Hello!

As promised (a LOOOONG time ago), today I’m (finally) starting my series about planning a wedding and giving you specifics on how my wedding happened. (Get ready to read!) 🙂

Today I’ll be focusing on getting your plan together and what specifics you should put at the top of your priority list.

ONE:

MAKE A BUDGET! THE most crucial thing you could do to plan for a wedding. Make a specific budget down to who is paying for what. If your future in-laws are up for pitching in, see what they can contribute or if they’d like to pay for a specific thing. Here are some of the main things you should budget for:

-Venue
-Chairs and tables, if not included in your venue’s pricing
-Bride’s dress
-Groom’s clothing
-Catering, including cakes and drinks!

TWO:

FIND A VENUE! No matter what time of year you get married, wedding venues fill up fast. If you’re getting married somewhere a little more unique like an old abandoned warehouse or an open field, I don’t think you should worry about it too much. Just contact the current owners of that property and ask them if it’d be alright if you used that space on a specific day.

When I was looking for venues (ahem, before I was even engaged) I knew what I wanted.
-Somewhere outdoor
-Garden-y
-Vintage feel

I suggest you make a list of the specifics you want. Outdoor or indoor? Field or industrial? Do they have a plan B if weather doesn’t cooperate outdoors? Are chairs and tables for the reception included? What are their policies on catering? Are the owners helpful and nice? (SUPER important.) What’s the PRICE?

THREE:

Get a timeline/checklist together. Organization is crucial in planning something this big, unless you have a planner. How long do you have to plan your wedding? Ideally everything should be in order a few weeks or a month or two before the date. I had a little over a year to plan. Here’s a timeline I used: (there are a TON on the internet).

-For the first 6-8 months I gathered tons of bridal magazines and found some awesome blogs I read every single day. (oncewed.com, ruffledblog.com) I made a binder of a lot of inspiration. Pictures of dresses, cakes, decorations, groom’s attire, bridesmaids looks, invitations, hair ideas, ceremony decorations blah blah blah. TIP* The most important thing you can do when planning is to look outside the box. Don’t settle for what’s on the shelves at Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby. Explore Etsy, browse blogs! Keep your eyes peeled wherever you are for inspiration. Your wedding DOES NOT have to look like the next girl’s. I really can’t stress this enough!

-Next, my mom and I started focusing on invitations. (These should ideally be mailed out 6-10 weeks before your date. If you send out save-the-dates they should be out before then and invites should go out several weeks later.) We scoured the internet from the beginning and looked at hundreds of designs. Only after the stress of all of this did I realize that my mom was a fantastic artist! (DUH. UTILIZE YOUR FAMILY!) I then came to her with about 5 or 6 looks and she combined them all and came up with this:

Next Posts: Clothing, Flowers, and Catering and beyoooooooooondddd….