Foodie Wedding Tips

LOVE this post from Green Wedding Shoes!!! Just engaged? Looking for where to start? Here's some visual inspiration... (REALLY, these are just a few of their tips. GO CHECK THIS OUT!)

Wedding Blog Addiction

As soon as I had that engagement ring on my finger, I was researching stalking wedding blogs at an alarmingly obsessive rate. Luckily for me, I hadn't discovered Pinterest yet, so the extent of my obsession was limited to the number of pics I could save to my desktop. (Don't worry, there's a point to this.) What I found after a few weeks of looking at every wedding posted on the web was that there were SO many great wedding ideas and there was NO way I'd be able to do them all. I became overwhelmed by the prospect of doing all these amazing things I HAD TO HAVE at my wedding.

The Point: Ignorance is bliss. After you've found your theme/inspiration, stick with it and let everything else go. This is especially true if you're a DIY bride. Find some great ideas, then pick your top 4 or 5, and let the others go. Believe me, your sanity is worth it!!!

The Countdown Has Begun!

Okay, folks! We're at 6 days and counting! We got our marriage ceritificate (yay!), finalized the head count, drafted the schedule of the day and the transport list! I've already begun sending "thank-yous" out and got my passport for the honeymoon!

This week is all about R&R!

Busy Bees!

Over the past two days, we've been VERY productive! We viewed and secured a ceremony/reception site, purchased Steve's suit coat and ordered his ring!

Tomorrow, the mother-in-laws meet and we'll discuss more of the details!!!!!

The Official Event Schedule

So, we've settled on the few important details:
Locations - Check!
Caterer - Check!
Flowers - We're planning on using potted plants as centerpieces, with a few bouquets here and there.
Dress - Check!
Shoes (very important!) - Check!

Instead of holding the ceremony at the reception site (or even nearby), we're going to have the best of both worlds! We're going to hit City Hall on Friday (celebrating the night away with a small group of friends and relatives), then having an early evening reception on Saturday. This way, we can extend the festivities and set up the reception site at our leisure Saturday morning. A nice, relaxed and fun wedding. A little traditional, a little non-conventional - like us.

Here's my rundown:

Planning - A Kink in the Knot

So, I've been engaged for almost a month now, and planning the wedding is absorbing all of my excess energy. The wedding isn't for another 18 months, but I'm feeling anxious to check things off my to-do list. Already, I've had my dress ordered and we're closing in on a venue. At this point, if I proceed with this much momentum, the wedding will be completely planned by this summer (unfortunately, the knotty fund will not have matured by then).

Speaking of a wedding budget, we sat down last night and hashed out an exact amount. To give ourselves some perspective, we used two resources:

1. The Knot has a budgeting tool. It asks for a total amount and number of guests, then distributes the money accordingly. The one thing I don't like about this tool is that it doesn't explain the distributions and some of them seem really unrealistic:

I really don't know if my 6'4" fiance can even rent a tux for $66.

2. We looked at what people are paying on CostHelper.com. This lists average prices for products and services gathered from various associations (like The Bridal Association of America or The National Association of Catering Executives). 

We jotted down the distributions from The Knot and compared them to the averages from Cost Helper, determining our own averages (while being mindful of where our comfort levels were). We then added up the totals for each area (reception, ceremony, music, attire, transportation, accommodation, gifts, etc.) and came up with a budget. 

Having seen a few venues already (and really enjoying one in particular), we found ourselves manipulating totals to accommodate our choice, which may cause more harm than good. The whole point of having a budget is to determine whether you can afford a product or service. I want to be able to tell a vendor how much their service or product exceeds the budget (if it does), in hopes that it might initiate some negotiation. On the other hand, if you determine that you want a venue despite its cost, you can then alter the other areas of your budget accordingly. 

I'm hoping that once our venue is locked in, I can relax a little.

The next things on my list include:
1. Picking a location for "Ladies' R&R" (in lieu of a Bachelorette party) - I'm thinking a spacious house, some wine tasting and spa treatment (maybe in-house massages, manis and pedis - I think I've seen that advertised)
2. Choosing a Save-the-Date and Invite template
3. Finding AMAZING "Carrie Bradshaw" shoes (Maybe that should be #1 on my list - what's more relaxing than shopping?)