I recently had a very close friend get engaged recently and she asked me a very good question... What do I do first?!?!?
Here's my version of a preliminary Wedding Checklist...
1. Venue / Wedding Date. As you already know I think that picking a venue is your first step. When you find the perfect venue, you find a date that they are available and you book it. Wedding Date Set!
2. Guest List. Kind of an on going thing but you need to have a ball park estimate of how many guests you're going to have to accommodate.
3. Caterer. There's a lot of options for caterers basically anywhere you look. There's also a lot of different prices. Find one that fits your budget and looks/sounds/tastes good and book it!
4. Photographer. Photography is something that I think you need to spend more than you're thinking you need to spend. Photos are all you have left after that day is done so you want a photographer who has the same style as you. Photographers are very busy and book up fast! So try and book this ASAP!
5. Church / Ceremony. Whether it be a traditional wedding in a traditional church or an outdoor ceremony, you still need to book it way ahead of time!
Looks like a short list but trust me, a lot of thought and effort goes into picking all of these things! Once you're done these then well done! The really hard decisions are behind you! No matter what else happens, you're having a wedding :)
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
Venue
Picking a wedding date and picking a venue go hand in hand. There is so many options for a wedding venue! Here's a couple of options for you!
1. Hotel Reception: This is a bit of a fancier option and usually an easier option. When you book a hotel for your reception you usually book a lot of things all together. You book your venue, bar tender, and caterer all in one! A hotel reception room is usually very well kept as well and not too many decorations are needed either. I think that booking a hotel reception is a very good option as it helps you to book a lot of jobs at one time! Very efficient!
2. Community Hall Reception: This is a really great option as well as it is usually a lot cheaper and gives you a lot more freedom with decorations and then you can bring in any caterer you want (usually). That being said, finding and choosing a community hall can be difficult. You can usually find a list of all the community halls in your area online on different websites. Most community halls will then have their own websites with more information about the hall itself. Here's some examples of lists of community halls in the Edmonton Area:
- 3. Outdoor Reception: SUPER Pretty! But not for the faint of heart as weather can change quickly! There's many options for an outdoor reception as well. There's some really beautiful places around my area to rent but you've gotta be confident in the weather or be able to move it inside and shake it off if it does end up raining. I for one would love to have an outdoor wedding but it freaks me out too much!
- 4. Event Venue: There is also quite a few places that are not hotels and they're not community halls either. These places are sometimes a little bit more pricey but they're worth it! You can find some real gems this way! Here's some examples of places like that in Edmonton.
- -http://www.oldtimerscabin.net/ This is the old timers cabin, it is absolutely gorgeous! When I first got engaged I found this place and really wanted to book it, but it fills up fast and it was a bit out of my price range! But for someone having a rustic wedding it is gorgeous!
- -https://plus.google.com/110602879944587985548/about?gl=ca&hl=en This is the Edmonton Police Association Cabin called Blue Meadows. My brother and (soon-to-be) sister in law booked this place for their wedding reception and it is perfect for their country wedding!!!
- There's also a lot of other places that aren't made for weddings but that can be booked out for them if you're willing to pay for it! Like Fort Edmonton Park, The Enjoy Centre and The Muttart Conservatory! Beautiful places but they usually cost an arm and a leg to book!!
- Another huge thing about booking a venue is making sure you have enough room! Venues will say that they can fit 100, 150, 200 people but I would say that you should always count that realistically its 50 less people that what they say. These places can fit that many people but not comfortably for a wedding and one thing that I think you need for a wedding reception is space! It works to move tables for a dance floor and all but the more room the better! And before you book anything you should really call and book an appointment to go and see it and make sure that it is everything you want and need!
Friday, February 6, 2015
Step One
Okay, so now you've finally got that ring on your finger. You've told all your friends and family, posted to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all that jazz. And I'm sure you're already getting sick of being asked... 'Have you picked a date yet?". This is probably one of your biggest decisions. There's 365 days in a year...52 Saturdays in a year... 52 Sundays in a year... and also 52 Fridays in a year. There's spring, fall, summer and (for some crazy people) winter. You're decision is based on many things...
1. How
long of an engagement do you want (or how long can you handle)? Personally
I would say 6 months in NOT enough time and a year and a half is WAY TOO LONG!
Ideally, get engaged in the month/season that you want to get married in and
have a year long engagement. But you know getting engaged is kind of up to the
guy and they just don't think that far ahead...
2. What
season do you want to get married in? This
also is very different for different people, depending where you live. If you
live in Canada and don't want it to snow on your wedding day then you've got
about a 3 month window (and even then you're not 100% safe) The theme of your
wedding also affects which season you choose. Our wedding is kind of a giant
hippie, bohemian flowers-in-your-hair type of thing and to me that screams
Spring!
 |
| Why not winter? Look at those gorgeous snowflakes! Plus you can decorate with Christmas Ornaments!! |
 |
| Spring is the season of new life! And Flowers!!! |
 |
| Summer! Perfect for outdoor/BBQ style weddings! Hopefully it's not too too hot! |
 |
| How about all those naturally beautiful Fall colors!?! |
3. What day of the week? What day of the weekend? Que our first wedding disagreement. My fiance
thought that Friday weddings were great! You could party the night away and
still have 2 full days to recover and travel home. My thought was that for
people who are coming from far away, I want them to lose as little work days as
possible! If you're flying in from somewhere you can go to a Saturday wedding
and not have to book any weekdays off. It sucks, but you can do it! In the end
we decided to go with a Saturday wedding because it was way easier to find a
venue. Some venues have things booked for every Friday or every second Friday
and this can really limit your choices.
4. What venues do you like and when are they available? This
is a HUGE thing! Once you've picked your season, start looking into venues
ASAP! Some places you have to book 2 years in advance! When you find a place
you like then find out when they're available and go from there. We did not
pick our date until we found a venue we liked and then just picked a weekend
they had open.\
Monday, February 2, 2015
The Story
Everyone's engagement is unique and beautiful in it's own way. I thought I would share mine with you.
Me and my now fiance have had a bit of a different and unique relationship. We first met at a youth event. It was a car rally and square dance. Yes I said square dance. Yes that super old fashioned swing your partner round and round thing. We talked a little bit and my 17 year old self went completely gaga over this muscular, older (finally taller than me) guy! But at the end of the night we parted ways and I thought to myself 'okay, well then I guess it wasn't meant to be'. Que pity party... I was 17 and had never been in a serious relationship before so needless to say, the world was ending! I went through a phase of 'where do you meet guys?', 'Am I ever going to meet the one?' and hating everyone else who was in a relationship. Then a year later me and my girlfriends attended the same car rally/ square dance again in 2012. And that's where I saw him for the second time. I can still picture it perfectly. Him walking around the corner of that barn, us all looking over and my eyes immediately meeting with my girlfriends. All I had to say was one simple word... "dibs".
I won't bore you with all the details of our relationship taking off except for the fact that I had to do everything! Ladies, don't be afraid to take matters into your own hands because if I've learned anything its that guys really really REALLY don't know how to take a hint.
We never had the 'define the relationship' talk we just had one date and then everyday after it was like okay when are we going to meet. It wasn't a question it was just something that had to happen. If we had to spend one day without seeing each other, it was a bad day.
So then fast forward about a year and a half. The last few months we had been seriously talking about getting married and even looking at rings together. We had found a few that we really liked and so I was basically just waiting now! And getting impatient! Christmas time came and gone and... no ring, New years eve came and gone and... no ring. My next thought was maybe Valentine's day? That didn't seem like his style so I
Don't get me wrong it was one of the best vacations I've ever had but it was also one of the hardest weeks I've ever had! Talking over Facebook and even over the phone just didn't cut it for us! It seemed to be even harder on him and I never really understood why until later. So finally on our way home, I'm tired, I'm home sick and I just really missed my boyfriend (I kind of miss using the work boyfriend)! All I wanted to do was see him. And that is all I was expecting as well. So I walk through those doors, see him, run to him, hug him, kiss him (all those gross things that couples that haven't seen each other in a while do, sorry not sorry). And I am just so happy to be home!
Then in the middle of the parking lot of the airport he does it! The last thing I'm expecting! He gets down on one knee and proposes to me with the most gorgeous ring I've ever seen! Another thing you're going to learn about me is that I am a total cry baby. I blame it on the jet lag but I bawled like a baby! So many happy tears!
Best day of my life, turned into the most crazy year and a half of planning!
Pilot
Hey Everyone! And welcome to my blog! I just want to take some time to explain to you why I even started this blog in the first place.
First and foremost, I'm making it for myself. I know I know sounds super selfish right? But think about it! It's like an online scrapbook that will last forever! If I ever need to remember who I hired for this or how much I paid for that, I have a reference right here on the internet! Another reason why I'm making this blog is to help keep me sane through the next 4ish months leading up to my wedding. I've been waiting a long time for this wedding and as you are going to find out I am stupid organized and proactive! So basically everything is planned, made, paid for or has a fool proof list with pictures for the day of! And last but not least this blog can continue on even after my wedding and I feel as though it will help soften the blow of my wedding being over! I've treated this day like my very own child and when it's over I don't know what I'm going to think about or talk about or frankly what I'm going to Pin about!
The Second reason why I'm making this blog for you is because I wish someone had made one for me! There's just so many questions with so many different answers! Do I need to have a flower girl? Can I do this to my hair? Can we eat this? Can I decorate with doilies? Spoiler alert! You can basically do whatever you want! It's your day! I am just here to help you make those decisions a little easier!
We're going to cover EVERYTHING! From organization, to timelines, caterers, flowers, alcohol, ceremony, programs, decorations, photo booths and much much much more! Don't be afraid!
You can do it!!!
-Trish
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