Jun 052011
Welcome to the “Goin’ to the Chapel” event!
I’m excited to be talking about wedding-related topics this month. It’s getting closer and closer to October when my brother will be marrying his fiance, and it’s been fun to watch them get ready for it. It may be cliche to say, but young love is a great thing.
This week I’ll be focusing on one of the most time-consuming – and most fun – parts of the wedding, and that’s planning! Most women have at least some idea of what they want for a wedding before they’re even asked; many have been dreaming and planning since they were little girls. So once the proposal is made, it doesn’t take any time at all before you see them surrounded by bridal magazines, vendor catalogs, hairstyle guides and honeymoon brochures. While it’s definitely fun it can also be a little overwhelming, especially if you aren’t having a very long engagement.
One great resource for wedding planning that may help you keep it organized is TheKnot.com. The Knot is what I would consider to be the most comprehensive wedding planning site there is. You’ll find something for every aspect of your planning:
- Over 3000 wedding dresses to guide you to your perfect one
- More than 300 engagement and wedding rings to select from
- 2000+ wedding cakes to peruse for ideas
- Suggestions and tips for destination weddings
- Bridesmaid dresses
- Reception ideas
- Hot color scheme suggestions
- Even wedding vows if you’re wanting something a little different
They also have some really great tools to use on their site, my favorite being the wedding checklist. You will not overlook anything if you use this checklist. The checklist counts down how many to-dos you have, how many you’ve completed, and how many reminders you have. Then it breaks it all down all your tasks by how far in advance you should be completing them.
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| TheKnot.com Wedding Checklist & Planner |
Many are standard suggestions; you can delete the ones that don’t apply to you as well as create your own custom ones. The details on the task list are quite awesome, actually, down to “pick up your wedding rings and check the inscription before leaving the store” and “work on a ‘must play’ list (and also include a ‘do-not-play’ list) for the DJ or band”. Print a copy of this thing off at the start of each week, tuck it in your purse, and you’ll be able to enjoy the planning phase with as little stress as possible.
When you mention “stress” and “weddings” naturally one cause of that stress is how to pay for it. Whether it’s a fairytale wedding complete with white doves and a carriage ride or a more modest ceremony and reception down to an intimate family-only bare-foot-on-the-beach exchange of vows, what things cost can set a lot of people on edge. Questions like can quickly turn fun into a fight.
The Knot’s wedding budget tool can help you set a budget and play around with different options to help you determine if having an 8-tier cake and a chocolate fountain and a candy table for the kids is really as important as you initially thought or if springing for more flowers is more important to you. There’s also a section for budget weddings that may help you as well.
One last section that you might find both useful and fun is the wedding website tool that helps you make a custom wedding website where you can tell the story of you and your fiance, share photos, share your registries and much more. These are especially nice if you have family spread out across the country or if family members and friends on both sides have not really had a chance to spend much time together. You can also create a personalized “wedding ticker” to add to your Facebook page, blog or email signature to let people know how close it is! You choose from a number of different backgrounds, ending images, add your wedding date and then can even add optional custom text at the top.
Check back the rest of the week as we go more in depth for some of the planning stages, including selecting a photographer and florist, getting in wedding shape with a skin care and health regimen, selecting invitations and more.
Don’t forget – at the end of each week until July 2nd there will be a list of giveaways that match the week’s theme. Visit the sponsors throughout the week and get a head-start on your entries! See below for an extra entry opportunity, too. And if you’d like to sign up for the giveaway blog-hop the last weekend of the month, get the details here.
For an extra entry into all of the giveaways that will be held this month – including the grand prize package – please share your best wedding planning tip in the comments section. Or if you’d rather, you can ask a planning-related question and see what advice you might get!
About Liza
Liza is a mom (5-year-old daughter, 20-year-old stepson, and 24-year-old stepdaughter) and wife living in Louisville. She loves spending time with her family, visiting the local zoo and parks, as well as planning travel adventures. Cooking and baking, DIY projects and crafts, and coffee - lots and lots of coffee - round out some of her other hobbies.