I know understand why there are so many films about getting married and the planning thereof – wedding planning is completely insane.

One of my grad school friends is getting married sometime this year, probably in the summer, and she’s in Serious Talks with her fiancée and her family about securing a venue – apparently, once you secure the venue, shit is ON in the wedding world. It’s something we chatted about last week, after she had helped me make a pretty killer intro video for this Cannes internship – she’s feeling the pressure of having to set a date, but also wanting to be true to what she and her fiancée want out of their ‘special day’. And that seems to mostly be hours of tipsy karaoke, since that’s how they met.

I might be the only friend she has that isn’t all kinds of OMG WEDDING!!!, simply because I was Maid of Honour for a friend a year ago and I’m over it in oh, so many ways – I’m excited for them, and am happy to be part of the wedding party, but really I just want to show up in the colour they eventually settle on and be done with it. It sounds like she feels the same – at the end of the day, all she wants is to have a great party with all her loved ones, having an excellent time, and singing bad covers of Journey until they shut us down. No drama over the cake, no stress over which bridesmaid is mad over who got to wear which style of dress, no parents having opinions all over the place and making the day something to dread rather than celebrate. I’m doing my best to help, which, for right now, seems to be agreeing to whichever colour combination she throws out, and offering to help whenever/wherever she needs it.

Weddings are complicated, but they come down to two people wanting to connect their lives in front of those they love. Skip the $40 per page invites and spend it on garlic mashed potatoes – I’m told they’re the defining factor of a great party. And much, must softer than silverware if you’re going to be throwing stuff at your new In Laws.