My Wedding in Real Time: The Little Things

Once you've secured the big vendors (we've done all but our cake so far) there's not a lot of big work to do except focus on working hard to save money to pay for them. In the meantime, I've found that this is also a great time to work on some of the smaller things while you're not so busy.

Invitations: I decided that to save money I would design them myself. I used Adobe Illustrator and InDesign to mimic a design I'd seen on Etsy.com. If you have any design ability I would always encourage you to do your invites yourself. Paper and printing costs are minimal and usually won't compare to the large costs you'll find online or in stationery stores. If however, you don't have the ability to design, look at stationery makers that offer printable designs as a way to save costs. Additionally, choosing a flat print versus a letterpress is always a money-saver.

Photos on the left are from Etsy Vendors: JackandJillWedding and JenSimpsonDesign

Programs: Again completed myself. Now just preparing to get them printed. I'd like to print all of my paper items at once, sometime in the next month...however I haven't figured out the actual flow of the ceremony quite yet, so that may mean I need to get them printed later.

Guest Book: I didn't want a traditional guest book...I knew that from the beginning. I also didn't want your typical signing of the matting to a photo. I wanted something new and unique. So I went straight to my daily inspiration source, pinterest.com. They have so many great ideas! I decided on something that focuses more on notes than signatures...but you'll have to wait to see exactly what it is.

To complement my guest book table I've been gathering vintage books (from a book re-saler down the street who sells them for $2) and scored some great frames and boxes from HomeGoods, my newest love. If you have a HomeGoods in your area, I definitely recommend you make visiting the store a weekend chore because you can find so many great accessory items for the wedding at such discounted prices. And remember a tip from one of my recent blogs...you can always spray paint it if it's the wrong color!

Favors: I scored some great canning jars from a local WinCo (grocery store) for super cheap and have been trying to figure out exactly what to do with them. I think right now I'll be filling them with one of our favorite snacks and then covering the lids with a colored fabric, with a cute tie which lists the person's name and table number. This way the favor doubles as a place card, once again saving you paper & printing costs. I got a fabulous craft punch from JoAnn Fabrics (somehow the one near my house has almost everything on sale almost all of the time) for the tag. It's EK brand and I encourage you to look for them. They're much cooler than your typical Fiskars punches.

Gift Registry: We decided to start a base registry before Christmas in case anyone wanted ideas for gifts, but it turns out no one did. So we're ahead of the game for our wedding, in that we're pretty much done with our registry already. I had been really excited to use a new registry site called giftregistry360.com but it turns out that right now they're not linking with Target, one of our stores, so that's made it not as useful as I would have liked. If you're planning on registering at Macy's, Crate & Barrel, Sur La Table, Williams & Sonoma or Home Depot I'd encourage you to check it out.

What's Left to Do

In the 3.5 months left before my wedding, I still have much to do, but there are some items I really need to prioritize in the next few weeks. First of all, we really need to get to the suit rental company and pick out my fiancee's suit as well as pick out the suits for all of our groomsmen, ring bearers and readers. I still haven't secured my hair and makeup because we're trying to get other things paid for first, but that also needs done. We have some cake tastings we need to do in January and I need to start getting some dates for wedding showers and bachelorette parties, since Spring Break and Easter will take up some valuable weekends right before the wedding.

I think I'm not into the "stressing out stage" yet, but I foresee it coming about February 1st. If I can stay on top of things as I'd like, I think I'll be ok, but if I let things go and don't get things done (which I'm trying really hard not to let happen) it's going to mean far more stress later. Oh and did I mention it's now diet time?! Time to lose about 15 lbs in 3 months....exercise and nutrition will be key. I'll let you know how it goes...I'm crossing my fingers, lol.

My wish for any of you who are near or right where I'm at right now, is that you take one day in the next month just for you. Even if it's just a day to laze on the couch, watch tv, and relax I encourage you to do it for the sake of your sanity. For me, a great bubble bath can often help calm the stress. And just remember that you're not alone, so many women have done it before you, and it will all be worth it in the end.

Happy Planning!

~A