One of the phrases I hate hearing is, “Oh you still have plenty of time!” While that might be true technically since we have eight months left, thinking about it in actual terms has started to up the stress levels. I travel quite a bit work, plus looking at our calendar, we have no free weekends in September or October. And we all know how FAST November and December fly by with the holidays. That puts it down to the four month mark! While that still sound like a lot of time for many brides (people plan entire weddings in that time!!), knowing I will most likely have some extensive international travel during that time makes me know it’s all going to be here before I know it.
I have a pretty serious checklist that I refer to often and have created a calendar of payments. Since I chose not to hire a planner, it’s up to me to remember who gets paid when (and they all are different.) For my fellow Spring brides, Lilly Pulitzer has some fabulous agenda choices which run from August 2013-December 2014. They are a practical, yet stylish and colorful way to keep all of these important dates in one place. Looking everything over, I feel pretty satisfied where I currently am. Honestly though, I couldn’t have done this without my mom. She has been my right hand lady throughout this process and we couldn’t have had more fun! Given that we have most of the major items checked off like venue, DJ, photographer, my dress, invitations, transportation and ceremony music, we are now more focused on the little details. I think this is what is overwhelming me . . . all of these small, special little things that turn a wedding from OK to amazing.
Me being me, I have the tendency to get caught up in these details. Of course I need confetti and ribbons and cake pops and personalized water bottles and . . . well you get the point. Like many fellow brides, I have champagne wishes on a beer budget. So my checklist is one way I help focus my Pinterest day dreams. Look at all of those other more important things we need still . . . do we really need [fill in the blank]? My mom is also the voice of reason who has helped remind me that less is always more. There are also lots of inexpensive ideas that will make a wedding special without breaking the bank.
So while it’s true that I might still have a lot of time to sort through all of these details, I need to remind myself to breath and enjoy this time. A year from now, these silly little details won’t matter any way. Most guests really only remember two things: the food and whether or not they had fun (your DJ). My parents will be married 30 years this November and people STILL talk about how much fun their wedding was! Not because they spent $100,000 on it. But rather because they truly love one another and their wedding was a reflection of that joy.
