So, at the beginning of our engagement I purchased a wedding planner book. I sat in the floor at Barnes & Noble for literally an hour and a half looking through all of the different planning, advice-giving, & look-books (see picture above!). Talk about getting overwhelmed then realizing how late you're running for your brand new fiance's softball game! At the end of it all, I just had to pick the hot pink one and get on with it. (Good marketing, publishing company).
In the front of this book is a checklist for different time periods throughout the engagement. Currently, we're on the "Nine Months and Earlier" chunk of planning--& quite honestly we're knocking it out of the park! Let's take a look...
x Announce your engagement. (Done the night of & morning after)
x Select a date for your wedding. (We only had one weekend next summer available between Anthony finishing school & my starting it)
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x Determine the type of wedding you want to have: location (The Cotton Warehouse), formality (semi-formal), time of day (early evening), number of guests (under 150), etc.
x Determine the budget and how expenses will be shared.
x Develop a record-keeping system for payments made.
_ Consolidate all guest lists: bride's, groom's, bride's family, groom's family, & organize as follows:
1) those who must be invited
2) those who should be invited
3) those who would be nice to invite
(Working on all of the above right now)
x Decide if you want to include children among guests. (We probably won't be inviting kids just because our limit is so small & we're already stretching to invite as much of our church family as possible to share in our day)
x Select & reserve ceremony site. (TCW)
x Select & reserve your officiant. (We asked Jay Mooney to marry us even before we got engaged)
x Select & reserve reception site. (TCW)
_ Select & order your bridal gown and headpiece. (I think I'll be needing to take advantage of the gym at Ramsey for a while first before I want to try finding my dress)
x Determine your color scheme. (Oasis blue & apple green)
_ Send engagement notice with a photograph to your local newspaper. (Not even sure if we'll do this)
_ Buy a calendar & note all important activities: showers, luncheons, parties, get-togethers, etc.
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x Order passport, visa or birth certificate, if needed for your honeymoon or marriage license. (All of ours were already up-to-date)
_ Select & book photographer. (We have a meeting on the second weekend of September with Melissa Hume Photography & we are SO excited about it!)
_ Select maid of honor, best man, bridesmaids, groomsmen & ushers (approx. one usher per 50 guests). (Haven't quite gotten to that point yet!)
Even though it suggests 9 months+, we're only at the 12-month point & have gotten so much accomplished! I'm really happy & relieved about that because we decided early on that we needed to get a lot done before we both had to go back to school. It's been almost 3 months; between working & planning things have been crazy. I can't believe that summer is almost over & that so much has happened in what feels like so little time. Everyone told me that time would fly, but I didn't believe them! I thought 14/15 months would drag on & I would deeply regret setting a wedding date so far away...not the case at all! I'm so glad that I'm going to have a little extra time. I want to do a lot of things (invitation calligraphy, favors, etc.) myself--you all know how much of a DIY/artsy person I am, so I want to make the day even more special by making things like decorations and favors by hand. I think I'll really be grateful for the extra time I gave myself when things get closer!
Stay tuned for more progress & good news that we want to share over the next year. I would start a 365-day countdown, but 2012 is a leap year :)
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