gosh, the time flies. this milestone has come and gone:
…and so has this one:
!!!!!!!!
we are now 99 days away from our big day! double digits! ahhh, i can’t believe it.
although we have accomplished a lot since my last update, i feel like i had a long period where i “lost steam” and didn’t feel as productive on the wedding front. as excited as i am about it, it’s hard to stay motivated and be doing wedding stuff ALL the time. thankfully, i’ve picked back up quite a bit and am back to feeling motivated [at least on weekends and after non-hectic days of work], so we’re still on track, but man, this wedding planning thing is no joke!! especially when you’re on the short-engagement plan. i’m in the middle of audit season at work and have been working 12 hours a day lately, and some weekends too [like today]. it definitely felt like we were 6-7 months away from the wedding and then i blinked and we were 3 months away.
{everyone needs wedding planning wine and glasses like angela and trav gave us! these are so cute and we have definitely used them.} ;)
when i got engaged, i was lucky to get this planner from my [soon-to-be] sister-in-law hope and this planner from my mom. these two books have been a lifesaver throughout the process – they are very different, so i have been able to use both for different things throughout the planning process. the first book has been soo helpful for documenting my style and inspiration – i literally printed out photos of what i liked for everything from décor to hair and makeup to cakes and pasted them into the many pages in the book that are meant for identifying your vision for your wedding. when i went to my vendor meetings, i always brought along the book so i could show the vendors what i had in mind, and it made it so much easier than trying to locate various pictures on the internet. pinterest was obviously a big help, but it still was overwhelming to dig through the many photos that i had saved on my wedding boards, and the book allowed me to lay out my most favorite pictures side by side so that i compare what i did and didn’t like about each bouquet, dress, etc.
the second book is extremely helpful with its very thorough checklists, budget lists, and general information and tips [like what percentage is common to spend on each aspect of a wedding, how much you should tip vendors, what questions to ask vendors, etc.]. it is very practical and informative. i would recommend both books to someone planning a wedding – they are useful and fun!
a couple things that i’ve learned that might also be useful for those who are planning a wedding:
1. prioritize your to-do list. by this, i mean figure out which items/big to-do items are the most important to you, and start knocking those out first. for me, those were my venue, the dress, and the photography. the least important items for me were hair and makeup and the cake. florist, caterer, videographer, DJ, etc. fell somewhere in between. i was glad that i prioritized these in order of importance to me because i didn’t feel rushed when i was working on those important things, and it allowed me to rest easier later knowing that the items i cared most about were taken care of.
2. delegate if you can. this is good for the items that you don’t have strong opinions about. mothers and future mother-in-laws are often really happy to help. to be completely honest, i’m the type who wants to have a hand in all the details, so i haven’t done too much delegating, but thankfully this has worked for me since i pretty much knew what i wanted going into it and can make snap decisions that i feel good about. but my mom has helped a lot through the process, and i have delegated quite a few things to jamie [i keep a running to-do list for him!], and he’s done really well with it and has been very helpful too. some examples of things on his to-do list have been: stuffing and stamping save-the-dates, checking on/scheduling vaccinations for our honeymoon, coming up with the do-not-play list for the DJ, researching the marriage license info, helping with the layout at the reception, etc.
3. let your vendors guide you. you don’t have to be an expert or know exactly what you want before meeting with your vendors. it’s better to meet with them early and let them help you with what you like, taking time to go through the process. if they’re a good vendor, they’re usually going to be pretty helpful at showing you different options and narrowing down to your style. that being said, doing a little research before you meet with them and knowing your budget will make the process go more quickly.
4. get 2-3 quotes from different vendors. another reason to start early on meeting with vendors… if you get more than one quote, you can ensure that the price is fair but also discover what you like more about one vendor vs. another.
5. if the stars don’t align on something you had your heart set on, take it as a sign that it wasn’t meant to be and move on. it’s kind of funny, because when i think about the way the wedding planning has been going so far, it feels like everything has pretty much gone the way i’ve wanted. but that’s actually just my perception – the reality is that there have been things that i felt strongly about, they didn’t go as planned, i re-adjusted, and now i’m happy with the way it turned out. for example, i was adamant on not having a wedding on any day but saturday… until i found out that the venue that i loved had no saturdays available this year. so i went with sunday, and now i’ve been able to get all the vendors i’ve wanted thanks to it being on a sunday. i also was determined to have a bridal portrait session prior to the wedding, until i discovered that 1.) i couldn’t get my dress cleaned again prior to the wedding, 2.) it would have to take place in the 100+ degree texas summer weather, and 3.) i was struggling to find a date that would work with the photographer, the venue, and me being home, not to mention that i hadn’t even discussed it with the florist or hair and makeup vendor. all of those things made me realize that maybe a pre-wedding bridal portrait just wasn’t meant to be. so we saved money on flowers, prevented a risk of a dirty dress before the wedding, and got the 30 minutes of photography that would have been for the bridal portrait session added to the wedding day. not a bad thing overall.
here’s the update of the items i have done since my last wedding planning post… it seems like a lot because, well, it was a lot! but that was 3 months ago, and we’ve been tackling a little every week. it’s all been doable but busy!
: : my 60-year-old family heirloom ceremony dress has been restored, and i’ve taken both dresses to the tailor for alterations. still working on getting those altered [only slightly], but i have a couple dates scheduled to go back and see the tailor in the coming months. for anyone in the fort worth area who is interested, i got the old dress restored at kites wedding gown specialists, and both dresses are being altered at their tailor too, as well as my rehearsal dinner dress.
: : i have wedding shoes! they’re lovely and also pretty comfortable, which is important. and they go with both dresses!
: : have i mentioned that we have a hashtag?? we decided on #JEVsquared because JEV will be both of our initials when we get married. we thought it was kind of a funny coincidence… i’ll never forget that jamie pointed that out to me when we had been dating only a few months. ;)
: : my month-of wedding planner is now hired [i was in the process of securing her when i wrote my last post]. britni from borrowed and blue occasions is my girl! i actually went to high school with her, so it’s totally convenient that she’s extremely talented and started a wedding planning company. :) i can’t wait to work with you, britni!
: : our videographer is booked! i don’t want to give away allllllllll our secrets so i’ll let that one stay a surprise.
: : we officially have an officiant! the pastor at mimi’s church is going to our officiant and we are so excited. we have met with him once and have a few more meetings with him before the big day. it makes me happy that both of our parents have now met him too, since jamie’s parents got to meet him when they came in town. we love pastor joel!
: : we’ve booked our DJ… again, i’ll keep that a surprise!
: : the wedding website is complete. maybe someday i’ll post the link on this blog, but not today. :)
: : our registries are complete… for now! i may have to add things later, but i’ll keep an eye on it.
: : we blocked rooms at a hotel in downtown fort worth. it’s in an awesome location right near west 7th.
: : all bridesmaid dresses have been ordered.
: : the groom and groomsmen suits have been picked out, and jamie has received his already. funny story on this – as you guys know, my brother and his fiancée priscilla are getting married in april, and our friends walker and krista are getting married in march. mike and walker will both be in our wedding and jamie is going to be in both of theirs as well. since several of jamie’s friends are going to be in both weddings, walker and krista had asked if we would mind if they picked the same suits for their wedding. they liked them and it would cost less for those guys who are in both, and of course we said yes, that would be great. my mom mentioned to mike and priscilla that walker and krista are going to have the same suits, and now they’re thinking about doing the same thing! i think it’s awesome and nice for the guys not to have to pay for a whole bunch of suits a few months apart. plus they look really handsome [although i might be biased since i helped pick them out, haha. obviously we’re not the only ones who think so!]. jamie keeps joking that when we picked out that suit, we had no idea that we were picking suits for three different wedding parties!
: : save-the-dates were mailed. we had a few issues with addresses, etc., but for the most part it went well. hopefully we’ll get it all correct on the wedding invitations!
{we ordered our save-the-dates from minted, and that’s where invitations and most of our other paper products will be coming from too. we love how everything has turned out so far! i became a minted member for the year, so now i get free shipping and discounts on future orders, and i also received this fun goodie box from minted.}
{selfies before we mailed out the save-the-dates!}
: : our ring bearers said yes! we asked jamie’s 4-year-old nephews sawyer and finn to be our “ring security” with these little deputy badges and some toy guns…
and here is a cute video of their response:
{sorry, i have so much trouble embedding videos. but you can click on that link to see the video! aren’t they adorable?}
{i’m glad we have such handsome, brave boys to protect our rings.} :)
: : the rehearsal dinner is booked, and we picked out the menu too! we even got to visit with jamie’s parents when we were in texas so they could try it. it’s going to be tasty and fun!
: : the florist is booked! i absolutely love her work, and i can’t wait to see what she does with our wedding.
: : we reserved transportation from the hotel to and from the venue for our wedding, since it’s about a 25-minute drive. we want everyone to have a good time!
: : our families have met and my parents hosted our engagement party back in may! it was such a blast. our parents will get more bonding time in two weeks when we all go up to jamie’s family’s cabin for the weekend!
: : thank you notes were sent for our engagement party… my wedding planning book says that the thank you notes need to go out within 10 days of the party, but i missed that deadline [oops]. i’m hoping to be more timely after the showers. i did get them out several weeks later though… better late than never!
: : jamie’s wedding band has been ordered and received! i got it from the same place he got my ring, miro jewelers, and he designed it using two rings that he liked. it’s classic and simple, white gold, but it has a ridge in the center that gives it some personality and sheen. i love it! aaaaand it might sound weird to some of you, but i’m not actually getting a wedding band – i will use my engagement ring for the wedding and it will be the only ring on that finger after the wedding! i love my engagement ring so much – it stands alone, it is very special to me, and i didn’t really feel the need to add anything to it. i had wanted a very delicate band, and jamie made it as delicate as was possible, so i’d rather not add another band to it. jamie is totally fine with that – he loves the ring as is too, and we feel the same about it – our commitment is strong and present with or without rings [i currently can’t wear any rings at my job anyway], so neither of us had qualms about me not having a wedding band. my engagement ring is my forever ring.
: : some family friends from church are throwing me a shower on august 25, and jamie’s mom is throwing me a mail-shower as well. such sweet people!
: : honeymoon accommodations have been booked! gahhhhh, we are so excited!
: : flight + travel insurance has been purchased for our honeymoon as well.
: : we’ve booked the catering and bartending services! we love them – the catering company actually got recognized in a newspaper article recently for their food… my mom saw the article a few weeks after we booked them, which was pretty cool. we really enjoyed tasting the food and love our menu. and the bartending service contracts through the catering company and specializes in craft cocktails. we are SO excited for our food and drinks – you guys know how i am about those things!
{a blurry selfie at our tasting! this was exciting!}
: : bachelor and bachelorette festivities are in the works! we have dates set, accommodations booked, and now just figuring out the plans. :)
: : we’ve started ordering bridesmaid and groomsmen gifts! and working on other gifts too…
: : hairstylist/makeup artist has been booked. just need to get my trial run on the calendar!
: : we’ve begun the lengthy vaccination process… had two rounds so far. we have to get all the basic vaccinations that we got as a kid since we are out of date. good thing we started early! if you don’t like shots, don’t plan on going to bali! neither jamie nor me mind them though. and truthfully, it’s good to get up to date on these.
{round 1 of the vaccs}
{round 2… one in each arm. i’m a dork and made jamie take a pic with me in the walgreens parking lot, ha. two more rounds and three more shots to go!}
: : we have ordered the cake and “groom’s cake” [i’ll leave that one a surprise!]. we ended up using two different vendors, one for each, but we are very pumped with our choices.
: : i’m waiting on the proof of the invitations right now, and then those will be ordered.
: : some of the pre- and post-wedding festivities have been booked, and some are still in the works.
: : we know what we want for the guestbook and are getting that together.
: : we’re working on the sequence/order of events of the ceremony and reception [the DJ has been a great help with this!].
: : guest list is being finalized.
after that, there are more things, but thankfully we’re getting to the fun part – the decor and details that make the wedding us, shopping for the honeymoon, etc. i swear that it never slows down though! i keep saying that i’ll feel better if i get this done, but then once i get that done, i realize that i’m not going to feel better until i get this done, and the cycle continues. luckily, things have been going well. very minimal arguments, our choices in vendors, things going according to plan. we’re still having fun! and now it’s exciting that we’re closing in on the last few months. just need to continue going strong for a bit longer! we’ve got this. [like how i just gave myself a pep talk right there?! everyone who has planned a wedding knows that sometimes self pep talks are necessary.] ;)
thank you mom and dad for all your help with this wedding! i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, but this whole wedding has been a dream come true so far. i love you both! xoxo