~Planning Your Wedding~Part 5

Here we go with Part 5 of your wedding checklist. At this stage of the game, it is beginning to feel like you are really going to get married!

2 Months Ahead

• Decide who you want to help at your wedding, reception, breakfast, or dinner~contact the people that you would like to have help you. First make a list such as guest book, take gifts, serve refreshments, etc...then go ahead and ask them to put it on their calendar.

• Address announcements and invitations~ make it a bit of a party. Invite your in laws such as mom, sisters, and your hubby to be as well as your sisters and mom to help with this daunting task! Offer refreshments, put in a movie, have plenty of pens, stamps and get your addresses then forge ahead!

• Schedule your bridal portraits~you can hire a professional or you can get creative and have someone who is really good with their digital camera take your photo. Just depends on how much you want to spend and how fancy or informal you want your portraits to be. You may want to consider displaying your photos at your wedding reception. You could also set up a table at your reception with several photos framed, do some photos in black and white, and different sizes. You could also scrapbook some in a special wedding day album to display at your reception. (You might also want to give some bridal photos to your videographer to include in the wedding day video.)
  

• Check out your options for insurance~ such as health, auto, life, and renters.
  

~Planning Your Wedding~ Part 4

This is the fourth installment in my "Planning Your Wedding" blog series. I think it makes planning your wedding a little easier that way than just giving a long list of things to do for each month.



That way, I also get to comment and give more helpful tips for making your wedding day unique to you, more affordable, and less stressful!

3 Months Ahead

• Groom's ring~if you haven't already purchased it and picked it out, now would be a good time to do this. Also have any engraving done on the ring if you plan to do that.

• Register for your wedding gifts~ This makes gift giving a little easier for your guests because they know exactly what you need and would like.

• Time to find a place to live~ start looking for a place to live.

• Order your Wedding Cake~Shop around! There are so many great ideas online and then find a cake that you like and take that idea to the cake decorator. Cake decorators also have many ideas available for you if you're not sure the type of cake you want. You can also order frosted cakes with no decor and you could be adventurous and decorate your own. Add some silk or fresh flowers such as you chose for your wedding flowers. There are many fun cake toppers available so don't be afraid to do it yourself if you want to!

• Schedule appointments for dental and physical check ups~Because I was moving out of state when I got married, I had to have a quick dental check up and by the time I scheduled it, I had to go to the dentist while on my honeymoon. So not fun! Live and learn so plan ahead!

• Plan your honeymoon~Make travel, passport, and hotel arrangements. If you plan now, you can enjoy a wonderful honeymoon. It doesn't have to put you in debt! You can plan a very nice getaway for just the two of you, somewhere close and then when you are making a little more money, you can take a big trip somewhere!

• Make arrangements for out of town guests accommodations.
  

~Planning Your Wedding~ PART 1

Six Months Ahead

• Set the date~ Decide the month and the day you want to marry.
• Schedule the place where you want to get married~ The two of you decide where you want the wedding ceremony to be. An elegant indoor wedding or a backyard garden wedding? Just make sure you have a back up plan if it should rain and your special day is planned for outdoors.
• Determine a budget and decide who will pay for what~There are many suggestions for dividing up expenses. You can both decide together how you want to do it or let traditional wedding etiquette be your guide.
• Pick the colors you want your wedding to be~ You can search current bridal magazines & online wedding sites to determine the wedding colors that are in this year or you can let your heart be your guide and pick whatever colors you want to use in your wedding attire, wedding decor, and floral design.
• Start creating your guest list~compose your list according to which events you will be inviting guests to. Make a list for wedding, wedding breakfast or rehearsal dinner, and wedding reception. If you are inviting some of your guests to more than one event, create a system so you invite them to the events you want them to come to. Keep this list! You can use it to send out wedding thank yous and you may want to use some of these addresses for your future Christmas card list.
• Find a Wedding Consultant~this step is optional. Some brides like to strike out on their own. Others don't want the worry or stress of doing everything themselves.

Ideally six months works well for planning a wedding. If by chance, you have less than that to plan, don't panic just adapt this list to fit your time-frame. My husband gave me three weeks to plan and pull off the wedding and we did it! So there is hope if you don't have a full six months!