You've Gotta Fight For Your Right. . .

. . .to get maaaaaaaaarriiiiiiied! Anyone?

As I'm sure many brides-to-be before me can attest to, there are seemingly a million and five decisions to make when it comes to wedding planning. . .and at least three times that amount of influence to lean one way or the other.

I am far from an easily-influenced girl. 

source | I do what I want!

That having been said, I am a considerate person. I try to take opinions and feelings of those I care about into account when making decisionsAt the end of the day, though, there are a few things that I refuse to concede. If this makes me a (gasp!) Bridezilla, then, well. . .refer to the above video for my exact sentiments. ;)

Here are a few of my No Budgies:

The Shoes. Not everyone is pleased with my choice (which I still word as a 'recommendation' - I won't force anyone to wear/buy these shoes, but everyone knows how much it means to Mr. Palm Tree and I) of TOMS. I am an All In type of girl: if I align myself with a cause or claim to care about something, I'm 100% 'bout it 'bout it. In all fairness: sure, they aren't the most to-die-for, OMG-worthy shoes. But, in my opinion, they aren't supposed to be. The TOMS motto is One For One: you buy a pair, we craft a pair to fit the need of a shoeless child. They're supposed to be reasonable shoes. It was an easy way to support A Cause that wouldn't take over the meaning, or purpose, of our day so we went with it.   

Their Dresses. I know that mix-and-match bridal parties are all the rage right now. Admittedly, pictures like the ones below do make me just a little wistful:

image from Style Me Pretty | Photography via Aaron Ebio EbsfotoDifferent colors, same style except for the (assumed) MOH.

But you know what, friends? Even doing a quick Google search for 'inspiration' pictures made my heart rate increase. This 'trend' or whatever you want to call it can be done right and it can make for some awesome freaking pictures - but it is not for me. I am still so thankful that even though I was about to possibly concede, BM Tiny Dancer and MOH Mem kept their heads and reminded me that I would hate it. I am so glad my girls will be in the same dress and the same color. Seriously. 

image from Offbeat Bride | Photography via Alex Roberts | Pretty shades of blues.

The Trolley. I actually had to talk Mr. Palm Tree into this one. He didn't understand why we needed a trolley, he totally thought it was 'frivolous'. In my opinion, paying exorbitant amounts for a limo when there are 13 of us, including the flower girls, and literally excluding everyone else is absurd. The trolley is far from cheap, but it's reasonable. We have it all day, we can decorate it how we want, we can bring coolers, we can play our own music, we'll all have a comfortable amount of space - what more could we want? He was the one who conceded on this, actually, once it was all explained. Plus, the pictures - oh, I die.

source for both | SWOON.

Our Date. I've said before that I'm no wedding pro, but I was super surprised when I saw our wedding weekend on TheKnot's list of "Wedding Dates to Avoid."

"Holiday weekend weddings have pros and cons. You've got an extra day for the festivities (and recovery!); plus, it's easier to host a Sunday wedding, which is often less expensive than a Saturday one would be. However, costs of travel and hotels may be higher. Also, having a holiday wedding might adversely affect your wedding guest list. Some families have standing holiday weekend plans or traditions that they'd prefer not to disrupt."

I mean, I get it. . .to an extent. But our wedding isn't interfering with, say, Christmas or even the 4th of July. It's Memorial Day Weekend and honestly, all I see are pros: the extra day of recovery, as mentioned, is a huge one. In terms of 'standing holiday weekend plans', Memorial Day is always on a Monday and our wedding is a Saturday, so tradition isn't likely to be disrupted. In fact, it's an excuse for some family members who live far away to come to town and celebrate a holiday they would not likely have been able to share with the Western PA family members. Back to being considerate, though: I totally acknowledge that travel costs may be a little higher, but that's why we're sent out our Save-the-Dates and invitations 'early'. Furthermore, there is a fine line between being considerate and being a doormat. If you eliminate every holiday weekend on TheKnot's list - not counting ones not set by date, like the Superbowl Weekend - you're left with about 31 to choose from! Start thinking about other people's weddings, birthdays, events, potential vacations and you're bound to find yourself in a corner pretty quickly. Plus, our date means something to us. We wanted a date as close to May 27th as possible, because that's the date he stopped me in a hallway and asked me if I wanted to "go out" with him. This was a No Budgie, lists advising otherwise be damned.

Anyone else have any No Budgies? How about the concessions you did make? Any you regret on either end of the spectrum?