We have been engaged for 5 months now and we still have 11 months to go. There is still a lot of time but I know that it will fly by...the summer and then the start of the holidays are crazy, right?!
I share this every time so you all don't think I am crazy with what has already been done, but I was an event planner so when we got engaged, I knew what to do and got the ball rolling... I was glad/relieved I didn't have to hunt for vendors or do any research because I already knew who to use. I'm also someone that likes to tackle it all and get as much done as I can. I don't like things to linger or sit on my to-do list for too long- if they can be done, I like to get them done.
Right now, I'm in a period of waiting because a lot of items on my to-do list are things that can't really be done yet. We mostly have been scouring everywhere for a Mother of the Bride gown and a gown for my sister (who is my maid of honor) and also researching for the honeymoon.
Here's what I've done:
- Church booked
- Venue Booked
- Guest List drafted
- My wedding shoes
- MOH asked+ gift/wedding shoes
- Dress was chosen!
- Veil/blusher
- Photographers/videographers booked
- The slide deck of inspiration for photographers is done and has been reviewed/ discussed
- Photo/Video Shot list
- Photo/Name list of VIP's for photogs to be aware of
- Mapped out best spots for photos in both Church/City/ and Venue. Plus a rain plan should it rain and more photos need to be indoors.
- Surprise music element booked (want to let this be a surprise to guests)
- MUA booked
- Transportation booked
- Band is booked and has been given a list of 'do not play'/'must play' songs
- Music for cocktail hour booked
- Custom cocktail napkins for bar and passed hors d'oeuvres/cocktails ordered
- My wedding bands picked out and purchased
- Room block secured
- Wedding website up and running with all details
- Date on hold with Florist and first meeting scheduled
- Rentals booked (ex. Chiavari chairs)
- Day-Of schedule drafted
- The vendor contact list has been started (updated as we add more vendors)
- Verbiage for church programs written
- Verbiage for the invitation suite done
- Church music is chosen
- My wedding day jewelry chosen/secured
- Flower girl/Ring Bearer Asked
What needs to be done:
- Seating chart
- Dress fittings and alterations
- Menu Tasting
- Cake design/tasting
- Pre-Cana
- Choosing Linens
- A dress for MOH and a dress for MOB (this has been TOUGH, we can't find anything that we absolutely love)
- Groom Tux (he has a tux but he wants to get something different/special for the wedding)
- Rehearsal dinner outfits for both myself and Andrew
- Invitations (already picked out everything, though!)
- Invitation verbiage to be edited/reviewed
- Calligraphy (invites, escort card, etc.)
- Wedding paper (ie. church programs, escort cards, menu cards, thank you cards, etc.) Everything is picked out, just waiting to move forward.
- Morning of wedding outfits for my mom, sister, and I
- Andrew's wedding band (we picked it out, we just haven't gotten it yet).
- Honeymoon (we have started researching but haven't done anything in terms of actual planning- we probably won't book anything until around the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday)
- Registry list made public (we have registered at two places but haven't made the registries public just yet (too soon)
- Meet with florist to discuss what we want (scheduled but hasn't happened yet)
- Edit verbiage for church programs and discuss with priest/ music director
- Welcome bags for out of town guests
- Gifts for MOH/BM and MOB/FOB, MOG/FOG
- Playlist for when the band takes breaks (they do this on their own, but instead we requested to make the playlists... I've started this but won't finalize until very close to our wedding day)
- Best Man needs to be asked (waiting for this to happen in person!!)
- Flower Girl/Ring Bearer Outfits picked out/ordered
- Ask readers and ushers for the church (we have chosen who we want to ask but have to actually ask!)
- Decide on First Dance/ FOB dance/ MOG dance songs
- Marriage License
- Figure out what we are going to do with Henry (if anyone has any ideas, let us know! If we have to board him, we will, but we are trying to figure out something different because we prefer not to board him and we are also still trying to figure out a way to get Henry in some of our wedding photos so if he is boarded we wouldn't be able to do that).
- Lots of little touches that I will leave out because this list is ridiculously long (and I want an element of surprise, ha!)
Both lists are long and I probably could have added more to both. But that just gives you all an idea of where we are at right now. I feel very comfortable/calm in terms of what has been done/what still needs to be done. I'm very type A and a planner and someone who is organized at all times so it's gone very smoothly thus far!
Every time something is booked or planned, I also try to remind myself, too, of the real, special reason that all of this is being planned. We are making a lifelong commitment to one another and I never want to let the plans overshadow that! I can't wait to see all of this come together and marry my best friend!!!
9 comments:
For Henry, you should consider a "day care"/pet sitter situation for your wedding day. Hire someone to care for him that day and bring him to the wedding or reception venue (or wherever you are having photos taken) to include him in photos, and then afterward, have this person return him back to your house/your parents' house/wherever he will be staying post-wedding. If you hire a professional instead of a friend, you won't feel guilty about saying goodbye, and you won't have to worry about imposing upon someone whom you'd rather have as a guest than a pet sitter.
You could even present it as inviting someone to be Henry's "+1" for the wedding! Get him used to this person ahead of time by having them come once a week for a month or so, to hang out and spend time with him.
Oh my gosh you've already tackled so much! WOW!! And good luck with the dress hunting for your mom and sister!
xoxo A
www.southernbelleintraining.com
Wow- you so organized. My wedding planning is all over the place and I only have four months to go.
As far as pet sitters- I would recommend using the Rover app. We have found the best sitters using the app in the Pittsburgh area( we do meet and greets before the actual sitting takes place). The sitters we have found are super flexible so I am sure you could find someone who would be willing to assist with arranging photos. Good luck!
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I made sure I had my little dog in my ceremony and in the pictures that followed. Our housekeeper actually drove to our venue, picked him up, and her son stayed at my house and watched him until we got home (we were leaving for the honeymoon the next day, so we stayed in our house and not at a hotel). BUT I would think for Henry, you can hire someone from the app Rover. We LOVE it. They will stay in your house, take care of your house (check the mail, water your plants...) AND do an amazing job taking care of your dog... If there's a day that they have to run out for a few hours, you can use the app and get someone else to stop by, Rover will send you a lockbox and give you the code, you put your key in, and when you hire another person to stop in, they get the code, unlock the door, take the dog out, and put the key right back in. It's amazing and not overly expensive. Definitely do a meet and greet before and discuss how you want Henry in your pictures as well and coordinate the schedule from there!
You've mentioned on your blog before that you're a ZTA. Is there a local chapter? I'm an ADPi alum, and when I was in college I dog sat for one of our chapter advisors. I loved it! I'm a dog person and since I lived in the sorority house for three years it gave me an opportunity to hang out somewhere else with a fridge that was always left stocked with soda, snacks, and leftovers to heat up and most importantly get my dog fix. They had two large basset hounds that to this day hold a piece of my heart.
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