Sarah's Wedding Part II- The Beginning Details

**Sarah was an intern with A Big To Do Event in 2010 and remains a friend of A Big To Do.  We are so excited to help Sarah plan her and Slayden's big day. She's keeping us (and you) informed on her progress through the process. For a recap of her progress so far, click here: http://abigtodoevent.blogspot.com/2011/06/guess-who-is-planning-wedding.html **

This weekend marked three months until the big day! THREE MONTHS?! I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO! It is no wonder the average engagement is 14 months; we are having an eight month engagement and I feel like there is ALWAYS something to do!

So let me start with some advice:
- Keep a journal during your engagement. This journal should include everything from the proposal, to asking your bridesmaids, planning, fun memories and everything in-between!

Speaking of many of those events... I have lots to fill you in on!

Once I got my venues secured I had a few things I knew I needed to take care of. I knew choosing our bridal party needed to be one of our first tasks! We have some many important people in our lives and narrowing them down was a difficult task. I wanted to do something that would be unique to our wedding and special to my best friends.

I decided to buy bathing-suit bags for each of my girls. The front said, "Let's hit the beach!" I wrote each of them a note asking if they would join me on the ultimate beach trip. It was something that was not a huge expense, but was special to each of them!

Now it was time to get organized. Creating the ultimate wedding binder would help keep my mom and me on track until the wedding! We divided the wedding into different sections such as: Attire, flowers, details, colors, budget, etc. We used sleeve protectors in the binder so I could pull pages from magazine and easily sort them! We also put a calendar in the front of the binder with a printable month for every month until the wedding. Lastly, we printed out a timeline of what needs to be done when to help (try) to keep us on track!

Until I could move on to any other decision I had to decide on a theme for the wedding. How you want people to feel when they leave the wedding is an important part of all you decision making. Do you want a romantic affair? A whimsical evening? Or a casual afternoon? While some of the "themes" will overlap it is important to decide what you are going for before you move onto the big details.

For me, I wanted people to leave feeling like they just left a dinner party with all their best friends. Since we are having a relatively small wedding, I want everyone to leave with their heart full after spending a long night with people important to them. Since we are in historic venues, we are keeping things classic/traditional in our attire and decorating.

Now you are up-to-date on the beginning details! Up-next I will cover the big stuff! Including my dress!