The Mason Jar Manifesto

The Mason Jar Manifesto has been circulating the wedding world as of late. I found out about it through a bee on Weddingbee. If you don't feel like reading the entire thing (even though you should,) basically, the post is about the fact that lately, the wedding industry has convinced brides that they need everything. The key word being things. If you're take a stroll down wedding lane, you get bombarded with images of buntings, cute straws, vintage this and that and DIY everything. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that today, brides are able to make their weddings about them and the relationship they have with their future spouse, but so many brides (including myself) get caught up on the things and not the marriage.

Jonas put it best when he wrote:

"We’re getting lost in details. The whole wedding industry is drifting away from what weddings are about and we’re all part of the problem – bloggers, photographers, planners and vendors – all hypocrites feeding the detail beast.

Strip it back.

Peel the layers off.

And start again.

At the center of every wedding we have a girl. Who fell in love with a boy. Or a girl who fell in love with a girl. Or a boy who fell in l… you get my point.

The rest is fluff.

If you read magazines and wedding blogs today, you’d think it’s all about the dress, the decorations, invitations or a million other things.

THINGS.

It’s not.

It’s about celebrating love, a manifestation of commitment, a gathering of friends and family.

Because you’re in love."

When I first read the manifesto, I thought to myself about how proud I am that I haven't gotten caught up in the WIC (wedding industry complex) that focuses so much on the wedding and not the marriage. But honestly, I'm just as guilty about worrying about things and not so much about what a wedding means and symbolizes.

Lately, I've been stressing about our lack of centerpieces (yes, I'm a 1.5 months away from my wedding and don't have centerpieces.) After reading the manifesto, I sat for a moment and thought, "What if we just don't have centerpieces? What's the point of a centerpiece anyways? To look pretty? We're not having flowers, and I have no need for vintage typewriters or mason jars. What if people, ate, talked, and interacted with each other instead of looking at the random centerpiece placed on a table? Will anyone really miss it?"

I felt this amazing weight lifted off my shoulders when I thought about not dealing with them. In all honesty, how many people notice the centerpieces? If you think about it, they're going to be sitting at the tables to eat and then hopefully they'll be up mingling and dancing. Stressing out less about a thing was such an amazing feeling.

I've gone back and read over our ceremony a few times lately and I have to say, I'm in love. I love this text that Keegan and I have put together that means so much to us. This text, during our wedding, will show everyone how much our love and marriage means. Reading our ceremony brings back the idea that this whole wedding is really about a marriage. Two people, in love, joined for eternity. Suddenly, all the things don't matter anymore. All that matters is the fact that at the end of the wedding, we'll be married. No one will notice if we have bunting or not (I'm sure not many of our guests even know what that is.) No one is going to miss the centerpieces, the signature drinks, the flowers, or the cake. Suddenly, I'm not going to miss them either.

I know that in the next 1.5 months, I will still worry about things. It's hard not to. This wedding will be 10 months in the making by the time August rolls around and it will be the biggest party/get together/celebration that either one of us has planned. We want it to be a wonderful experience for us and our guests, so worrying about certain things like food, drinks, and entertainment is a must. However, we can lessen the stress on ourselves by remembering that this celebration is about marriage, not about mason jars.

How do you feel about the WIC? Do you agree with the idea that weddings seem to be focused more on things than the marriage? Anyone else say "screw it" to what is considered "traditional" for weddings (i.e. centerpieces?)