People loooove to insert their opinions wherever possible, which is why I've come to hate the question: "How's the wedding planning going?" Because it's usually followed by someone totally shooting down my last planning decision.

But here's the deal: Wedding planning is stressful enough as it is. And if I listened to and implemented everyone else's advice, then I would be planning their wedding and not my fiancé's and mine.

I was recently reminded about this fact by Instagram...

I had two hair and makeup trials: the first was by a friend of a friend who did it for a bottle of wine; the second by a professional wedding stylist. Although the "friend" was a professional makeup artist, I just didn't end up liking her results. It was a nice gesture, but, ultimately, it wasn't the look I was going for.

The second trial delivered EXACTLY what I wanted. My hair looked amazing, and the stylist was a great listener.

I posted the two different results on Instagram, and was completely blown away by everyone's responses - they mostly preferred the first one.

Of course, I totally made myself vulnerable to interpretation by posting the photo to a social media site. But afterwards I followed my personal rule of "fuck what everyone else thinks." Our wedding is not the People's Choice Awards. I hired the artist that made ME happy and that I loved the most. In the end, I made the choice that was right in my heart.

If you are seeking advice, and are finding you're getting a lot of pushback for your ideas/tastes/plans, here's my advice: keep your ideas to a limited number of people you trust and respect - such as your partner, a close family member like your mom, or your bridal party. Your loved ones know you the best and will (hopefully) support the things they may not understand, because that's what is going to make you and your partner happy when it comes to celebrating your union.