Crazy planning

Look up the wedding planning chart and print it off. Check mark each box off as you complete that task.

If you have a local used book store, you can find some great discounted wedding books to help get you started! I read a ton of them and passed along the good ones to my groom so that we were on the same page. Not all of the things may be relevant to your wedding but there will also be things that you wouldn't have known or thought of. Then after you're done, you can sell them back to help the next bride and groom!

I found that a lot of planning really stemmed from what was and wasn't included with the venue.

For example ours includes all chairs, linens, catering, non-alcoholic drink mixes, and ceremony/reception set-up and break-down and a tent for our outdoor ceremony so we didn't have to look at separate vendors for those items.

The big ones I would say include everything Bethany said plus: marriage license and wedding rings, a special event permit if it's required to serve liquor at an event in your province, wedding insurance. Things that are usually easily overlooked in the madness of everything.

There are also some great infographics on pinterest that shows what tasks should be completed at roughly what time intervals. I found those helpful, too.

When looking at your budget, ask if the venue's quote includes a corkage fee - that can be a pretty big hidden cost (at least here in ON)

I keep reminding myself: I have my officiant, my license and my man so I can get legally married - the rest are just extras! That seems to be helping with my planning stress!

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Well, get those business cards printed up and get going! Start a website and get this thing rollin'.

View quoted message Oh thank you that made me feel good Haha. I'd love to help out brides now that I've been one haha

View quoted message You're welcome!!

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Bethany, you should be a wedding planner!!

Bethany, Thank you! I just didn't want to miss something. Appreciate it 😁

Officiant, venue, catering, dress & accessories, DJ, photographer, florist, decor, makeup & hair, cake, party favours, guest book, invites & stationary accompaniments

View quoted message It's like a post card with basic info that gets sent out before the formal invite. SAVE THE DATE FOR THE WEDDING OF _________ AND _________ AUGUST 5, 2017 INVITE TO FOLLOW.
Let's ppl know the date of your wedding to start planning around it.

What is a Save the date anyway?

There's a really great to-do list on this site that I used to get a sense and get started on planning. The first thing I did was create a rough guest list, together with a budget. I used a template I found online that gave me a good sense of what I could expect for prices. Other than that, I've also booked a venue and got my wedding dress (early, I know). Next up is suit shopping for the FH, the wedding website, save the dates, and then outfits for the groomsmen and bridesmaids. Hope that helps!

The budget list and the to-do list on here are great tools to help you think about stuff. You'll need rentals if your venue doesn't provide them (chairs, dinnerware etc) and think about wedding favours. Also, don't feel like you need absolutely everything that is listed. There is tons of stuff we aren't doing.

Catering (if venue doesn't provide), hair, makeup, photographer, videographer (if you want to do that), Florist, Seamstress for dress alterations, jeweller for wedding bands, ...
The list in the budget on here is also a great place for everything you might need ...