Tuesday, April 13, 2010

I want to whisper it from the rooftops!

Well, I’m back. I apologize for being MIA last week, but I have a good reason. I promise. You see, in the last 9 days my life has become a bubbling fountain of excitement, giddy giggles, nonstop smiles, nervous butterflies and a tiny bit of stress. Why is that? Well it could be because I used my first vacation days of 2010. But I have a feeling it’s most likely because I got engaged last weekend.

Ahh! I’ve been dying to shout it from the rooftops! I’ve been living on Cloud 9 for days, which is really fun in theory, but not when work is the busiest it’s ever been and I’ve had to run around like a hyper, confused fly caught in the blinds (you know, when they keep buzzing and fluttering and running into things). Don’t my coworkers know I’m supposed to be floating away in a bubble of bliss right now? Geesh!

Just kidding. I’m not that girl. Well…not on the outside, at least. You see, I still haven’t quite found my niche in the office. At my old job, I had my little group that I shared everything with, but now I only have a few acquaintances. And I really, really don’t want to scare them off with my excessive giddiness. At least not yet.

So now I’m trying to find the balance between being a gleeful bride-to-be and being the still-somewhat-new kid on the cubicle block. I really don’t want to turn my new coworkers off. And I certainly don't want to become that ridiculous wedding-planning girl who has seating charts and swatches and business cards up the wazoo on her desk. I’ve worked with girls like that before and it was not fun to be around. At all.

But last Friday, I realized how easy it was to become one of those girls. I somehow caught myself in a whirlwind of frenzied date-setting, and I had random secretaries, planners and even a priest calling me nonstop. I tried to whisper into my phone, but even that sounded like screaming in my library-like office. I made all my calls super quick, but with a small family emergency thrown in the mix, my phone was ringing off the hook. Within a few minutes, I became the girl I didn’t want to be. And that was only a week into the engagement. Yikes. I’m pretty sure my not-so-nice cubemate is going to tell on me (yeah, he totally would do that. Pfft.).

At least I had my wake-up call early. And please note, it was a slow afternoon. I definitely wouldn’t jeopardize my new job. I’m a sensible girl! But I also know that over the next few months, wedding-related phone calls will be necessary, especially with the long days I’ve been putting in lately. So how do I do it? How can I be discreet at work? And how do I share my excitement without annoying my coworkers? I’m sure many of you have been there before, so I’d love to hear your advice. And for those of you who haven’t, I’m sure you have plenty of stories about wedding-obsessed corporate bridezillas. So let’s hear them!

16 comments:

Melanie's Randomness said...

Congratulations!!!! =)

Tabitha Wells said...

WOOOOO! Congratulations that is awesome!!!!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the engagement!! that's so FABULOUS!

Monster Librarian said...

CONGRATULATIONS! That is so exciting!

i'm no miss said...

Sooner or later, welcome to the "bridezildom"! Congrats!

Amy said...

Congrats!

When I got engaged I just shared it with those I work closely with and my supervisors. I found that generally it gets spread around the office then - and I got engaged 3 month after starting my job.

Once some of your co-workers know, they'll understand all the craziness, plus usually they ask all sorts of questions about the wedding. (And tell you what they would do). Its a great time bond with co-workers who are engaged or recently married (or their children are getting married).

Unfortunately, the wedding business seems to work on a mostly 9-5 schedule - so I asked people to call me between 1-2pm and took my lunch hour then.

Closer to the wedding the phone calls are ridiculous since vendors need to confirm everything.

luckygirl said...

congratulations! i'm not engaged or anything but i do a ton of personal stuff over my lunch break! take advantage of that hour that they owe you and use email as much as you can :)

happy planning!

Just Jay said...

Congratulations!

Funny thing - I got engaged during a hectic stressful weekend. My fiancee thought that it would cheer me up and help me relax a little and proposed to me the day he got the ring!

As to how to find balance of being the dutiful new employee and the super excited want to get things done bride - LUNCH TIME ! It's one hour that you get to spend however you like. Whether it's looking at dresses online, calling back vendors, etc. Also, many vendors can operate via e-mail!

E said...

Congrats!!! Maybe try email if you can't talk. Or you would be surprised how many people you can text. Just depends on the person your trying to deal with :)

Corporate Chickee said...

Congratulations! Enjoy every minute of the planning - don't let people tell you what to do, what you should do, and so on. Have fun, and don't let it get you stressed out. A little tidbit passed down from the generations in my family - from my Grandad - "To you, your wedding day is the most important day of your life. To everyone else, it's just another day." :)

I remember being SO giddy when I first got engaged it was so hard to focus at work. Luckily, I had a friend who was engaged around the same time, so we could email each other obsessively about wedding stuff!

Also, remember that even when coworkers ask about your wedding, don't give anyone the impression that it's going to be a big wedding (even if it is) or that they might be invited.

Even if you're having 500 people - if your'e not inviting work people - just act like it's a small family affair for those who ask leading questions about your guest list! (For all they know you have 500 aunts & uncles!)

Congrats again - and have a GREAT time planning!

Freck said...

Congratulations!!!!! How wonderful :)

Anonymous said...

Emails! Just tell everyone that since you are a working girl, that you can't really take calls during the day, so emails will be better. If they want your business, they'll understand!

Unknown said...

That's so great!!! Good for you! I can't wait to be engaged! I have my own dating blog where I write all about my hope for an engagement ring www.carlysdatingchronicles.com

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!

tara said...

congrats!!

Becky said...

Congratulations!!!