I apologize for my absence on here over the past week. I'm currently dealing with some computer issues. I'm hoping to have them resolved by the end of the week. Regular blog posts will return next week!
Have a wonderful week!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Wedding Checklist: 9 to 12 Months
Hi Everyone! As you know, I have a series of posts on here that go into detail about things you should consider when planning certain aspects of your wedding day. Surprisingly enough, it is aptly named Things to Consider. With this post, I am starting another series of posts. As you can probably tell from the title, these posts will provide you with a detailed list of things you should aim to accomplish within the given time frame.
Keep in mind that the list you will find below can be tweaked to fit your own needs. Some of these things could possibly be postponed until the 6 to 9 month checklist; however, other items should most definitely be done as soon as possible. So without further adieu, here is the 9 to 12 month checklist!
ÿ Tell your family and friends that you’re engaged!
ÿ Choose what type of wedding you want (formal, semi-formal, informal; which season)
ÿ Set your wedding budget and hash out who will contribute
ÿ Start a wedding binder (This will help you keep all of your information in order while planning)
ÿ Visit, choose, and book your ceremony and reception sites
ÿ Set the date
ÿ Pick a photographer/videographer (if having one)
ÿ Have your engagement pictures taken
ÿ Start shopping for your wedding dress
ÿ Begin putting together your guest list
ÿ Arrange for both sets of parents to get together (if they haven’t met yet)
ÿ Sign up for pre-marital counseling if it is required
ÿ Announce your engagement in your local newspaper
ÿ Choose your bridal party
ÿ Set up the first meeting with your minister, priest, or rabbi
ÿ Throw an engagement party (if having one) and write thank you notes for gifts you received at the engagement party
ÿ Create a gift log for all wedding-related presents
ÿ Insert the names of vendors and their contact information into a master contact list
ÿ Begin registering for gifts
ÿ Interview, choose, and sign with your catering company; begin working on your menu (Some reception venues may already have a caterer they are contracted with)
ÿ Choose ceremony musicians and make musical selections
ÿ Book reception band or DJ, sign the contract and send a deposit
ÿ Determine the theme/decorations for your reception
ÿ Research, interview, and select your florist
As always, if you have any questions or comments about this post, please leave a comment below!
Happy planning and have a great day!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Things to Consider: Choosing a Photographer
While all aspects of your wedding are important, one of the most important parts of your big day is your photographer. This person will be capturing all of the significant moments of your day that you will look back upon in your photo albums time and time again. That being said, I feel that it is critical that you thoroughly research photographers that are available in your area to ensure that you select someone that will take beautiful pictures on your wedding day.
When my fiancé and I began looking for photographers we started by perusing wedding photos of our friends that were posted on facebook. If we saw pictures we liked, we asked the couple who they had do their photography. In addition to this method, I researched the company that took my senior pictures a few years back. My family was very pleased with their work back then, so they quickly went to the top of our list for the wedding. I also used theknot.com as a resource. If you have not checked out The Knot yet, I would highly recommend that you do. It provides you with a plethora of information about every aspect of your wedding, and it allows you to search for vendors in your specific state.
After doing thorough research, we decided to go with the company that did my senior pictures. We selected them not only because of their fantastic work, but because they are extremely nice and easy to work with, the packages they offered included an engagement session (some places don’t offer this), and they offered a package that included two photographers and all day wedding coverage. This was important to us because often times many things are happening at once during a wedding, and by having two photographers, they would be able to capture all of the candid moments and posed photography. We also wanted a full day of wedding coverage so that we had pictures of the bridal party getting ready, dancing up a storm on the dance floor, and any other special moments that happened throughout the day.
I strongly urge every bride and groom to consider booking a photographer that offers two individuals that will snap pictures during the day. Brides and grooms should also think about paying for all day wedding photography coverage. After all, the photographs from your wedding day will be your most valued keepsake. You will be able to reminisce about what a fabulous day it was by looking through your photo albums and, of course, show them off to family and friends.
Do you have any tips or suggestions when it comes to selecting a photographer?
If you have any questions regarding photography for your wedding, please feel free to leave a comment below.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Bridesmaid Duties
Being asked to be a bridesmaid for a friend or family member is quite an honor, so naturally when my best friend from college asked me last February if I would be a co-maid of honor in her wedding on January 7th, I said yes. This was my first time being a bridesmaid, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. My helpful hint to any bridesmaid, experienced or a newbie, is to ask the bride what you can help her out with to make her job easier. Some brides may want her bridesmaids to go with her to check out venues, pick out her wedding dress, help create favors, etc. Other brides may by okay with planning their big day without any help from their wedding party. However, if you make it known that you are willing to help, it will help ease the bride’s mind, especially as her wedding day approaches.
My friend’s wedding was a little different than most. She currently lives out of state with her now husband, so she was not around to have a bridal shower or bachelorette party. She also did not really want to have a shower or a party. Since my friend did not have either one, that really lessened all of our duties for the wedding.
Typically, most brides will have at least one shower and a bachelorette party with their bridesmaids and their close family and friends. As you probably already know, it is usually the maid of honor’s job to plan the bachelorette party for the bride. The bridal party may also be asked to plan the wedding shower, but sometimes this is also put on by a family member. If the bachelorette party or bridal shower becomes your responsibility to plan, be sure to check with the bride to see what she ideally would like for each of these events. After all, both parties are to celebrate her, so her personality and interests should be taken into consideration when planning.
For my friend’s wedding, the wedding party got together the Friday before her big day to spend the evening together. We spent time catching up, going to dinner, decorating her ceremony/reception site, and having a sleepover in a hotel. The next morning we woke up and proceeded to get ready for the day. She had a family friend come to do all of our hair and makeup. Once that was done we headed out for the ceremony/reception site and ate lunch with the rest of the bridal party and family members. After we finished up with lunch, we got dressed and had our rehearsal for the ceremony (While this is not ideal, it worked in her situation). We then had pictures and prepared for the ceremony to begin. The ceremony flew by, and then all bridesmaids helped to get stuff in order for the reception. At this point our duties began to wane. The only things that I was asked to do from that point on was to take money for the dollar dance with the bride and make sure my friend had her toss bouquet at the right time. The dollar dance may have been my favorite part because the groomsman, who was taking the money for the groom, and I were competing against each other to see who could get the most money.
Overall, my experience being a bridesmaid was a great one! If you should get the opportunity to be a bridesmaid for one of your friends, I would highly recommend doing so.
Do you have any interesting experiences being a bridesmaid or have insight to share with me or any of my readers? Leave a comment below, and I will get back to you as soon as possible!
My friend’s wedding was a little different than most. She currently lives out of state with her now husband, so she was not around to have a bridal shower or bachelorette party. She also did not really want to have a shower or a party. Since my friend did not have either one, that really lessened all of our duties for the wedding.
Typically, most brides will have at least one shower and a bachelorette party with their bridesmaids and their close family and friends. As you probably already know, it is usually the maid of honor’s job to plan the bachelorette party for the bride. The bridal party may also be asked to plan the wedding shower, but sometimes this is also put on by a family member. If the bachelorette party or bridal shower becomes your responsibility to plan, be sure to check with the bride to see what she ideally would like for each of these events. After all, both parties are to celebrate her, so her personality and interests should be taken into consideration when planning.
For my friend’s wedding, the wedding party got together the Friday before her big day to spend the evening together. We spent time catching up, going to dinner, decorating her ceremony/reception site, and having a sleepover in a hotel. The next morning we woke up and proceeded to get ready for the day. She had a family friend come to do all of our hair and makeup. Once that was done we headed out for the ceremony/reception site and ate lunch with the rest of the bridal party and family members. After we finished up with lunch, we got dressed and had our rehearsal for the ceremony (While this is not ideal, it worked in her situation). We then had pictures and prepared for the ceremony to begin. The ceremony flew by, and then all bridesmaids helped to get stuff in order for the reception. At this point our duties began to wane. The only things that I was asked to do from that point on was to take money for the dollar dance with the bride and make sure my friend had her toss bouquet at the right time. The dollar dance may have been my favorite part because the groomsman, who was taking the money for the groom, and I were competing against each other to see who could get the most money.
Overall, my experience being a bridesmaid was a great one! If you should get the opportunity to be a bridesmaid for one of your friends, I would highly recommend doing so.
Do you have any interesting experiences being a bridesmaid or have insight to share with me or any of my readers? Leave a comment below, and I will get back to you as soon as possible!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Things to Consider: Setting a Date
“Have you set a date yet?” As I mentioned in my “First Things First” post, this is the question you will encounter the most after becoming engaged. While it is crucial to set your date soon after you become engaged, it should not be the first thing you do. My suggestion is to find both a reception venue and ceremony location that you and your fiancé love first. That way you two won’t commit to a date only to realize that the reception venue or ceremony location you really want for your wedding day isn’t available on the date you chose.
The next thing you should consider when setting your wedding date is what time of the year you and your fiancé would like to get married. This is something some people have strong feelings about based on their occupation, favorite season, local weather, health, etc. For instance, I always knew that I wanted to get married during the summer due to the fact that I am a teacher. Not only is summer my favorite time of the year, but it also allows for me to have plenty of time for last minute planning. I also knew that I wanted to be able to honeymoon shortly after my wedding, which wouldn’t be an option if I was married during the school year. Another aspect that could come into play is the bride or groom’s favorite season. If the bride or groom has always loved a particular season and both parties are okay with marrying during those months, you can narrow your possible wedding dates down quite easily. Local weather can also impact your decision of when to wed. If you are from a region that gets snow in the winter months, and you are not a fan of snow, it’s probably best if you stick to months that typically do not have snow in your state. Finally, health issues may cause you to strategically set your wedding date. In our case, my fiancé and I both typically have bad allergies in June, so we knew that a June wedding probably wouldn’t be ideal. This led us to looking strictly at July dates for our big day. Remember to discuss all of these things with your fiancé prior to setting anything in stone.
Additionally, when setting your wedding date you should consider holidays, birthdays, or other special days that may coincide with your big day. Weddings on or coinciding with holidays are a big topic of debate in the wedding world. Some people don’t mind the idea of a wedding being on or close to a holiday; others are completely opposed to the idea. I believe it’s a matter of personal preference. As the bride and groom, it should be your decision whether or not you will have your big day on or coinciding with a holiday. Since I am getting married on July 7th of this year, I feel I can speak to this topic quite nicely. My thought process was as follows:
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them as comments below, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Have a wonderful day!
The next thing you should consider when setting your wedding date is what time of the year you and your fiancé would like to get married. This is something some people have strong feelings about based on their occupation, favorite season, local weather, health, etc. For instance, I always knew that I wanted to get married during the summer due to the fact that I am a teacher. Not only is summer my favorite time of the year, but it also allows for me to have plenty of time for last minute planning. I also knew that I wanted to be able to honeymoon shortly after my wedding, which wouldn’t be an option if I was married during the school year. Another aspect that could come into play is the bride or groom’s favorite season. If the bride or groom has always loved a particular season and both parties are okay with marrying during those months, you can narrow your possible wedding dates down quite easily. Local weather can also impact your decision of when to wed. If you are from a region that gets snow in the winter months, and you are not a fan of snow, it’s probably best if you stick to months that typically do not have snow in your state. Finally, health issues may cause you to strategically set your wedding date. In our case, my fiancé and I both typically have bad allergies in June, so we knew that a June wedding probably wouldn’t be ideal. This led us to looking strictly at July dates for our big day. Remember to discuss all of these things with your fiancé prior to setting anything in stone.
Additionally, when setting your wedding date you should consider holidays, birthdays, or other special days that may coincide with your big day. Weddings on or coinciding with holidays are a big topic of debate in the wedding world. Some people don’t mind the idea of a wedding being on or close to a holiday; others are completely opposed to the idea. I believe it’s a matter of personal preference. As the bride and groom, it should be your decision whether or not you will have your big day on or coinciding with a holiday. Since I am getting married on July 7th of this year, I feel I can speak to this topic quite nicely. My thought process was as follows:
- We have two dates we can get married in July.
- Out of these two dates, we like July 7th the best.
- We realize the 7th is close to July 4th, and some people may have standing plans for that weekend.
- However, the people that we love and care about and want to be at the wedding will be there.
It was as simple as that for us. Of course, your situation may be different. You may also want to consider birthdays or other special days, like anniversaries, when setting your wedding date. Depending on your perspective, birthdays or anniversaries may or may not play a role in when you set your date. Just make sure that whatever date you and your fiancé select is the date you truly want. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them as comments below, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Have a wonderful day!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
My 2012 Resolutions
Happy New Year everyone! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and were able to spend quality time with your loved ones. I also hope that 2012 has been good to you so far! I wanted to start the New Year off on a good foot with my blog, and I thought what better way to do so than to post a few of my resolutions for the New Year.
· Keeping on top of my blog. When I originally started my blog, I did not envision my long-term sub job falling into my lap. Needless to say, work kept me quiet busy. Thankfully, my long-term placement is over now, so I can get back to blogging on a fairly regular basis. My resolution for the New Year is to blog two to three times a week. While I fully intend on blogging about wedding related topics, I may also include posts about home ownership/housekeeping, work, and life in general.
· Drink more water! This is something that I have been striving to do for quite some time. I even completely kicked the habit of drinking pop for a few months while in college. However, it is easy to get off track. My plan is to use my refillable water bottle (32 oz) everyday, and I want to drink two or three bottles worth of water a day. Hopefully in time I will be able to slowly wean myself off of pop. I’m never going to completely deprive myself of soda, but limiting my intake is better for my health.
· Work-out consistently & eat healthy. Now that 2012 is here, I am planning on buckling down and committing myself to living a healthier lifestyle. Over the summer, I began working out 4 or 5 times a week and eating healthier. Unfortunately once the school year started, it began to effect my usual workout time. I have resolved to work out once again 4 or 5 times a week despite my rather unpredictable work schedule. Not only will this help get me in shape for my wedding, but this will also help me to improve many other areas of my life.
I’m very excited to start 2012 off on the right foot! This year is going to be fantastic in so many ways! As I texted my friend last night who is also getting married this year, “This is the year we trade our Ms. for Mrs.!” Thank you for taking the time to read through my resolutions for 2012. Do you have any resolutions you are hoping to accomplish this year?
Saturday, October 8, 2011
A Mini Update
Hi Everyone!
My apologies for being absent on here for a while. It was completely not my intention. My life has gotten a little hectic over the past two or so weeks. I went from being a short-term sub to having a long-term sub placement. This has resulted in me trying my best to prepare myself for when my job starts, which could be any day now (I'm going to be filling in for a teacher when she is on maternity leave). My fiancé and I have also been busy with landscaping changes at our house. Of course, I have also been hard at work ironing out details for our wedding. Please bear with me as I do my best to get back on track with blog posts.
My apologies for being absent on here for a while. It was completely not my intention. My life has gotten a little hectic over the past two or so weeks. I went from being a short-term sub to having a long-term sub placement. This has resulted in me trying my best to prepare myself for when my job starts, which could be any day now (I'm going to be filling in for a teacher when she is on maternity leave). My fiancé and I have also been busy with landscaping changes at our house. Of course, I have also been hard at work ironing out details for our wedding. Please bear with me as I do my best to get back on track with blog posts.
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