Wedding planning - ack!

no tips. That kind of thing is exactly why eloping is a pretty attractive decision for us

Tip: organize who is going to what the day of the wedding waaaay in advance, and make sure everyone knows their jobs. For example, set one person as the "go-to" person - if there are any crises the day of the wedding, this person will take care of it (and leave you alone). Who's in charge of cleanup? Who's in charge of helping the caterers? Who's in charge of music? Who's in charge of decorations? Who's in charge of managing the crazy parents of the bride and groom (lol)? If people know in advance what they're supposed to do it will really help things go smoothly. I'd also recommend asking 1 or 2 people specifically to take and then distribute pictures, even if you're going to have a professional photographer. Consider them backups in case your main photographer isn't very good :) don't forget the "distribute" part, though, because otherwise people will procrastinate or forget and it will be years before you see those darn pictures!

Do a dress rehearsal with your hair, makeup, dress, shoes, and everything about 2 weeks before the wedding, just to make sure everything's fine. Then you have plenty of time to change things if necessary.

Don't get your hair cut or your eyebrows waxed or anything else done right before the wedding! Give it at least a few days to "settle in" - with hair, waiting a couple of weeks might be best.

Have contingency plans. What will you do if.... the sound system breaks? It rains? The cake gets eaten by a horde of ravenous monkeys? If you have a few basic worst case scenarios in mind, it will help keep you from a nervous breakdown if something actually does go wrong! (At one of my friends' wedding, the person carrying the wedding cake tripped and smashed the cake. But no worries, because they had a sheet cake from the supermarket waiting in the getting-ready rooms!)   (Also, you have your go-to person, so they'll take care of everything anyway and you won't even have to think about it!)

Plan your thank-you list in advance, and then run it by your parents. Don't be my half brother and alienate half your family by accidentally leaving a key person out.

If you're doing hors d'oeuvres for the reception and leaving plates out, plan in advance where you want the plates left. Don't be my half brother and let 5 plates of proscuitto and melon go to waste because people weren't thinking and put them in out-of-the-way places where nobody saw them.

If you're doing your own decorations, put them in clearly labeled bags for the setup. Like "altar decorations" "table decorations" etc. Otherwise you might get a bunch of helpful people getting really confused as to whether those candles were for the dinner tables, or the gift table, or... and stuff might get all mixed up. But you'll have your decorations team, and they'll take care of it!

That's all I can think of at the moment. Bottom line is to not stress about it too much. Stuff will happen unexpectedly, things will go wrong, and if you just relax then things will work out okay anyways. :) Hope those ideas helped! 

 where is the honeymoon gonna be

I'm not much of a girly-girl (never fell asleep dreaming of princess weddings, etc) so when I got overwhelmed, I simply scaled back.  I cut out anything that *we* didn't care about, all the "traditional" things everyone else does that don't really mean anything to us.  We had no money and I wanted to spend more time looking for a good job than dealing with a wedding.  We did not read vows, light a candle, do any toasts or speeches during the reception, the reception was held in the same location as the wedding and we did pictures before so we went straight to the feast, it was buffet-style and there was not assigned seating, could not afford any alcohol, did not have a DJ, dancing, a cake (my dad and sister made 250  cupcakes), my mom and I bought flowers from a local shop and arranged them ourselves, we bought all the food at a local Sam's club and my two good friends helped arrange it, for the wedding music I had my new sis-in-laws sing a song and Phil's sis-in-law play the piano.  Phil's dad did the ceremony (again, we did not write vows or even say them, we picked some we liked, had him read them, and said "I do";).  I made all my invitations and pew bows.

I was happy with the way it worked out.  I wasn't stressed out at all.  I focused on the things I actually cared about (photography mainly) and axed everything I think is dumb/boring about weddings.  Besides annoying dress fittings, I probably spent 12 hours total planning the wedding.

Wow Cita, what great advice!!  She is right, you can never be too prepared for a wedding!

I think the IPod, is a great, inexpensive idea.  I would load music of all kinds on.  Remember, this is your wedding, so whatever makes you and your fiance happy.

The same goes with the ceremony, you have 7 months to research online different types of ceremonies, and vows.  You can always call or email your officiant if you need to.

I have always loved the idea of putting out the disposable cameras on the tables at the reception.  You can get all kinds of candid shots that a photographer may miss.

Since Maggie is part of this, make sure there are arrangements for her after the ceremony for her care.  Also will the handler be dealing with her the day before and the day of for you?  She will need to be bathed and ready.  You will have so much other on your mind that if she can do those things for you, that would be great.

I was just watching a bridal show last night....  The Groom and groomsmen, had not tried on their tuxs until the day of the wedding and were missing 3 ties between the group.  Make sure everyone tries on their tuxs and shoes and makes sure all parts are there.

I wish you the best!!

Dawn

stardog85

...haven't decided if we'll have live music or not, but the budget is super tight, so I'm leaning toward an Ipod on shuffle and/or family playing some.  Anyone done the recorded music thing?  There won't be dancing, it'll just be a nice dinner reception.

We kept our wedding pretty simple. DH has some speakers that we hooked our iPod up to. We loaded up the iPod, put it on random, and let it play all night. It worked really nice. Much cheaper than hiring a DJ.

Have fun dress shopping! 

 First of all, congratulations!  My own wedding was exactly one month ago (woohoo, first little anniversary!), and I completely understand how boggling it all can be. 

My first tip would be to join up with the website "theknot.com".  I'm not sure if you're familiar with it (or if you're already a member), but it's free and is probably the most expansive wedding site out there.  The beautiful thing about it is that it has a budgeter, checklist, guestlist, reservation-maker, save-the-date-r, etc.  The reason why I recommend it so fervently is that their checklist is awesome.  It will remind you to do EVERYTHING, even down to the most minute detail.  It was my lifeline, because I kept freaking out, telling myself that I was forgetting things, and generally causing myself stress.  But the checklist has it all, and it kept me sane. 

And a big Yay! for using your dog as ringbearer!  I got so excited when I read your post, because my puppy Honor was the ringbearer (ringbearer-ette) in my wedding too.  I'm not sure what your plans are for Maggie, but Honor carried the rings on a ring pillow which was strapped to her harness.  It made for a cute picture, and I got her a purple harness to match her handler's dress. 

My next tip would be to really utilize your bridesmaids.  I fervently wish that I would have delegated a little more to mine (especially since two were my sisters), because bridesmaids are usually willing and able to take over the basic tasks (ie. double-checking with florists, reserving hotel rooms, contributing decorating ideas, confirming appointments/setup details, etc.).  This will take a significant amount of little details off your plate, and you'll be fully able to concentrate on the big decisions. 

My husband and I really debated over the DJ/iPod idea, and eventually wound up with going the DJ route.  Our decision was based mostly on the fact that the reception site didn't let us use their existing sound system, and we didn't have the right speaker equipment.  However, if your situation is different, go with the iPod.  I was really attracted to the idea, because then you know exactly what music is going to be played, and it's much cheaper to let a techi-savvy cousin run the iPod than to hire a DJ. 

About the ceremony music, why not do searches for contemporary instrumental versions of your favorite songs?  They come in all varieties (I used a jazzy instrumental version of Justin Timberlake's "Sexyback" as a reception-entrance song), and then you can set the tone you want for the ceremony, while still showing off your personal touch. 

As for vows, theknot.com has links to vow sites too.  I would suggest that you and your fiance go through them together, and take the pieces that you like from each, and then blend them together.

My last and most ardent tip would be that if you spend extra money in any area, it must be the photographer.  Nobody should have to look back at their wedding day through so-so pictures.  My photographer was worth every extra penny, and I will always be grateful to his innate artistry and the way that he made my day EASIER, not harder.  Definitely take the time to go through all of your potential photograper's portfolios, read customer testimonials, and schedule lots of consultations.

 
I hope this is of some help, and congrats again!  It's going to be one of the most beautiful and wonderful days of your life!
 

Absolutely blown away by the talent and professionalism showcased by the Melbourne Wedding Planners wezoree.com/.../planners listed here! Each profile feels like a dream waiting to happen. We found our perfect planner thanks to this site, and the whole experience was smooth and enjoyable. The variety of planning styles and specialties made it easy to choose someone who matched our vision. Highly recommend this platform to any couple looking for reliable and creative Melbourne Wedding Planners. Planning a wedding has never felt more exciting or stress-free!