Planing a Wedding...

emy4cats

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Where do I start???


I have been poking arround on the web and getting overwhelmed. Any tips on where to start??
 

sillyitiliangrl

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I started with finding a location and picking a color scheme
Then I found my DJ & photographer

Take your time and have fun with it, i reallymiss all the crazyness!!! There are a LOT of great planning sites out there, PM me and i'll share my faves and why.

Good luck and congrats!!
 

kittybernard

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Aren't you a lucky lady!
IMO, the very first step - not to mention the most important step! - is to be organized. This step must be repeated along with every step thereafter!
It's a huge sanity saver.
So you'll need a binder to seperate and order everything. Assuming you don't have one already, there are a lot of great wedding binders you can buy to help guide you through every step! 'The Complete Wedding Planner & Organizer' by Elizabeth Lluch seems to be a really nice one!

And remember to have fun!!
 

capt_jordi

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Congrats!
While I'm still not married I will second the binder! They are a big help with anything that involves organization!

but also remember:
Your wedding is about YOU and YOUR FIANCE!Dont try to make everyone else happy! Just make yourselves happy! If not you will make yourself very stressed out and not have fun!
 

catlover19

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The first thing you need to think of is when you would like to get married. Try to pick an approximate date if you don't have a specific day you want. Our date changed about 5 times by the time we decided on one.

I started with buying a binder, dividers and folders that can go into the binder. I have a section for ceremony, reception, vendors and one with checklists and my guest list. I got information from everywhere I considered and put it in the appropriate section of the binder. As we decided where we were getting married, having the reception etc, I got rid of all the stuff I didn't need. I have 3 folders, one is for receipts and places I have booked, one is for cards and stuff I got at bridal shows and the other has my "registered at" cards from the stores we registered at.

I also went to quite a few bridal shows and they really helped.

The first actually did was decide where to have our reception. I found it a lot easier to plan the ceremony around the reception. We booked in May of 2008 for our wedding in July of 2009 and they only had 3 days left in summer of 2009 at that time. We wanted to have the ceremony and reception at the same place, but that didn't end up happening. After we had our reception hall booked, I looked for a place to have the ceremony. We found a presbyterian church that is really nice, only a few minutes from the hotel (where our reception is) and will let you bring your own minister.

After that, I contacted a friend who is a photographer, asked my cousin to make the cake, tried on and ordered my dress and the bridesmaids dresses, found a DJ, ordered our flowers and made and bottled our wine.

We did not have the money to get a limo, so we were trying to figure out what we could do for transportation that wouldn't be over $1,000. It turns out the pharmacy manager at the store I used to work at also owns a limo company. I saw him at a bridal show and he remembered me. He ended up giving me a really good deal on a limo.

Sorry this got kind of long. If you have any questions at all, pm me and I will be glad to help.
 

lil maggie

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I don't have anything to add but did want to say CONGRATS!

Well ok, just one thing - you need to get together with your fiancee and pick a date because that will determine most of your wedding plans. For instance, you don't want to use fall colors in the spring and some places are easier to book at certain times of the year.
OH, and don't forget about planning for your honeymoon !
 

emrldsky

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Nuh uh...might give me away!
Congratulations!!!!! Do you have a date picked out yet?

I just wanted to add that while the wedding is definitely about you and your fiance, please remember that you might want to consider your guests at the reception. For example, while you may really like some exoctic food, and you really want to have it at your reception, you might end up wasting money on those who don't care for it, and those guests would end up leaving hungry.

The way I saw it was this...the ceremony was ours, and we wanted our friends and family there to witness it. The reception was our guests', and we wanted to thank them for sharing our ceremony with us.

But no matter what, don't get lost in planning...you have lots of people on this board who would be willing to give you advice when you need it!!
 

zooy

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Picking a date is a great first step but sometimes that can't happen if your heart is set on a venue!
Next would be to set a budget, thats always a good start!
Congratulations!
 

katachtig

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Another important step is to determine your budget. This will drive the rest of your decisions. Something like this can grow exponentially and cause a lot of friction among everyone.

Also, as capt_jordi stated, Your wedding is about YOU and YOUR FIANCE!Dont try to make everyone else happy! Just make yourselves happy! If not you will make yourself very stressed out and not have fun!


Make it special day by concentrating on the relationships, not the material trappings. And don't make it into "the best day of my life". If something goes wrong, then you may dwell on having it ruined, instead of thinking that is the first day of many better days. And remember, the most memorable weddings are the ones that go imperfectly.
 

yam102284

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Congrats!
Have you picked a date?

The first thing I did was pick out the venue. For us, the date wasn't that important, but I did know I wanted a late spring early summer wedding. So we found the venue, and then we booked the date. Since we did this so early, we basically got our pick of the dates since no one else had booked anything. Our wedding is June 2010. I could have done the wedding for this year, but I didn't want to be rushed or stressed and wanted the vendors I loved. We booked the photographer after the venue, and we just mailed our contract and deposit for the DJ. So we're basically good to go for a few months. We just picked our color scheme too (orange and purple). We had to compromise on that one.

I also belong to a wedding forum, that is great for help with wedding planning. I've learned a lot from that for planning my own wedding. It's also great for ideas for colors, centerpieces, dress, etc.

If you need any other info. or have any questions, let me know!
 
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emy4cats

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Originally Posted by lil maggie

I don't have anything to add but did want to say CONGRATS!

Well ok, just one thing - you need to get together with your fiancee and pick a date because that will determine most of your wedding plans. For instance, you don't want to use fall colors in the spring and some places are easier to book at certain times of the year.
OH, and don't forget about planning for your honeymoon !
Honeymoon I wish! We are thinking next June or July so Jaiden will be 16months old. I don't think we are getting a honeymoon untill he is 5


My Mom is already getting to me. She wants us to do it this summer in their back yard..... I don't have a problem doing the recption in their yard to help save on cost, but I REALLY don't want to have the ceremony there. SHe is making me feel like I should get the ceremony that I want becasue I have a baby. So we should just get married and get it over with.

I really like the binder ideas! That will really help me stay organized(something I am not very good at
) I am pretty sure I know what I want my colors to be, but I will have to run it by Eric. I was looking at this check list on brides.com and it was a list of 150 things that need to be done to plan your wedding and I was overwhelmed.

Thank you all for your help its alot eaiser to start planning when you find a starting point!

Any one have an idea of how we should interduce are parents? We live in Seattle, his parents are in Alaska, and mine are in Cali...
 

kscatlady

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Remember, you can't please everyone! Just make sure you and your fiance are happy! That's what matters.
 

yam102284

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My mom is getting to me as well. A lot of people are. My mom has already told me she thinks the type of dress I like is ugly, that the shoe idea i want to wear is stupid, and our entrance to our reception is stupid (as does FH's mom and his aunt). And yes, she said it was stupid and the dress was ugly, her exact words. But it's our wedding. Yes, they are helping to pay for it, and the ceremony is mostly going to be traditional, but there are certain things that I won't do just to please her. I'm going to choose a dress I like, and I'm going to wear the shoes I want. And we are definitely using our entrance to the reception, regardless of what anyone says.

You just have to pick your battles, I guess. If you don't want the ceremony there, then don't have it there.

Originally Posted by kscatlady

Remember, you can't please everyone! Just make sure you and your fiance are happy! That's what matters.
Agreed. Do what you and your fiance wants.
 

snake_lady

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Like others have said, picking the date is one of the first things and figuring out where you want to have it (which sometimes picks the date for you)....our wedding, we had the ceremony at a water gardens and the reception at the community center. The date changed 3 times before we could get one that both were available. (this was approx. 1yr prior to our wedding).

Once you have the date, ask your Minister, bridesmaid, maid of honor, grooms men, and the like. This way they have plenty of time to mark it down and not have to be somewhere else.

Once that was sorted, we got the photographer. Photographers book up FAST, especially ones in high demand. Definately look 1yr in advance.

DJ, wedding dress, decorator 6-8mos in advance, hair and makeup approx 6mos in advance....

I don't know about cakes (we did our own thing)....but the above are things we did and pretty much the order we did them in


Congrats
 

cat.ling

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First off, Congratulations & Best Wishes!! LOL I was once told that the proper thing to say to brides-to-be was "Best Wishes" for settling on a man, while the groom gets "Congratulations" for finding such a wonderful woman.

I agree, it's so much easier when you just pick a point to start with, and definitely organizers are good. Myself, I used an accordion binder with 13 folders, one for each item: reception venue, ceremony venue, dresses, attire, makeup/hair, invitations, cake, music, etc.

But for the most part, depending on your type of wedding and your location, there are a million different ways to approach wedding planning. I've been through some pretty unique wedding planning situations. I planned my own wedding just last year (Dec. 28), and then I was bridesmaid for a friend just before that, and recently I planned a quick 1-week beach wedding for some friends of mine last month. So if you do procrastinate, it is possible to do a full out wedding in 1 week and on a budget (came out to under $3000).


Again, good luck and happy planning!! Always remember that it's about you and your fiance and you shouldn't be stressing out over it tooooo much.
 

trouts mom

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Pick a date.
Decide what type of wedding you want, how many guests, dinner or no..etc..
Search for a venue.

Then work your way through the list. I would recommend buying a wedding planning book.

Good luck!
 
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