I just counted and we are three months and eleven days away from the marriage day. My how time does fly. Honestly this year has been a blur…what happened to 2008?
From time to time Jürgen and I both like to reference various wedding checklists to keep the wedding planning on track and stress free. This morning I cross-referenced two checklists to see how we are doing. Here is what I found:
The Real Simple wedding guide suggests the following actions should be taken at the 4-month mark:
--Book the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner venues. If you're planning a day after brunch book that place as well: Done, Done, and maybe done? We are having a day after brunch but I need to send an e-mail to the host to see where we are at on that.
--Check on the wedding invitations: Done, and have been for MONTHS! (go team go!)
--Select and order the cake: Done
--Send your guest list to the host of your shower: Done
--Purchase shoes and start dress fittings: Oh my heart sinks looking at this. I must find shoes but wherever will I find the right ones? Will shoe shop this weekend, with mom. I will call the tailor recommended to me by a friend today to set up a time for next week.
--Schedule hair and make-up artists. Make a few trial appointments: I have a hair trial set up for this Sunday, however I need to secure the hair and make-up artists for the wedding. Will do this today (god bless my easy day job).
--Choose Songs. What do you want playing when the wedding party is introduced? What should play during dinner?: Done! We sent our list of what to and what not to play in last week. Since there will not be a sit down dinner there is no worry of what to play and, hate to say it, the wedding party will not get an introduction (sorry guys!).
--Plan welcome baskets for guests, if desired: I do desire this! Mom and I have come up with some good ideas but we need to finalize everything. It's on our list to tackle while I am home this weekend.
Theknot.com suggests I should accomplish these tasks between today and October 23rd:
-Book ceremony Musicians and send deposit: Not done. I did fax in the music form to the director of music yesterday. Awaiting reply.
-Finalize menu and service details with caterer: Not done yet. We have another tasting on October 20th, so it is highly unlikely all will be settled by the 23rd. However I a not worried about this.
-Research and purchase wedding insurance, if necessary: What?!?!?! I will research. Clearly this was not on my mind. I have a feeling I will deem it "unnecessary."
-Brides: Buy special lingerie if your gown requires, in time for first fitting: Hmmmm…nope don't think it does
-Confirm Delivery date of Bridesmaid Dress orders: Will give Rebecca's a call today.
-Start taking better care of yourself (eat right, exercise) so you look and feel great on your wedding day: We both exercised yesterday! However we followed our workout with hamburgers and fries…not so good?
-Talk to people you want to do special performances or readings: Halfway done, I have asked one of our readers. Jürg needs to ask the other. Jürgen…get on it!
-Arrange for all insurance policies to include you and your future spouse: health, auto, homeowners and life insurance: That all sounds incredibly boring but necessary. Will figure out how to do this.
-Send wedding bands out to be engraved: Paying for the wedding bands this weekend (while I am in Louisville). Will send them to be engraved then.
-Grooms: Choose and buy any accessories you will need: Done I think. Jürg bought his tie and the rest will be included with the tux rental. Will check with him on this.
In total: 18 tasks on the list
7 totally done
7 almost/halfway done
4 to DO!
Not bad. Let the crossing off begin!
Showing posts with label Wedding planning Tools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wedding planning Tools. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
What’s the point of a Blürg and thoughts on planning a wedding (part 1)
When I think back on it I am not entirely sure how we came up with the idea of keeping a wedding blog (henceforth called a Blürg). I am pretty sure it was my idea, but that is neither here nor there. I suppose we both liked the idea of being able to keep friends and family both near and far updated on what we are doing, both in life and in terms of planning the wedding. I hope everyone out there (and it may only be my mom who actually reads this) is enjoying it so far. So what is the point? To use the wonders of the world wide web to spin us all into the same world in cyberspace, Blürg's world! Thank you for visiting.
The wedding:
We are four months and 7 days away (I think I counted right….) and so far no fatalities or serious injuries have occurred in the planning of it. I am actually surprised at how easy it has been and for the most part, stress free. I have been reflecting on why this unlikely state of calm has transpired for the past six and a half months and I have come up with some conclusions. They are:
1) The real simple wedding guide: Available at your local bookstore, I have found this book (more like a thick magazine) to be amazingly, well…simple. It avoids being over superfluous and "frilly" and cuts to the chase. It breaks down each month before the wedding and what you should be concentrating on, and the pictures are beautiful. I recommend it to any couple planning their own wedding. It really has everything you need.
2) GoogleDocs®: Have you heard of googledocs? Have you used them? They are amazing. I love google! A googledoc is similar to an excel spreadsheet but it is stored online. This means you can share it with others and they too can view it and/or make changes to it from their personal computers. We have spreadsheets set up for many different aspects of the Big Day: the ceremony, the reception, hotels/ transportation, attire, the rehearsal dinner and the best part…the guest list. It's all online. If my mom needs to contact someone at the reception site, the contact info is there, if I need to double check on the address for one of our guests, it's there. I'm telling you, it's worth looking into.
3) A DIY Wedding Binder: I impulsively purchased a pre-made binder (looking oddly similar to the photo above) from Borders months and months ago and quickly felt the pangs of buyers remorse. Not only was it kind of cheesy, but I didn't like the way they categorized certain sections, oftentimes the folders wouldn't hold standard 8x10 documents and I just didn't enjoy being slave to someone else's preconceived notion of how a wedding binder should "be." So I created my own and I must say I am very pleased with it. At present I have sections for: the ceremony, the reception, the catering, the band, the hotels, the florist, the transportation, the honeymoon, and the photography. More will be added I am sure and perhaps I will post a photo of it. Regardless of whether or not you choose to make your own or buy a pre-made one, I highly recommend having some sort of wedding binder. It keeps you sane and vendors love it when you appear organized. You are a "good bride" in their eyes.
4) Going with your gut: Quite possibly the most important piece of advice I could pass on to anyone planning a wedding. If you are truly honest with yourself I think you would agree that you usually like something the first time you see/hear/touch it. Trust that feeling. My dad always said that about trying on shoes "you know if you like how they feel in the first ten seconds." I see his point, but shoes are an exception as sometimes those cute polka dotted mary-jane heels just need to be broken in a bit, or your foot needs to shrink. However I echo his sentiment when it comes to choosing wedding elements- like the reception venue, the invitations, and yes even the dress. I will go more info to detail about this in part two. Until then, brides and their mothers everywere, trust yourself, you know best.
The wedding:
We are four months and 7 days away (I think I counted right….) and so far no fatalities or serious injuries have occurred in the planning of it. I am actually surprised at how easy it has been and for the most part, stress free. I have been reflecting on why this unlikely state of calm has transpired for the past six and a half months and I have come up with some conclusions. They are:
1) The real simple wedding guide: Available at your local bookstore, I have found this book (more like a thick magazine) to be amazingly, well…simple. It avoids being over superfluous and "frilly" and cuts to the chase. It breaks down each month before the wedding and what you should be concentrating on, and the pictures are beautiful. I recommend it to any couple planning their own wedding. It really has everything you need.
2) GoogleDocs®: Have you heard of googledocs? Have you used them? They are amazing. I love google! A googledoc is similar to an excel spreadsheet but it is stored online. This means you can share it with others and they too can view it and/or make changes to it from their personal computers. We have spreadsheets set up for many different aspects of the Big Day: the ceremony, the reception, hotels/ transportation, attire, the rehearsal dinner and the best part…the guest list. It's all online. If my mom needs to contact someone at the reception site, the contact info is there, if I need to double check on the address for one of our guests, it's there. I'm telling you, it's worth looking into.
3) A DIY Wedding Binder: I impulsively purchased a pre-made binder (looking oddly similar to the photo above) from Borders months and months ago and quickly felt the pangs of buyers remorse. Not only was it kind of cheesy, but I didn't like the way they categorized certain sections, oftentimes the folders wouldn't hold standard 8x10 documents and I just didn't enjoy being slave to someone else's preconceived notion of how a wedding binder should "be." So I created my own and I must say I am very pleased with it. At present I have sections for: the ceremony, the reception, the catering, the band, the hotels, the florist, the transportation, the honeymoon, and the photography. More will be added I am sure and perhaps I will post a photo of it. Regardless of whether or not you choose to make your own or buy a pre-made one, I highly recommend having some sort of wedding binder. It keeps you sane and vendors love it when you appear organized. You are a "good bride" in their eyes.4) Going with your gut: Quite possibly the most important piece of advice I could pass on to anyone planning a wedding. If you are truly honest with yourself I think you would agree that you usually like something the first time you see/hear/touch it. Trust that feeling. My dad always said that about trying on shoes "you know if you like how they feel in the first ten seconds." I see his point, but shoes are an exception as sometimes those cute polka dotted mary-jane heels just need to be broken in a bit, or your foot needs to shrink. However I echo his sentiment when it comes to choosing wedding elements- like the reception venue, the invitations, and yes even the dress. I will go more info to detail about this in part two. Until then, brides and their mothers everywere, trust yourself, you know best.
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