and she wants to have the wedding THIS October. Meaning...I will still be in braces.
I had a mini heart attack when my sister called me today and asked if I would be all healed up from surgery by October. The FIRST thing that popped into my head was 'What if I am not? What if something happens and I am still swollen and don't look like ME at my only sister's wedding?'
It sucks that every single part of my life has to be molded around this surgery. I know it's an important surgery, but I keep kicking myself for not having it gotten done sooner. There were no big events that this surgery could have gotten in the way of my freshman/sophomore year of college. And now there is graduation and weddings and moving away. Ugh, I absolutely positively do NOT want to have braces during my one guaranteed time of being the Maid of Honor.
It's still very early, and she is just throwing around dates, but I am praying to god she holds off long enough for me to get these dang things off my teeth.
I scheduled my next appointment with my OS. It's not until the end of March, but I am already excited about it. At my next appointment, I am 2 months from surgery!
Braced Blogger | February 16, 2011 at 5:16 PM
Dani - you can have your ortho remove your top braces for a week and then readded - if you are still in them by october. with surgery in May, that should give you a good 4 plus months and you really shouldn't be swollen by then to where it's noticeable to anyone but you, if at all. some orthos might charge a few hundred $ to remove the braces temporarily but others don't. I just know it's an option. I hope this positive news cheers you up about being in your sister's wedding. You'll be beautiful! :-)
S N | February 16, 2011 at 5:29 PM
im going through the same thing. i havent had surgery yet but im in braces and im missing a few teeth from extractions and its funny that everybody i know is now getting married. i have a cousins wedding in april, my nephews wedding in may(dont worry hes 25 not 5 lol) and another cousin in june...like why is everyone all of a sudden getting married right now??
Dani | February 16, 2011 at 7:24 PM
Tara : Thank you so much for the info! I read a blog a while back by a woman who had her braces taken off for her wedding, and then put back on, so I thought it might be an option, but I wasn't sure if it would be really expensive. I'll have to bring it up at my next appointment! She is definitely not set on a specific time yet so I don't want to get too worried about it now, but at least I know it's something I can look into!
S N: It's nearly wedding season..SUMMER! Jealous of all the weddings you get to go to, I loovee going to weddings!
Shaye | February 17, 2011 at 7:05 AM
I completely understand how you feel. My sister is getting married in May ... 4 months after my surgery! It freaked me out at first. But, oddly, since the surgery I've come to peace with it. I, too, should have done this surgery earlier. But, I didn't ... and I'm just so glad I finally did it. I don't want to go through this process again, so that may mean having to keep my braces on for my sister's wedding. I consider it the orthodontic version of wearing an ugly bridesmaid dress to make the bride look better.:) All eyes will be on the bride anyhow ... and if nothing else, maybe they can Photoshop out the braces in the pictures.:)
Braced Blogger | February 17, 2011 at 7:58 AM
Dani after reading your post and the others I thought I would share my experience with weddings and jaw surgery/braces. Although I am not technically engaged yet, I know it will happen soon and my SO really wants to get married this year. We have been talking about something simple and intimate since neither of us want anything too elaborate and are also looking to buy a house this year and start a family after surgery. My dilemma is that I will not have surgery until at least December. I can accept braces much easier than the bugs bunny overbite with braces pre-surgery look. Part of me says just wait til after surgery but we are both ready now and we would like to be married sooner rather than later for several reasons. But I hate the idea of not feeling confident on our day. I guess at then end of the day its the marriage that matters most am I am trying to get comfortable with the idea we could be married pre-surgery.
Anonymous | February 17, 2011 at 10:46 AM
Hi Dani! I wouldn't sweat it too much. Even with the braces on you will look great.
I am still scheduled for May 11th and I am still keeping my fingers crossed for it! I go to the ortho on March 2nd and see my surgeon on March 7th. They will let me know that week if I am on for May. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Else, I may wait until July because June just isn't good for me and my schedule. Let me know when you have your May date!!
Jen | February 17, 2011 at 12:28 PM
Hey Dani-- just kind of repeating what others have already said, if your surgery is in May, I would not worry at all about being noticeably swollen in October. Just 2 months after surgery you should be looking almost 100% close to normal. I also really like Tara's advice about having top braces removed just for the wedding, I know girls that did that back in high school for their senior portraits. Whatever you do, I'm sure you are going to look fabulous!
Dani | February 17, 2011 at 4:53 PM
Tina: I REALLY hope you are still set for May, I want to go through all this craziness together with you! hehe.
Tara, thank you so much for your input :) I hope that you and your (soon-to-be) fiance are able to figure out a timeline that works the best for your future plans! My sister is on a time line for her wedding as well, as she has had one baby and wants to try for another when the first is at a certain age. This means she can't put off the wedding (she doesn't want to be pregnant during it) and therefore, it's being planned much earlier than we had originally thought it would.
Jen: I know I shouldn't be swollen then or have any noticeable differences, but I think the whole thing that freaks me out is that I won't have had enough time to get used to my own face, let alone have a million photos taken of me with a smile I may not be quite comfortable with. She is now looking at September, rather than October, so it looks like if it's what she decides, I will probably be going the route of removing the top braces.
Braced Blogger | February 17, 2011 at 5:46 PM
Dani I think you'll look and feel great by September! Can't wait to follow your progress! Wow, not too much longer to go, you must be in countdown mode! :-)
Dani | February 17, 2011 at 6:20 PM
Tara: I AM in countdown mode. I am so eager for May because it brings SO many things. It means the end of the single WORST semester in college of my life, along with bringing surgery AND summer! This whole process is definitely a major test of my patience (which has NEVER been my strong suit!)
Every time I click 'Braced Blogger' , your username, it says 'PROFILE NOT AVAILABLE'. Do you know if you made your profile private, or any reason I can't view it?
Braced Blogger | February 18, 2011 at 9:35 AM
Dani - I'm so excited your day is coming soon!! And I'm envious. This will be such a long process for me and it's really only just begun. With all the "life events" coming up braces just puts a kink in everything. But as you said, it really is a test of patience and a life lesson I know I'm meant to learn eventually - so here it is! I will learn it with this journey and will be some good prep for when I become a mama one day.
Thank you for the compliments - I feel the same about you!! And you're going to look even more amazing after the surgery. That's just icing on the cake - feeling better will be enough to make this whole thing worth it.
I did have the profile not available but I changed it. I don't think that has to be public to view the blog since the blog is public but it's harder to get to the blog. You have to go to the dashboard and find me there. Sorry for making it so confusing lol... new to blogging.:-)