Five Tips for Wedding Planning That are Actually Helpful

When you first get engaged, people will shower you with (often unsolicited/unwanted/unhelpful) advice.  But, as a new bride-to-be you will also be hungry for tips and helpful hints for wedding planning that will make the process easier. I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but Chuck and I like to think we're pretty good at this whole wedding planning thing. (We will see come wedding day if it all falls apart!)

So, whether you're newly engaged or single and hope to get married someday, Chuck and I want to share with you a few things we've learned about wedding planning so far.  This is my own piece of unsolicited, maybe unwanted, but hopefully helpful advice for you.

1. Do not have expectations of perfection.  You are setting yourself up for disappointment and unwanted stress.  Magazines, websites, tv shows, etc. will advertise "How to Have Your Dream Celebrity-Style Wedding."  It's not going to happen... it's just not.  As long as you are married to your favorite person on earth at the end of the day, you've had the perfect wedding.  Be flexible about everything else. And, if your spouse-to-be isn't your favorite person on earth, reconsider getting married at all! You're stuck with them for the rest of forever.

Sidenote: people might tell you horror stories about all the horrible things that went wrong at their own wedding or a wedding they read about once on the internet.  Just ignore them.  They're jealous meanies who want to steal your joy. The crazy things they tell you probably won't happen on your day anyway.

2. Some details are more important than others, whether you like it or not.  It is important to incorporate aspects of your religion, personalities, family members, and other personal touches that are meaningful to you.  It is generally not important what your favors are, what jewelry your wear, centerpieces look like, your cake flavor, or even what you serve for dinner.  Every single person I've asked cannot recall more than one of those details from weddings they have attended in the past.  DO NOT STRESS OVER THEM!  Yes, you should have those things, but you should not make them a primary concern in your planning.  Put something pretty-ish on the tables, feed the people, and have a great party!

3. Join theknot.com.  It does everything- maps out your to-dos in chronological order for you, allows you to track your guest list and RSVPs, helps you map out your seating chart, create a wedding website, and is full of inspirational pictures and tips.  And it's FREE!

4. BUY STAMPS! Buy all of the stamps.  Ask for stamps for your birthday, Christmas, Halloween, whatever.  You will never have enough. Between sending save-the-dates, invites, RSVP cards, rehearsal invites, and thank you notes to everyone you've ever known, you will need all the stamps you can get.  No one told me this before I started wedding planning!  With the number of stamps we've used in the last few months, I can't believe no one has mentioned it before.

5. Make a document of all of the addresses you need in an address label template on Word.  Every time you need to send one of the above documents, print the addresses on sticky labels and set up an assembly line of sticking on addresses and stamps with your partner.  You don't want to hand write 200 addresses every time.  Trust me.

I'm sure I'll have many more tips after the wedding day, but for now, these five tips have kept me sane.  And I wish someone had told me before I started planning.

Any brides-to-be or newlyweds out there with other helpful hints?  What's keeping you sane during your planning process?  I'd love to hear your tips. Solicited advice.

Life Lately

Hello, readers.  Yes, we are still alive and well, just been too busy for blogging lately.

Since you've heard from me last, my grad school summer term has ended!! I could not be more grateful.  This term was challenging.  I took three classes with very heavy course loads during an abbreviated summer term.  So for the past few weeks, I've been spending every bit of my "free" time on homework. As of yesterday evening, I have turned in all of my remaining assignments. Whew! Drowning in school is not the ideal way to spend a summer. It was a bad idea.  BUT, it's OVER! And I finally get to enjoy a couple of weeks of summer vacation before the fall semester starts.

Can I get a hallelujah?!
Hallelujah!

In the midst of this last week of school, my family was here visiting.  It has been wonderful to have everyone together.  It's a rarity now that my sisters and I are adults who no longer live at home.  We had a great time sitting around the campfire. laughing, and making new memories.

I am truly so blessed by the little community of people I call my family.  Both my own immediate family and the extended family I will soon gain through marriage.  I cannot wait for our wedding and the opportunity for all of the wonderful people in our lives to be together for one big giant love party! It's only 84 days away!

Speaking of which, we have begun to get RSVPs in the mail daily.  It makes checking the mailbox so much more exciting! If you've sent yours, we thank you!

Aside from school, work, and wedding planning, not much is new. I would say that I'll be blogging more during these next couple of weeks off from school, but I don't want to make any promises I can't keep.