Tomorrow Kiss My Tulle will have been engaged one month (well, we will have been proposed to for one month and engaged for one day less because some of us cannot seem to pony up and say “yes” without a 24 hour turn around).
As of right now, we have one year and 3 months before our wedding. That looks like soooo much time – but, as past brides have been ominously warning me, not nearly enough.
Apparently, I need to ignore those endless wedding countdown lists and just get stuff the hell done.
Good to know.
So, in the interest of keeping ya'll abreast (hee. dirty.) of our wedding planning – here's what I have done so far:
Picked out the engagement ring and my wedding band.
Got the full-value appraisal and filed with The Boy's homeowner's insurance (what up, USAA!).
Also, got information (and estimates) on what to buy for The Boy's “I can't wear metal because I'm a high-voltage electrician” wedding band.
Selected a wedding date.
I wanted late April or early May but ended up with May 26, 2012 (the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend).
This is entirely due to dire suggestions from native Texans that any earlier would result in a ceremony held during a monsoon.
Also, we have so many kids/college students coming to this wedding that we had to schedule around no less than eight different school schedules (and one graduation).
Attended a Wedding Fair
One happened right after I got engaged so my best friend (and Matron of Honor) went with me.
I really didn't know what to expect but my goal was to book a photographer and scout some potential cake vendors.
In the end, I got my photographer + ended being really inspired by the ideas and photos there (and did a bit of networking for Kiss My Tulle).
Booked the photographer.
There were only a handful of things that I considered “Must Have” for our wedding – and a photographer was right at the top of the list.
I had a budget in mind but really wanted to stay on the low end of it. I also had a very specific type of photography in mind for our wedding (updated traditional mixed with lots of photojournalism).
Luckily, I was able to click and connect with an amazing photographer (who has a Fine Arts degree in Digital Media + an Associated Press award for her work as a newspaper photographer) at the Wedding Fair and I booked her on the spot.
The contract has also been agreed upon and signed.
Selected the wedding party.
This was done within days of getting engaged – so many people were so excited for us and we wanted everyone to help us celebrate on our wedding day.
At last count we had: 1 Matron of Honor + 2 bridesmaids + 9 Junior Bridesmaids + 5 Flower Girls + 2 Ring Bearers + 1 Best Man + 2 Groomsmen + 1 Officiant + 1 Mother of the Bride Escort + 1 Bridal Escort.
I'm just finishing up a cute little DIY project (wedding party invites) and confirming that people can (and want to) be in the wedding party.
Picked the venue.
It will be here at our home – every vendor at the wedding fair almost died when I told them we were having a backyard wedding…
they all got frozen smiles on their faces and said “Oh! That's…[long pause] nice.”
Listen ya'll, our “backyard” is roughly three acres of Texas Hill Country and it [will be] lovely next May.
Ask my dad to officiate.
Texas is picky about who marries people but we're researching and think we have it all figured out.
My dad has performed many wedding ceremonies and I LOVE that he's going to do our.
Created a wedding planner.
I DIYed my own because everything out there was either really ugly or not comprehensive enough for me.
This binder has been a great asset to our wedding planning – highly recommended to every couple planning a wedding.
Picked our theme/colors.
The Boy has this one suit that I love. It has a blue shirt and tie and the entire wedding is being planned around this outfit. Seriously.
With my Matron of Honor's help, I decided to go with the blues and greens that coordinate with a peacock feather (so many variations!) + peony pink (my fave flower).
These colors should work great for a chic, outdoor, rustic-y garden wedding + the neighboring ranch has actual peacocks that sometimes wander over to our house (fingers crossed!).
Registered.
We only have two places so far (Target and Crate and Barrel) but people have already been asking so I'm really glad that we did it so soon.
The Target experience was a bit overwhelming but has lots of good stuff and the Crate and Barrel experience was AMAZING.
I'm also looking at several non-traditional registries to round out our needs and will nail those down later this month.
Phew. So, I've done lots in just one month and have plenty more planned to tackle during February.
How about you? What did you/do have planned to accomplish this month? How soon after getting engaged did you start planning the wedding?
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