You’re engaged!!!
It’s the happiest time of you life, and
all your thoughts revolve around spending the rest of your life with the man of
your dreams. After the whirlwind of
emotion, and love and best wishes from family and friends, it’s time to start
planning your wedding. Just one
question…where do you start?!?!?!
Planning a wedding can be one of the most exciting and
stressful things you’ll ever do, so it’s important to remember to stay calm and
live in the moment. The best piece of
advice I got during the early stages of my wedding planning experience was to
remember that this day marks the first day of the rest of my life with my new
husband. So, start with the big
picture…if there’s no venue, there’s no wedding. Discuss possible dates with your fiancé, and
contact your top church and reception hall right away to make sure you are at
the top of their list. After that,
everything else will start to fall into place.
Once you’ve secured your date, contact vendors that need to
be booked in advance (photographer, DJ, caterer, etc). You can wait on selecting the paper for your
invitations, but it’s heartbreaking if another couple books your dream
photographer because you didn’t contact them right away. Another piece of advice…leave these jobs to
the professionals. Sure, your “friend”
might be willing to DJ for you for free, but you get what you pay for, and
nothing is stopping them from backing out last minute.
Many of my friends got engaged and married before me, so I
have had the honor of attending quite a few weddings over the past few
years. Every couple has their own
personality, and every wedding was different, but one thing always stood out to
me…it was the weddings with the most attention to detail that were the most
memorable. Little personal touches can
make all the difference. Guests love
when they can see the thought and individuality you put into your wedding,
because those little details are what set your wedding apart from all the
others
I am lucky enough to have a longer engagement (1 year and
almost 11 months, to be exact), so I was able to take time and do my research
so that I could plan the best possible wedding without breaking my budget. It seems that when you have more time early
on, wedding planning isn’t as stressful as it sounds. I’ve somehow kept my sanity throughout this
process, even while completing dental school, seeing patients, and studying for
boards. I relied on organization to keep
me on task. There are dozens of wedding
worksheets you can find online to help create a timeline of when certain tasks
should be completed. I even went as far
as purchasing a wedding organizer, so all our important wedding documents and
information are together in one binder.
My final piece of advice is to remember to always live in
the moment. If you absolutely love
something, do it! Don’t worry about
whether or not it will still be in style 10 years down the road. Years from now, when you’re looking back on
all the memories, you may laugh at some of your choices, but you’ll know that
each decision lead to the wedding of your dreams. Your wedding should tell the story of who you
are as a couple, and paint a picture for your guests that’s as unique as your
love for each other.
~Erin
This is Erin meeting David Tutera. To read more of her great wedding planning tips, visit her blog!
Thank you so much for your advice, Erin! I can't wait for your wedding!!! :c)
