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It’s Spring, which means wedding season is upon us! And when it comes to a wedding, most women can probably tell you exactly what they have had envisioned in their mind since they were a young girl- although they may not readily admit it. They can articulate exactly what their wedding gown will look like. They already know which childhood friends and sisters will be standing up as their bridesmaids and in what color. They can picture clearly in their minds the reception with breathtaking centerpieces and the band keeping the guests dancing long into the night. They may not have discerned who the man of their dreams is yet but they know if he will be wearing a classic tux or a more casual suit. And the “vision” doesn’t just stop with the wedding. They can describe in perfect detail the home in their ideal neighborhood they would share with their new husband and how soon they would be bringing their first baby home as their family grows. What can I say? Women are planners.
What most women don’t daydream about as they grow up is what kind of Natural Family Planning system they will use once they are married. And I get it. It’s not nearly as exciting or glamorous as trying on wedding gowns or picking out flowers or finding the perfect reception venue… or really any of the other fun stuff you get to do when planning a wedding. But here’s the thing: all the stuff that goes into planning your perfect wedding lasts only for that day. Yes, you will have breathtaking photos of all the big moments and of all your hard work and planning. Yes, your family and friends will continually bring up how awesome the band was and how delicious the hors d'oeuvres were and why an open bar is just always the right choice. But in the end, those wonderful things on your wedding planning checklist become just wonderful memories.
You might be thinking to yourself, “Wow, thanks Natalie. I have spent way too many hours working on this seating chart list and now I’m going to just throw it in the trash because you think it doesn’t matter. Thanks A LOT”. Put down the trash can lid my friend. Do not throw your seating chart in the trash. Seating charts are important to keep things running smoothly at the reception, especially if you have some “spicy” relatives who don’t always get along so well. I mean, I could whip out my seating chart right now. I have all of my carefully planned wedding stuff in a fancy fabric box in my basement (to what end? I’m not sure. Am I planning on another wedding anytime soon? No. Like will anyone care how much chair covers cost in July of 2012? Guaranteed not). I’m just working on a really roundabout way of saying that the type of NFP you choose to learn before your wedding is one of the things you will be using and discussing every day of your marriage for the rest of your blissfully wedded lives, so it deserves so much more thought and attention than centerpieces and seating charts!
Luckily, your girls here at the Groesbeck FertilityCare Center are here to help! All of our FertilityCare Practitioners love working with newly engaged couples as they work on understanding their fertility while preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage. And while we have helped couples learn the Creighton Model in less than 2 months before their wedding- what I fondly refer to as “shotgun Creighton”- it is best to give you and your fiancé plenty of time (at least 3 cycles) to become comfortable and confident in using the method before your wedding, especially if you have concerns for your fertility or reproductive health. After all, the only butterflies you want to be feeling in your stomach as you walk down the aisle to the man of your dreams are the happy kind, not the stressed out, I-don’t-know-if-we’re-fertile-or-not kind. To avoid those unwanted butterflies, reach out to one of our fabulous FertilityCare Practitioners to get started today!