Well, it was a great birthday week! Although I still need to create my “30 in my thirties” list of things to do over the next decade! What should I put on it?
Links I’m Loving
I’m becoming increasingly discouraged about wedding dresses. The more I look at them online, the more I realize that it may be impossible to find a dress that I like. *Le Sigh* Although I do LOVE these tutu dresses that Miss Pancakes wrote about! (Although I want something with SLEEVES!)
Because I’m having such a difficult time picking wedding dresses I like, I may have one made out of my grandmother’s wedding dress. So, I should probably read these seamstress tips closely!
We’re planning on having my fiance’s aunt bake her amazing cupcakes for our wedding. I think that cute cupcake wrappers like these would be cute. I’ve also seen a bunch on Etsy.
Google Weddings has launched. Although this isn’t nearly as impressive as I thought it would be. It’s basically just a compilation of all their products, with the same function as what I was using before. And all their templates were already available on their Google Docs templates site. Still, worth checking out. (via Lifehacker)
These old Brides magazines are adorable! Ah yes, back when weddings were much simpler
As a compulsive planner, I have found that Wedding Planning Timelines have been crucial for me, especially since we have a somewhat complicated venue booking situation.
I chuckled at this post big time because it sounds a LOT like what I’ve been encountering. No one can understand why I don’t want to attend a Bridal Show. We’re not having flowers and someone said, “well, you’ll at least have silk then, right?” Nope, no flowers, real or silk. There are SO many more creative decorating ideas than flowers! (although, unlike the author, I am taking an interest in the upcoming Royal Wedding!)
Since we’re going to do a lot of self-catering for the wedding, I’ve started to collect images for how we should set up our buffet. Does anyone know what the silver trays pictured on this post are called and where you can buy them? Warming dishes, perhaps?
Fitness is a big goal for most brides, including me! My DIY wedding fitness plan (more about that here) has been going great! I recommend all the DVD’s I’ve used so far.
I am SO torn about whether to wear glasses on my wedding day! I wore contacts for nearly 12 years (from age 13 to age 25). Then astigmatism set in and made contacts kinda uncomfortable and I’ve been wearing awesome glasses ever since. I’m not sure what to do!
So, the more I try to limit the number of wedding vendors we have, the more I struggle with how much trust you should actually put in them. I stalk the vendor forums over at Bridal Tweet fairly often, and frankly, they all sound like they have their heads up their asses. But, this article is worth a read.
A milk and cookie bar would be awesome! Especially since my fiancé is a big milk drinker! Even drinks it with dinner!
Shit I’m not going to worry about for my wedding
There are some things that I come across in the wedding blogosphere that just make me go “hmmm, no wonder why brides stress themselves out so much over their wedding.” In other words, things that seem to take too much time compared to the benefit. (disclaimer: because commenters have expressed … displeasure … with my use of the term “shit,” I just want to clarify that I do not think that the projects or ideas themselves are “Shit.” In fact, they look awesome and you can tell that a LOT of time and hard work were put into them. This is just my effort to poke a little fun at some things that I find over-the-top and what I think could be the source of a lot of wedding stress.)
Is assembling wedding invitations really this complicated? I hope not!
So, here’s the deal. I had never heard of some traditions before I actually started planning our wedding. For instance: buying gifts for your parents and your spouse-to-be. Isn’t the marriage a big enough gift?
More bridesmaids newsletters? Oh right. And MORE bridesmaids newsletters. I would like like to say that I realize more and more every day that our decision to not have a bridal party is one of the best we’ve made. It eliminates so many decisions.
Wedding Fitness Goal Progress
I lost 1.2 pounds this week, for a total of 7.4 pounds since January 5. It feels great to see the scale moving down. I just wish it would go faster!
February Wedding Planning Goal Progress
There’s not too much on the wedding action plan for February. It is a short month after all. But, no progress made yet on any of the following goals:
- Research hair and makeup artists – In progress. I contacted two. This is a really tough one. It’s hard to tell their quality from their website, and I really don’t want to pay more than $250 for hair and makeup. Some places charge like $500 for hair and makeup! This one will take more research.
- Interview videographers – In progress. I contacted six videographers this week. Yeowza, I did not realize that they would be so expensive! My fiancé and I are now discussing whether we actually need one. Thoughts?
- Research marriage license requirements – In progress. Applying for a Virginia marriage license has to be done within 60 days of the wedding, so October 1 might look like a good timeframe. Now I just have to figure out where the nearest circuit court is.
Finances and Administrative
Wedding Related Expenses This Week: $0.00
Total Wedding Related Expenses (all time): $106.50 on magazine subscriptions and planning books
Total Budgeted Difference (we have a $15,000 budget): $14893.50
Estimated Hours Spent on Wedding Planning (not including blogging) This Week: 4 hours