Wedding Plans...

Wedding planning could be like a full time job I'm pretty sure!!! Who knew that SOOOOO many details would need to go into ONE day. It's crazy.....but I secretly love it. I was way overwhelmed for a while but I'm good again. I like that we're getting things handled early and not waiting in terms of the planning. I'm planning to spend a lot of time over Christmas break doing stuff plus I'll have some time especially after family Christmas gatherings are over. Here are some highlights of the planning process.
--Ceremony will be at 1:30 p.m. at Warsaw Community Church. We are sooooo excited to get married there. I really wanted to get married in my the church that I grew up in in Rochester but it wouldn't be big enough but it would have been free. The space was really the issue plus WCC is the church that we attend so we feel good about getting married there. We are also very excited about who is marrying us. I know him very well because he is the husband of one of my dear friends. It makes me excited.
--Decorating WCC is next to impossible because it's so big but we are planning to put red roses on our aisle runner because our colors are red and black. Use my parent's unity candle. My mom is going to make these things to put at the end of all the aisles. We are also going to have a picture frame for guests to sign when they arrive.


--We are having six in the bridal party on each side. The girls are going to wear strapless black dresses with red sashes and carry red flowers.
----Wedding dress.....going shopping twice next week and will hopefully find the perfect one!
--We hired a wedding coordinator and florist. I feel wayyy good about hiring a wedding coordinator. We just need her to set everything up. I'm going to provide directions/diagrams of how things are to be set up and then she is going to do it all. Plus she will make sure that everything runs smoothly the day of, which I really appreciate. It's a mother/daughter team and they are really good at what they do!
--Hiring a photographer was way overwhelming but I think we found the perfect fit! It's actually a family friend so they made us an amazing deal and are considering the rest our wedding present....perfect!!!
--We are going to have our engagement pictures taken sometime in January when it snows.
--I found a guy who is from my fiance's hometown to be our DJ that came highly recommended that I'm way excited about.
--We are currently looking into rehearsal dinners....we think it's either going to be Boathouse or American Table.
--Instead of a traditional guest book we are getting one from www.guestbookstore.com and getting one. It's mildly expensive but I think it will mean more than just a regular one. Each person will take a page at the reception and fill it out. We will have a table full of markers/pens and a basket to put the completed pages in. At the end of the night we will have someone designated to assemble the book so that we can take it with us. It's kind of like a scrapbook and the guests answer questions about you.
--We found Save the Date magnets that I love on www.magnetstreet.com We plan to finish those up over break and get them ordered.
--I found invitations online through www.weddingpaperdivas.com that I adore. BUT the price tag is astronomical. So you can order a sample for $1.00 which I did so that I can go around to different stores and try to find something similar to look into printing them myself.
--The guest list....has honestly been the most stressful and hardest piece of the wedding planning thus far. I will be soooo glad for that to be all the way done. I'm almost 98% done right now. But we may have to cut some more people off the list and that's hard. Our guest list is out of control big because of family dynamics on my fiance's side.
--We are registering over Christmas break at: Home Depot or Sears, Warsaw Cut Glass, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target.
--We will decide officially on our menu for the reception after a tasting that we will go to in January.
--I'm meeting with the lady who is doing our cake over Christmas. I've been trying to look at different cakes online but keep it relatively simple.
--Centerpieces...oh my. I'm pretty sure that we are going to do black table linens with red table runners and then we have a few different ideas going in terms of centerpieces but are trying really hard to keep this part under control financially because the rest gets out of control really fast. I'm going to put together some options over Christmas and then have family pick their favorites.
--The night of our wedding we are staying at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth. http://swanlakeresort.com/
--The following day we are opening gifts with family and friends at our house.
--Then we are leaving for Chicago to leave for our honeymoon in Hawaii. :) www.turtlebayresort.com
--Once we return I am a maid of honor in a wedding that same week. So we return on a Monday/I host a bach. party in Chicago on Wednesday/rehearsal dinner on Friday then wedding on Saturday.
--Needless to say the planning is coming right along!!! We have a big list to do over Christmas break but after that I feel like we won't have to worry as much about it which is perfect because we have lots of house stuff to deal with on both houses.
--Chapters in life are definitely changing!!