Updates!

125 Days to Go!

It’s that time again where I update you as to where I am with everything. Things are actually progressing nicely!

Every bride and groom must make a ‘To Do’ list, if they are traditional or completely unique. It’s essential that you know what needs to be done and it’s quite satisfying ticking it all off!

Picture from Bash Corner.com

It’s even better if you can sit down with your h2b and plan your check list together! My h2b wasn’t entirely sure what we needed for our wedding so I put the check list together but we worked closely on it. As we’re ticking bits off, we’re both feeling quite chuffed about it!

I’m really glad I have pretty much everything ticked off with just over 4 months to go! (Eeeeeek! Only 4 months! I remember when it was two years away!!!)

Our To Do List So Far:

The Church!
This was one of the first items we had booked. I’ve always wanted a church wedding so making sure that we got the church on the date we wanted was essential.

However, there are church parts that we haven’t completed yet:

• confirming the hymns
• confirming the readings (although I already know what I’d like)
• deciding on music for the processional and the recessional
• attending the church counselling classes
• deciding on the church flowers
• organising for the bells to ring and the choir to sing
• paying for the church and the flowers

Hmm, that’s quite a lot not done, actually! Well, at least it’s booked!

The Reception
The reception was also one of the first things we booked. It was very important for us to find exactly the right venue for us. We wanted somewhere with a lot of history, a lot of character and enough size for the wedding we were planning.

We found that with only two years to spare! I think I visited every wedding venue in the West Midlands!

However, there are a few elements within the venue that need completing:

• booking the bridal suit for the night of the wedding  
• choosing the wedding breakfast menus
• choose the evening buffet menu
• confirm numbers and menu choices with the venue
• send over the seating plan
• sort out the running of the day with the wedding coordinator
• take over the favours and everything for the tables
• sorting out the photo booth location

That’s a lot to do and I’m sure I’m missing something off this list!

The Photographer
After we had confirmed our wedding dates with the church and the reception, the photographer was next on our to do list.

Our photographer was an easy choice. He’s a really nice chap and he takes absolutely amazing photos. I really like looking at his blog to see other weddings he’s photographed

But even though we’ve booked, there’s still heaps to do:

• the engagement shoot
• deciding on essential photos we want
• choosing the album

Not as much as the church or the reception but possibly more important!

The Stationary
I met the stationer that we chose at a wedding fayre near Dudley. I’ve been to quite a few wedding fayres in my time and I’d looked at the stationary there. They were all very nice but there was nothing that grabbed me, that was until I saw the stationary I chose in the end. I loved it!

The only problem was that I’d found the stationary I’d wanted so far in advance that the manufacturers stopped making the little flowers that went on it! Luckily, the talented stationer was able to find something almost similar and probably even better!

So, still to do!

• day invitations
• day invitation inserts
• evening invitation
• evening invitation inserts
• RSVP’s
• orders of service

I am doing some of the stationary myself, i.e. the seating plan, the seating tabs and the favours. They are still ‘to do’.

The Transport
H2b was very concerned with how guests would get to the church and then get to the reception. We have quite a few international guests and a few from out of town so they wouldn’t know the area and the reception venue is quite far from our church.

We decided to have a London bus to transport guests from the church to the reception. It’d be a lot of fun and it was a link to my father’s childhood as he grew up in London and possibly travelled on the London bus that we ended up booking!

I was more concerned with how we were going to get to the church and the reception so I organised transport for the bridal party and the groom.

Still to do:

• confirm the details with the classic cars
• confirm details with the London bus

The Suits
As we walk past the suit shop regularly, we thought we may as well book the suits. I had exactly what I wanted h2b to wear in my head, and it looked all wrong on him when he tried it on. We settled on tails and paid the deposit.

However, still to do

• have everyone except the best man measured (as he’s already measured)
• pay the remainder of the deposit
• collect the suits a few days before the wedding
  

My Wedding Dress
It took days for me to choose a wedding dress. Mum and I went to 7 wedding shops and tried on 28 dresses, however when we finally chose The One I was so happy.

Still to do with my wedding dress:

• a final fitting for adjustments
• pay for the adjustments
• collect it for storage when the adjustments are finished

I tried on a lot of dresses, here are some of them.

The Bridesmaid Dresses
I had envisioned my bridesmaids in a specific dress, however when we went to the dress shop I instantly fell in love with a different, sparkly (and more expensive) dress. We have also chosen a different one for the little bridesmaids that’s very cute and looks fab!

Still to do:

• a final fitting and adjustments for my adult bridesmaids
• a final fitting for the little bridesmaids
• collecting the dresses a few days before the wedding

The Florist
We did end up changing our florist and are now really happy with the florist we’ve chosen! I love following them on Facebook to see what they’re up to. We had a lot of ideas to bring to the florist for flowers and she offered us a lot of different ideas which we loved too!

We still need to:

• pay the deposit
• finalise the flower orders
• organise deliveries

The Favours and Gifts
I’d always planned to make our wedding favours by myself and we’re well on our way! I was able to find some very nice but affordable favour boxes and we’re mixing it up with some favour bags too.

I’ve had some ideas about the gifts too, to the parents and the bridal party. We wanted to get something that meant a lot to us and showed our gratitude for everyone’s help and support.

I have a lot to do:

• order the groomsmen’s gifts
• choose and buy the bridesmaids’ gifts
• buy the sweets for the favours
• put all the sweets in the favours
• sort all the favours into tables and put them in their table boxes for ease of distribution

Hair and Makeup
I have booked the hair and makeup lady! This was again one of the early items that I booked. I met the lady at a wedding fayre in the Mount Hotel. I liked her own makeup style and that she had a large portfolio of beautiful pictures.

Still to do:

• makeup trial
• sort out the timings for The Day

That’s it really!

The DJ
We booked out DJ through our venue, he is recommended and to be honest, I really did like the package. If you’re anything like us, what we really wanted was little more than an ipod, someone to play the music that we enjoy.

The DJ we booked also has a plazma TV on which we can put the photos from the day for guests who weren’t there. I really like that idea as it brings the evening and the day guests together.

What we haven’t done yet:

• spoken to the DJ about our music choices
• organised timings

I think that’s it…

I’m trying to think of anything I’ve missed but I think that’s it. It’s quite a long list and a fairly thorough update!

I think that gives a brief insight into the working mind of a bride. There are so many things to think of it’s easy to get stressed. I’ve only had one bridezilla moment so I think I’m doing well!