YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED!!! I’m getting married too yayyy ! So now what do we do?!
Get married they said, it’ll be fun they said. Except, they forgot to say that there’s a lot of planning and unneccessary details that go into your wedding. And it IS fun, but what’s up with all these RULES! Who made up things like, wedding favors, a wedding theme, oh and do you know the color of your linens?! OH OH and will you need chafing sets?! Ummm what? I just want to wear a pretty dress and say I do to my best friend in front of everyone we love.
So incase you too are going through all of the details of wedding planning, here’s a little bride guide from me to you, as I navigate through all of this with you. From sorting out the to-do list, to prioritizing the following umpteen things that must get done. So deep breaths my pretty, here we go!
1. Create a website or landing page for your guests – we’re using Weebly but there are a ton of other web hosting sites, we just love that this one is FREE! This is a great place to put who, what, when, where, and how to get there for all of your friends and family members. Include accommodations (if you block out rooms they’ll get a discounted rate), shuttle or bus information if there’s any, schedule of events, where you’re registered for gifts, and a deadline for their RSVP
2. Send out Save The Dates – this part doesn’t make any sense to me. You’re sending guests a Save The Date WITH your wedding date on it, but then they need a formal invitation also . . . the rules part. We sent out Paperless Post save the dates and on them we included our wedding website and asked our guests to RSVP that way. I purchased ‘coins’ and sent it out after importing all of my guest’s emails- made it so easy! There’s also Evite and other places that you can send online invitations through. If you choose to have them printed, Minted and Paper Divas are great I’ve heard and won’t cost your first born!
3. Location, Venue, Food – oh and the DJ, centerpieces, wedding gown and accessories, bouquet, and other big ticket items to sort out. Once you’ve chosen your venue and location, set a day and time and get to planning baby! Don’t forget to ask your venue if they provide tables, chairs, linens, and a set up/ break down crew. Food options, open bar, centerpiece arrangements, and cake cutting fees are also some things you’ll want to confirm with your venue. If you get a ‘day of wedding coordinator’ than they’ll make sure you’re standing where you should be when you should be *ie when you’re dancing with your girls, champs in hand and it’s cake cutting time*. Otherwise, do what we’re doing and have your DJ keep the timeline.
4. Pictures, flowers, and things that get lost in the shuffle – like ordering wedding favors, picking out a cake topper, and making sure you order 2 sets of garters (one for throwing and one for a keepsake). All of these things you’ll get to as you go down your list of To Do’s but some things that could help you stay within budget are to DIY some easy things, and to research the hell out of everything.
- see if you can drop off vases and containers to your florist and just pay them to fill them with your floral arrangement choices. They’ll usually also credit you for this since they won’t need to use their own vessels
- shop around for shoes, accessories, gifts, and your veil. I ordered my veil from Melinda Rose Design (who also specializes in headpieces!) and she’ll send you samples of the veils so you can color match with your wedding gown. Pretty brilliant and for a fraction of what A LOT of veils will cost you. I love the ‘try before you buy’ option that she offers
- search sites like Luna Bazaar and Oriental Trading to order centerpieces, gift boxes, etc. They’re very reasonably priced and I guarantee whatever your shabby chic heart desires, they WILL have
- delegate responsibilities to your bridal shower, see above photo 😀 (and here’s fun ways to ask your best girls to be a part of your big day). They’re there to help you and to make sure your most special day goes as smoothly and stress free as possible. No one wants to be around bridezilla! LOL So recruit the help where you can
- if you’re planning your wedding in another city/ state/ country, it does help to create a mock table on your living room floor to get an idea of 1) how many people you want sitting at each table 2) how many pieces you’d like to have as your centerpiece 3) if you’re having favors and if you’ll place them at the table with your guests or not . . . Joe came home to see this (below photo) had taken over our living room and I was SERIOUS about picking out those damn centerpieces! haha
5. SET A BUDGET – okay okay this prolly should’ve been the #1 thing to do but honestly, we went over budget just in planning where we’re having our wedding so there’s that. Budgeting out your expenses does help to wrangle your ideas and keep priorities in order. If you go over on your dress than maybe order your shoes from DSW instead of Christian Louboutin 😉
At the end of the day, it’s going to be THE most special day and the love your life will be standing beside you, in the presence of everyone you love. None of those little details and stressors will matter, I promise. So just enjoy the magic of planning it all, take time to reassess what you want over what you need, and everything else is just decoration (thank you Pilar for that one!).
There are a ton of other tips and tricks I’d love to share with you but I’ll put them all together in another post, so stay tuned <3 I really hope these #JessBrideGuide posts and videos are helping you.
Have you used any of these resources already? Are there any other tips you have to share with us brides to be? Thank you in advance for the help!
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