FIRST THING I DID? ... stare at my ring. THEN...
Tell my best friend! It was late at night, we were ready to go out but yes, McKensey got the very first call. How I love her. Then my mom, then my dad!
SECOND THING I DID? ... stare at my ring. THEN...
Tell EVERYONE at the bar and on every social networking site! DUH.
THIRD THING I DID? okay... I kept staring at my ring the whole time...
THEN... I created the Pinterest page I have always wanted to create. Now I finally had a reason to! My dreams were about to come to life.
Here's how it went...
We took a tour of my Dream Wedding Venue's elaborate ballrooms, amazing [package included] over the top décor, delicious looking menu options, champagne, bridal suite, with grand chandeliers and cathedral ceilings, a 100 person dance floor... It seriously was the whole nine-ten-eleven yards. I could go on and on about the brilliance of the place. Well, folks that was my FIRST mistake...
Tip #1
Do NOT go to the most expensive venue in the tri-cities for your FIRST wedding experience & talk to the most elaborate-minded-richy-snob in the universe to plan the wedding.
After we left there reality really set in that we were on a tight budget. Over $8,000 for a reception was over the top expensive. We finally explored other options and my dreams were starting to fade of having a big ballroom wedding with a million and one [well, 250] guests. Oh, well cuts had to be made.
Tip #2
Talk to your family BEFORE going on a tour of a venue. See who is contributing, what they're contributing and when! This helps so much in deciding on a venue. Let me tell ya, weddings are not cheap and it's best to know ahead of time so you don't look like a fool not returning the 100 emails and phone calls from the elaborate-minded-richy-snob from that dream wedding venue of yours.
So, we toured another place... a little further down the road and attached to a ... bowling alley?! Sounds horrible, but it's really not that bad. Actually, its quite nice. We walked in and met with the most incredibly nice woman ever! We sat down, went over the catering, the alcohol, the guest list, the DJ options, the décor, the size of the place, etc. A little bit into the conversation we were set. We took a tour of the "ballroom" and I was convinced. I knew I could make it into the wedding of my dreams with a little glitter, and decorations I was good to go!
Tip #3
If you meet a wedding coordinator at the venue and they offer to throw things in for free, take it! She seriously saved us over 100 dollars. Hey, every dime counts when you're on a budget.
We finally had our reception venue. We were happy with our decision and we cannot wait to decorate it to make it look like we want it to!
On to the ceremony. Daniel and I are not church people. I don't mean to offend when I say it like that but, what I mean is we don't go to church all the time and we didn't want a big church wedding. We wanted something small, middle of nowhere, big windows, trees, snow... Oh, did I mention I have always wanted a winter-wonderland wedding? So, our wedding is in December. December 21st was my date that I wanted so badly. Of course, the wedding ceremony venue that we wanted was not open that day due to being so close to the Holidays. So, we went with December 7th. Good enough, after all it's just a date right? So, we chose a ceremony out in the wooded area, with BIG floor to ceiling windows, a cathedral ceiling and beautiful views of the snow covered trees. [Well, that's if there is snow. Keeping my fingers crossed!] PS, know anyone with a snow machine? I am so dead serious!
Tip #4
Pick your wedding date before choosing your venues! Many places will offer deals for having your wedding in the "off season". This will really help with your budget.
We had the ceremony down, the reception down and now off to figuring out the guest list, budget, décor, gifts, bridal party... etc.
Tip #5
Pick your bridal party FIRST and foremost. This helps ease the minds of your friends when you are with everyone talking about the wedding! Trust me, you will have every.single.one.of.your,gosh.darn.friends.aquaintances.exboyfriendgirlfriendscousinsbrotherinlawssistersmother. ask to be in your wedding party. Just pick your damn wedding party before this chaos kicks in [and, seriously don't feel bad when you pick your party and then all of those said chaotic people try to ask you politely, drunkly, passionately, lovingly orrrrrr... even honestly to be in it and you say, No sorry, picked them already! They'll get over it].
We realized soon after all of this that money is a big issue. We didn't want to be those people that asked everyone for money. So,
Tip #6
Stay organized! Keep adding to this binder whenever and wherever you go. Keep a notes file in your iPhone, a notebook in your purse, and the binder in s SAFE place. [Let me tell ya, I left it at Michael's one time and thank-goodness the cashier saw it in the cart while closing the store]. That binder will be your lifeline and should go with you every time you go talk to someone that is involved in the wedding i.e; the cake lady, the reception lady, the photographer, etc. Print off any pictures from google, pinterest [don't even get me started on pinterest], Facebook, everywhere! This will help bring your vision to life.
We chose our photographer right away. We decided who we wanted as soon as we knew we were getting married! She is a family friend and has done many weddings of people I know. She is phenomenal and a joy to work with. I recommend her to anyone I know!! CHECK OUT HER PAGE - Heidi McGrandy Photography - The first day that we went to meet with her she knew our vision.
Tip #7
Before you meet with your photographers that you have in mind have an idea in mind of what you want for your wedding. It also doesn't hurt to create a Pinterest page!! Create a page for your wedding with all of your visions and ideas. Chances are your photographer will have a page too and will be able to look at your vision throughout the planning and will make it so much easier for her to create your special day. Check out all of my wedding ideas here - Kaila's Pinterest Wedding Board.
After having your ceremony, reception, and photographer you're starting to piece it all together... You're one step closer to having the wedding of your dreams.
Next step: Dresses, Bridesmaids dresses, tuxes, flowers, decorations...
Okay, so as a little girl you picture yourself in a wedding gown. Walking down the aisle in the most perfect satin dress with a long veil, flowers, the whole shebang! I had my DREAM DRESS picked out. I knew exactly what I wanted. That is, until I saw the price. But, even then I looked at the dress online again and said to myself, "Okay I will try it on! If I love it, it's worth it!" I chose my mother to go with me to go dress
Tip #8
When choosing to go dress shopping, be prepared. You WILL find the dress of your dreams, and you WILL be pressured into buying it that day! If you find the dress of your dreams go there! Go to the store that you have found that dress FIRST because every woman I know found "THE" dress at the first bridal shop. Going into the first appointment with your bridal consultant tell her what you are looking for. Tell her your vision and tell her that you want to find that DREAM dress at a cheaper price. Let me tell you, David's Bridal is phenomenal! My bridal consultant was kind, and patient and knew exactly what I wanted. She chose 3 dresses similar to my DREAM dress that I wanted. I started really cheap and worked my way up to that perfect dress hanging on the rack next to me. [Tip #8 1/2... don't try on that dream dress first... Chances are you won't take it off and nothing will compare!] Tried on the first 2 and eh, pretty but not that wow-factor. Tried on the third and walked out, and wow... that was it.
So, there ya have it. I had my dream dress. Which was actually better than my dream dress on the rack across the room! My mom and I were in tears and we loved it! Within 30 minutes of being in the bridal store I found my dress! Read about it here - I Rang The Bell!
Now, onto the colors! Dan and I chose our colors and I am not a 'blue' person at all... What is our wedding color? Blue. But, hey a man has to have some say in the wedding... and it's a beautiful color. I LOVE IT now that I see it on.
I decided to DIY everything. Budget, hellooooo! So, Dan and I went to pinterest, again! I found so many cute ideas on how to DIY my wedding. I found tips on saving money, buying things from the Dollar Tree, fake flowers to make my own bouquets with, making my own table numbers with picture frames... the list goes on and on!
Tip #9
Do not overwhelm yourself. I am not getting married until December and I have almost everything bought for my wedding decorations. The more you buy now the less stress you will have toward the wedding.
We started buying right away. Buy only when you have coupons and buy in bulk. Etsy.com, amazon.com, and search more unique craft websites that offer you discounts for buying more than one wedding item from them.
I have a bakers rack in my kitchen, and currently it's FULL of wedding stuff. Bags, diaper boxes filled with vases, flowers, snowflakes, invites, and more!
Tip #10
HAVE A PLACE TO STORE THIS CRAP.
I don't... and IT SUCKS. I am OCD, I am going nuts with having my kitchen cluttered with wedding, wedding, wedding... and not to mention when Lennon throws her carrots all over the damn floor guess where it goes? ALL OVER MY WEDDING INVITES. Want to know what color they are? WHITE. [fml?]
So, we are at a road block now.
We have bought everything we need for the ceremony, reception, and everything in between. We have our venue, hair appointment is scheduled, dress bought, flower girl dress bought, bridesmaids dresses ordered, DJ picked out, limo guy is almost bought, photographer paid, ... now we have to wait. I have A LOT of spray painting to do this summer. I will post pictures along the way.
... and don't worry. I will be adding to this post as I can with more TIPS and our fun adventure to planning our own wedding with a crazy 9 month old who is into everything. If my DIY crafts make it that far. Maybe I will add a touch of orange carrots to the wedding colors? :)
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