invitations for our close friends, Seth and Julie because Julie is definitely more of a “Rachel,” she was so easygoing about her invites (don’t get me wrong, Julie is not light-headed, she is super smart).

Here’s some food for thought…wedding invitation wording isn’t as simple as you would think. Want to know why? I’m going to leave you hanging…