Tag: wedding planning

6 months to go

Love <3 #branson

Here we are: six months to go till J & I say “I Do.”  Whew! TIme flies when you are having fun.
Trying on my WEDDING DRESS this afternoon. I'm so excited! #wedding #weddingdress #thebigday
I found my dress – that was a huge weight off my shoulders!  My dress is absolutely perfect, in every way.

Here are a few tips that I’ve discovered along this wedding planning process:

– check your budget.  It’s very, very important to stay on top of your budget. Buying wedding gifts, favors, and little things here & there can really do a number on your budget.  You think you are a-okay and in the green, but then as you get closer to the big day and final payments are due then you might shock yourself.

– prepare your rehearsal dinner. I have the venue booked for our rehearsal dinner and a menu in mind, but it’s time to start narrowing down your guest list. If you’re wedding plans are similar to ours then a small, imitate dinner is all you’re looking for.  Our venue is a room at an event center where we can come and go easily.  It’s small enough that we are envisioning a room full of family and future family sharing stories, laughing, and eating some good food.

– block hotel rooms.  J had one task that he made his own. I had no input in which hotel he blocked, I just wanted to make sure that we had a room.  I have to admit – he did good!  We have one of the nicest hotels in Springfield reserved with a shuttle for our guests so no one will have too much to drink and no way to get back to their room.

We are still working on finding an officiant.  It’s next on our list and will be done ASAP! It’s making me a little nervous that we don’t have someone booked yet, but can have everything fall into place perfectly.  So far, I will not complain about how smooth the wedding plans are going.

Cheers!

Engagement Shots

459375_10151914636059698_273744153_o Not too long ago J & met with our wonderful photographer, David Coleman to shoot our engagement session.  It was a beautiful day between the rain in snow a few weeks ago.   J will probably never admit to how much fun it was walking around a hospital park with our crazy mutts in tow and me in heels, but I’m pretty sure he loved every second of it – I know I did!459105_10151914635824698_1567263657_o I love, love, love our photos.  459275_10151914635834698_1922401213_o 902792_10151914635839698_4016160_o

Check out the rest of our amazing pics at DColeman’s blog here.

I mean l-o-v-e, love.

Cheers!

How To Rank What’s Important At Your Wedding

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photo credit

Earlier this week I posted about how J and I are budgeting for our wedding (check it out here).  I mentioned prioritizing what is important to both of you for your wedding.  J and I both had different ideas of what was important, so we had to come together in agreement.

I have some tips on how to rank what is important to you:

Tip 1: Have both of you come up with a list or an idea of what you want your day to look like.  Then once you have an idea, talk about it with each other.  See which parts match up and make those a high priority.

Tip 2: Discuss the differences.  When J and I were talking about photos of us as a married couple we realized that we had a problem.  You see, I wanted to see each other before the wedding to take our pictures.  I figured it would save time between the ceremony and reception so that we could have the ceremony later in the day and a shorter reception.  However, it was important to J that he not see me until I was walking down the aisle.  After discussing our views for a while, I finally realized just how important it was to him.  So, now we have bumped our wedding time up and added a cocktail hour so that we can have pictures taken after the ceremony.  We understand that taking pictures after the ceremony is going to increase our budget because we will be having a cocktail hour, but it was great to learn what was important to him and listening.

Tip 3: Don’t get emotional when talking about it.  I am one that can go from 0 to 90 in less than two seconds when it comes to discussing a topic.  J is really good about calming me down and making me breath.  So, just remember that the two of you are just having a conversation and nothing is set in stone at that moment.  If you need to walk away and think about it for a day, that’s okay.

So, sit down with your future spouse and discuss what matters most to you.  Remember this is your day, so make it what you want.

Cheers,

Mere

I said “Yes!”

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It’s official, J and I are engaged!

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I still get a big, goofy smile on my face when I say that sentence. I have been in la-la land planning, dreaming the perfect wedding.

I hope to share ideas and DIY projects that we will be incorporating into our wedding.  So far, I’ve ordered a few items from Etsy.  A lovely save-the-date sign from ArmyMOMOfTwins for our engagement photo session and because her signs were just too hard to pass up I also ordered a Mr. and Mrs. sign for our reception chairs.  Check out the save-the-date sign here and the reception chair signs here.

I had a hard time deciding which projects that I wanted to make myself and which ones I would order from Etsy or have someone else do.  I finally reached a decision maker that was too hard to argue with… If it is going to cost more to get the materials needed to make it than it would to purchase (including shipping costs) than I would order it.  It was simple money-saving tactics that persuaded me.  I don’t need a bunch of paint, ribbon, and other items that I will not use for another project.

I hope to share my projects, ideas, and final outcomes throughout the planning process.  We have about 9 months till the wedding, so I have some work cut out for me.

Cheers,

Mere

photo credit