1. Everyone nicely ask you if you’re “sure about this,” like you were about to do drugs or something.
2. People casually remind you of divorce statistics, and basically say that there is a bigger chance of you getting divorced because you’re doing this in your 20s.
3. You remember that you are actually very young, but that feels like a good thing.
4. When you look at the prices of something as simple as flowers to put on the tables, you realize that adult life is expensive (and you are broke).
5. The grandparents all get really excited that there is going to be a grandchild wedding in their lifetime, and that there is the possibility of great grandchildren.
6. Everyone assumes that you’re going to stop going out and having fun because you’re married, even though it doesn’t mean you’re any less single than when you were just dating.
7. You know that not everyone can afford to go to your ceremony, but are still surprised at the excuses people will make up for why they can’t go instead of “I just don’t have the money right now.”
8. A few people won’t RSVP in time just because Facebook has desensitized them completely to what it means to actually agree to go to an important event.
9. You start with a lot of really big goals about the kind of shape you’re going to be in by the time the wedding day comes around, and then you basically just settle on “I just want to fit in my dress.”
10. (Having the body of a 20-something definitely helps with all of your wedding day fitness goals.)
11. People ask you about all the things you “still haven’t done,” like you can’t accomplish goals once you’ve been married. (For the record, I’ve lived out of the country twice, and both have been after I’ve been married.)
12. Total strangers tell you how young you are.
13. You realize the separation between the women who are true feminists and the women who just act like they are until you make a decision that they don’t think is “good” for you. You’ll get a lot of concerned looks and talks about how you can do so much more with your life.
14. You explain over and over again that you are getting married because you want to, and because you love this person, not because you think you “have” to — you understand that there are plenty of people who choose not to get married.
15. Everyone tells you congratulations on Facebook and then occasionally forgets in real life that you’re getting married.
16. People grab your hand, talk about your ring, and then ask you how old you are.
17. Wedding planners and salespeople try to get more money out of you because they assume you’re naive (or that your parents are paying for all of this).
18. Your best friend helps you with the registry, and it’s like the best day of free shopping you’ve ever had in your life.
19. People ask you about whether or not you’re taking his last name, and are definitely judging you one way or the other based on your answer.
20. At least one person asks you if you’re doing this because you’re pregnant (but they try to do it in a slick way).
21. You look at your partner, the person you love so much that you want to dedicate the rest of your life with them and experience this whole beautiful world with them, and you remember that none of this matters. All the chatter and the negativity kind of fade away and you just remember how lucky you are to be in love.