on top of things?

(Source)

There are wedding planning checklists galore online.
Here's one from Real Simple: Weddings.
Here's one from The Knot.

The Knot even has a month to month checklist to keep you on task and I've been doing okay on it I think! We have a venue (*yay!), we've got a caterer (*yay!), a cute little flower girl to throw petals (**whoo!), and we've got an officiant (**whoo!) What more do you need?! :-P I suppose a photographer to capture the day, some guests to help celebrate, and chairs for them to sit on would be good, yah?

Photog business. {gulp} Too complicated to explain right now... or ever. Hah. Well... lets just say photography is the second most important thing to me for our wedding after the gettin' married part. For MONTHS I have stalked many photographer's blogs, emailed countless of them to ask about their pricing packages cause many don't seem to like to post that online, and have used my stalker skills to refine my likes and dislikes for wedding photography. My taste for good photos exceeds our budget. By like... a bajillion dollars. There was this one I really like... like pretty much magazine quali(ty) {...drool....} but his starting prices are $7,500 which is basically our entire wedding budget. Ok, not really. Just close.

I guess the biggest things are the venue and food... and we've gotten those taken care of. But the photog business is starting to slightly concern me cause photographers are getting booked up! Especially for May next year! But! I needn't worry... just have faith that God will provide us with a photog. :) (And there is a back up).

Bridesmaid Dresses. Well, I've got the bridesmaids.  That's a start right.  Now... to clothe them!  I've been struggling to find bridesmaid dresses! That are affordable! And by that I mean like $50 or under. I was really hoping it'd be a dress the girls can wear again... but if it's "cheap" enough, I'd feel less bad if it's a one time deal. I want a spring green/sage like color and it's fall which means... dark puple, teal, brown, and black. But there is always David's Bridal if all else fails. And I think the color I want comes in a few styles that are ~$70 (instead of the usual $135+). But I guess there is still some time. I think January is still sort of enough time right? And hopefully some spring colors will emerge then.

Wedding Dress. Hmmm. I went to try on some with my cousin when she was here in August and found two I really liked. They were however a bit more than I anticipated to spend on a dress I will wear for about 8 hours. So I've basically put that on hold until I have to think about that again or find a better solution. :]

Music. My brother. Guitar. Done! :-D

Flowers. I've asked a friend from church to do flowers! Yay! But she isn't sure if she'll be in the country next year. Which is totally fine cause I've been thinking and researching and I think I'll just do my own flowers if she isn't around. This may seem like a bad idea that'll add stress to a really already busy time but... I think it's doable! With some help and some preparation, something will come together and some floral things will make an appearance at the wedding. :]


I think those are the big ticket items yeah? Oh, and making sure there's enough moola to pay for these big ticket items! There are many, many other little details to think about... some I've already taken care of... some I already know what's gonna happen... and some will be taken care of as they come. I think most importantly... is to remember that it's really about the MARRIAGE and that it's just one day. A big party for one day, and it doesn't really deserve so much money, stress, or effort. But it's gonna happen anyway. :-P




*The journey to each decision went through a lot of research and deliberation, so it really was a relief to send in deposits and sign contracts. So each (yay!) represents a triumph in securing necessary components to our wedding!

** Asking our officiant and flower girl were the easiest and smoothest tasks yet. :oP  Why isn't everything like this?  :)