Part of the reason for the lack of posting...I've been assisting for the past several months with trying to get these two married off.
Last weekend we were successful at this venture.
Since this was the first major wedding planning experience in at least 18 years for the mother-of-the bride, the bride, and for me, we were rookies through and through. We learned a few things along the way.
So, if you have a wedding coming up at any time in your future, take note of some very important wedding advice.
1. Before buying even one item for the wedding, purchase stock in Hobby Lobby...and Sam's Club... and possibly Dollar Tree. Every time we completed our "very last shopping trip", we had to go again. 'Dollar Tree' may have become our new curse word by the end of the shopping sprees.
2. Speaking of money, start saving now. Your daughter is only 2 years old? That's okay. You'll thank us later. Every.single.thing costs more money than you would expect it to. Don't believe me? Just ask the father-of-the-bride.
3. Buying tablecloths is just as expensive as renting them. Buying them seemed like the logical choice because who knows when you might have another event to plan? However, don't forget that every single tablecloth then needs to be laundered and folded. And folded. And folded. And folded...
4.When ordering invitations, it is best practice to be able to view them in person first. If you order them online, they may not end up being near as glitzy as they appeared on the computer screen...and you may end up glitter spraying 200 invitations and 200 insert cards on your porch. On a positive note, your porch will be very sparkly.
5. When planning a wedding, knowing a CAD designer is a must. My husband whipped up this little plan, and it made life so much easier. Seriously. It seems crazy, but it was like our second brain.
6. Don't forget the garter. We came very close to doing this. It seems like an obvious item on the wedding list, but it never once appeared on ours.
7. When choosing friends, pick crafty, creative people. :) I like details, plans, spreadsheets, accuracy, and precision. I also like beauty, elegance, and the "wow" factor...unfortunately, the first list comes a bit more naturally to me than the second. Thankfully, we had friends and more friends (some we had never even met) jump in and help!
8. It might be wise to have the mother-of-the-bride purchase her dress more than one week before the wedding. Dress shopping (for her and for me) may have slightly cut into wedding week preparations (okay, I was more at fault than she was). She bought her dress one week before the wedding; I bought mine three days before. The sales people were a bit more panicked than we were. (Full disclosure: The dress I ended up with was actually dress #4. Three others had to be returned. I hate dress shopping.)
9. When picking a reception venue, avoid all choices which involve a basketball game occupying the facility until 10:30 pm the night before the wedding. Transforming a gym between the hours of 10:30 pm and 3:00 am makes for some very tired people...and lots of laughs and great memories. But, did I mention tired??
10. When picking a reception venue, ensure the electrical capacity of the facility will support your lighting visions. Losing panels of lights at 1:30 am during set-up causes a small amount of stress. Good thing we had experts on the scene.
Above all, enjoy every moment! We may have had our fill of glitter, shopping, creating, and planning, but it was all worth it to see the happiness on the bride's face on her wedding day. Celebrating the happy couple and spending time with friends and family is what it is all about!
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