If you’ve been watching me prepare for our nuptials with our 3-year-old in tow, you know that preschoolers make terrible wedding planners.  But as I zone in on our BIG DAY (one month away!), I’m realizing some hidden advantages to doing things backwards

1. We’ve Got Warm Feet- I’m not talking about the kind you get from sharing a down comforter, though those are nice too.  I’m talking about confidence.  Given that we’ve already weathered newborn all-nighters and toddler tantrums and we can still stand the sight of each other, “I Do” is the easiest decision ever.  No cold feet, no panic attacks, no Dustin Hoffman banging on the windows screaming “Elayne!” (although that happens to be my MIL’s name, so you never know).    

2. The Vows Mean More – Instead of promising a hypothetical future, our vows chart where we’ve already been. In sickness and in health?  We’ve caught every cold a preschool has to offer, not to mention my 3 1/2 months on pregnancy bed rest, so check-check.  Through thick and thin?  Sure, thanks baby weight.  Better or worse?  How about when three failed rounds of IVF turned me into a low rent Winona Ryder.  We’ve been through enough to know we can do this.

3. The Pressure’s Off  – Moments after the ceremony, newlyweds are often cornered by nosy relatives wondering, “So when are you going to start a family?” No one is going to ask us that.  We can pretty much retire now.

4. Our Daughter Will Be Our Flower Girl – Whether she scatters petals for me to glide through or runs screaming down the aisle, the fact that our daughter will witness the big event fills me with such joy.  She’ll rock out on the dance floor, shine in our photographs and at 3 1/2 years old, maybe even remember this celebration of love, family and cake.

5. We’ll Truly Appreciate the Honeymoon– They say youth is wasted on the young.  I say honeymoons are wasted on unencumbered newlyweds.  Sure, in the olden days everybody was a virgin so the honeymoon was a regular bang-a-thon.  Now, the big excitement is getting two weeks off work without a hassle.   But us?  We haven’t spent a night together away from our daughter since she was born.  In other words, we haven’t had morning sex in almost four years.  Sing it with me: “Like a virgin, touched for the very first time…”  Or you know, stop cringing and just wish us bon vogage.