Happy Wedding Wednesday, y’all! Calling all BRIDES. Annnnd the family, acquaintances, 3rd cousins, Starbucks baristas, creative people, friends (both new & old), etc etc etc of the bride (IT TAKES A VILLAGE!) … this post is for YOU!
I have so many people that I love in my life who are either newly engaged or who are nearing the end of the wedding planning process, so I found it only fitting to throw in a few #WeddingWednesday posts every now and then on love ‘n’ labels … after all, I made sure to include the word, love into the name of my blog because who doesn’t appreciate a good love story and how can you resist talking about all of the amazing fashion that comes along with wedding showers, bridesmaid dresses, bachelorette parties, a wedding dress and more?! After being a bride myself all of last year, I thought that I could relate to real life brides-to-be and share about my own personal experiences – what I learned, tips & tricks to save money where you can, the things I wish I would have thought of, how to not sweat the small stuff, how to make your ‘fairytale day’ fully come to life, etc. But first, I wanted to start out at the very beginning:
Simply, how to get started.
So, you’re a newly engaged soon-to-be Mrs. and you are literally floating on cloud 9 … until you get that completely overwhelming feeling of, ‘Where do I start? What now?’ — It can be kind of scary. If you are anything how I was after I first got engaged, I couldn’t have been happier and I was ready to get to planning right away. But it was pretty nerve-racking at first having to start making such big decisions (especially knowing that ANYTHING with the word ‘wedding’ associated these days will cost you a very pretty penny).
But this was something I had dreamt about my entire life. As a little girl who strongly believed in fairytales growing up, I always wondered how my own fairytale would play out (& of course who my special Prince Charming would be).
After TJ proposed & we shared with everyone about our engagement excitement, I was already imagining what our big day would be like. I instantly knew that I wanted our special day to be very intimate, so meaningful, and something ‘fancy’ (this is the word I kept using over & over ha!) but other than that, I really had no clue what particular venue, photographer, videographer, DJ/band, florist, etc. that I wanted to use (& let me tell ya, I truly am convinced that I worked with some of the best vendors in the biz – I’ll be sharing all about them throughout my #WeddingWednesday posts).
Like most new brides, I had a certain vision that I wanted for my big day, however, I didn’t exactly know how to or where to begin. I also found it really important (to me & my groom) that I included and listened to my fiance’s desires as well. Yes, everyone always says that the wedding day is mostly about the bride – and I do agree with that to an extent (I mean let’s be real, most little boys don’t grow up dreaming about their weddings like little girls do ha!) – but I did want him to feel included in most of the decisions and I didn’t want him to walk into our wedding not even knowing anything to expect if I had planned it all. His opinion mattered to me. I know a lot of grooms who could literally care less about helping – and that is fine too – but Teej & I hardly ever make big decisions like that without talking about them first. So, all in all, I wanted him to feel as much a part of the planning process as he wanted to be a part of! And in the end, I think we were both extremely happy with the way our entire wedding process & wedding day turned out! 🙂
So, without further ado, I want to share with all of you beautiful brides about HOW you can get started in the right direction before you even have an engagement party.
My sweet sister surprised me with, what I like to refer to as the wedding bible, the week after I got engaged. This particular wedding planning book is basically a wedding planner’s guide to your BEST DAY EVER. It is an all-in-one planner and organizer made in a 3-ring binder format, that helps you keep track of every single detail of your special day. It includes all that you will need to help you get started & everything that you will need throughout this amazing process. One of my favorite parts in the planner is the extremely detailed check-off list to ensure that you have done everything that needs to be done by the day of the wedding. It gives you check-off points based off of how many months are left before the big day & leads up to even the day-after the wedding. There are many tabs such as, The Big Picture, Contacts, Budget, Location, Menus, Flowers, The Dress, Invitations, Photo/Video, Rings, Marriage License, Vows, and so on. Within each of the categories in the book, you will find tons of tips, tricks, spreadsheets, what to ask vendors, tons of checklists, and more. This organizer will help you plan out your entire wedding timeline & make sure that you don’t miss ANY details from the moment you said ‘YES!’ to the moment you say ‘I DO!’.
DETAILS: similar mr. & mrs. wine glasses | bride bag | similar bride tanks here, here, here, here, here | bride tumbler | wedding planner
This wedding bible is known as The Wedding Planner & Organizer by Mindy Weiss. Mindy Weiss is a well-known, celebrity wedding planner and, all in all, your go-to when it comes to all things ‘wedding’. I found a copy for you all on SALE at Barnes & Noble.
This ‘something blue‘ gave me a TON of help and loads of comfort (that I wasn’t missing anything) throughout my experience as a bride, and I highly suggest this to anyone and everyone. If you are a bride yourself, don’t wait – get this book today to help you get started. If you are just a friend or family member of someone who just got engaged, I think that this planner would make an amazing engagement gift that your bride will love. Take it from me who received it as a gift. I couldn’t have made it throughout my wedding planning process without the knowledge that Mindy Weiss shares in this book.
Let me know if there are any other questions you have about getting started when it comes to weddings or if you have any wedding concerns that you would like some extra tips on. I will take note & be sure to include them in the #WeddingWednesday posts to come!
Thanks for stopping by!!
xo,
Peyton