Today, my dear friend of 40 plus years, Sue, now the mother-of-the-bride, shared some stresses her daughter is having about the upcoming wedding in April.

I told her I'd get a letter off to her daughter, Mindy, immediately about the wisdom I received before my wedding, in hopes that it would help her too. Since it's becoming "wedding season" I thought I'd share it with you too.

Dear Mindy,

My name is Susan and I'm a long-time friend of your Mom. I'm writing to you to impart some of my recent "bride wisdom." I was married 6 months ago tomorrow and I have an idea about some of the stresses you are going through. Even at age 50, I had a full-blown wedding: gown from David's Bridal, flowers, attendants, caterer and so on. It truly was the best day of my life. I had so much fun!

The main reason for that is because of advice I received from another bride, my niece, Jenna, who has now been married for 10 years. I was involved in helping her with her wedding also. On the morning of her wedding she was as peaceful and as calm as I had ever seen her! And beautiful! I asked her if she was nervous and she replied "No! This is my wedding day, I'm ready, and if something isn't taken care of, so be it." And we moved on.

Before my wedding last fall, I asked her about our conversation that day and why she was so calm. She told me that she and her husband had decided together, before their wedding day, that no matter what happened on that special day, even if the walls around them fell down around them, they would let nothing get in the way of making it the best day of their lives. Ten years later, she still says it was the best day of their lives.

So, I shared this with my fiancé and we decided to do the same. There were a few bumps here and there, as usual. But you can either get stressed about it or not - it won't change the situation. As it turns out, our wedding day was the best day of my life! The moment we both looked forward to was when we first saw each other, me coming up the aisle in all my ceremonial bridal gala and he, in a tuxedo with tails, waiting for me at the alter, a smile as wide as Kansas, with tears of joy in his eyes.

The wedding is about you and Justin, about your life together and a future forever. If someone's dress is "off" or has the wrong shoes, or if the flowers are wrong - doesn't really matter. If you and Justin can make the day about just you two, you'll have an awesome chance to make it the best day of your lives. Relationships are a constant negotiation - here's to you two negotiating and navigating a blessed life and future together!

Love, Susan

Good luck, brides!