Help! I am getting married in June (10 months away) and I have no clue as to what I should have done by now!!!

Question

Okay....here's the deal. I am getting married in June 2007. It's 10 months away, my fiance is in the Air Force and he is gone most of the time so he isn't much help when it comes to planning. What should I have had done by now. All I have is bridal magazines and I am so lost. It says I should have done this and that by now but really all we have officially done is book the church. Are we up to date? My family makes fun of me and says I should be on Bridezillas because I worry so much but I want my day to be perfect and I need to be on a schedule....so please help!

Answer 1

10 months out.............
1. Book your reception location ASAP. a LOT of places are booked 2 years ahead. Also find your band/DJ NOW!
2. Ask your wedding party participants, decide on dresss colors and start looking for dresses. Hint: If you keep it small, your girls can almost shop anywhere!! And by all means, think about the cost involved in being a part of your wedding... Are you expecting them to give you a shower? Bachelorette party? Make sure you are clear on the financial end before asking anyone and tell them up front. Then, be honest and genuine and understand if someone can't afford to be in the wedding party.
3. You should also decide on tuxes for the guys by now.
4. Talk to both Mothers and help them decide what to wear.

6 months............
5. Find a florist, cake, limo service (?)photographer/videographer and someone to lgally marry you; decide on music for church.
6. Decide on invitations - you can make them yourselves!!

3 months......
7. Invites go out 6 weeks ahead for out-of-town guests, 4 weeks for in state.
8. Find "thank you" gifts for wedding party and parents. (A framed, written, hear-felt letter from you to his parents and from him to your parents is a WONDERFUL gift!!)
9. Finalize food order with caterer or hall.
10. Plan your honeymoon - even if it's just a couple of days in another city in your state! DO IT - you will both need to unwind... Make sure it's a place neither of you have been or one you both have been and have good memories of!

two months....
11. Book your hair, nails & make up appointment.
12. Plan your rehearsal dinner. (Usually groom's family takes care of expense.) It's usually on the day of your rehearsal.
13. Start wearing your wedding shoes around the house to break them in. Tell your Moms and girls to do the same...

One month....
14. Finalize honeymoon plans. Put all documents, tickets, etc. in your suitcase and begin packing non-essential items (if it's winter and you are going to a hot place, pack your swimsuit, shorts, etc. - things you don't need right now for everyday use.)

3 weeks.......
15. Apply for wedding license. (You will usually have to make two trips and you both need to be there to sign. If this is a problem, call them immediately - don't wait until 3 weeks before!! Get the wheels in motion now!!)
16. Prepare envelopes for minister's fee; Church rental; Church musician and/or soloist; to give to the Best Man for the day of the wedding. Set these with your bridal gown, etc. Maybe have your Father take care of this, doesn't have to be Best Man...

One week before....
18. Make a "date" with your parents - a special time that you can thank them for everything and tell them how much you love them. Doesn't have to be anything big, just set the time aside. (Good time to apologize for less than admirable behavior due to stress, etc. to clear the air and set everyone on good terms for wedding day. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE HAPPIEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE! MAKE IT HAPPEN!)

Answer 2

If you haven't already, come up with a budget for the wedding which will determine your choices as you plan the wedding. You also need to determine how many people you are inviting because that will determine what reception venues you can have and allows caterers or restaurants to be able to give you an accurate quote to you.

Depending where you live and plan to get married, there are things that should be booked a year in advance, but some places in the country do not have as many brides vying for resources. In some areas though there are not a lot of venues or wedding services so then there is competion in booking. The first things you need to do is nail down ceremony venue (you got that done!), venue for the reception (preferrably near the church), secure a caterer. You should also nail down a officiant or priest, which hopefully having a church has that covered.

Of first importance is that you have the mechanics of getting married all settled all the rest is just icing. Then you can decide what will make your guests comfortable and happy with as little work on your part. That is why you should look around for a caterer or restaurant and nail down the menu. Remember, the more people you invite, the more your expenses go up and the less time you will have for each one of your guests.

Depending on how many photographers are in your area, you may want to start looking around for one if you are not just relying on family and friends taking pictures (which is fine).

You cannot even think of invitations until you have both venues booked and you have an accurate guest list.

There are also music to decide on and then you can go dress shopping for yourself and bridesmaids. Then you can figure out the wedding cake and favors.

The important thing is to have fun and have a sense of humor about it all.

"Perfect Weddings" come in all different sizes and all are very different. The best weddings don't come from bridal magazines but when they are personalized to reflect the tastes, interests, and values of the couple. I have been to a beautiful backyard wedding that was thrown together in 72 hours by friends and family. I been to a nice casual reception where the couple just went up in the foothills with a bagpipe and celebrant with a couple of witnesses (plus a photographer friend who did a panaramic photo of them). Perfection is not in all the things that the bridal magazines want you to buy, but in the little touches that break the mold of the "perfect wedding" according to madison avenue marketing executives.

We borrowed the jewish tradition of breaking glass to signify that life isn't perfect, so why not have our wedding remind people of that. The bigger your event is the more that can and will go wrong since this is a human endeavor, goofs happen.

A successful wedding is where you end up married at the end of the day and you and the people you love have a memorable day full of laughter, tears, fun, and good food and drink. That can happen anywhere and on any budget.

Congratulations! Have fun!

Answer 3

I felt the same way - and waited too long. So we ended up doing everything in a rush like 2 months before the wedding. (Wedding is next weekend!)

But I felt the same. I live in a state when my family and friends do not - so I didn't really have anyone to help me.

I suggest making a list of everything that needs to be done and then making a timeline that seems right do you.

Tip: If you are making your own invitations - get started now! heh

I also suggest to start tracking down all those addresses you will need.

Answer 4

Let me tell you this First get the idea out of your head the day will be far from perfect. You can hire the best planner there is and the day still will not be perfect. So just lose that idea, now with that gone you can relax and enjoy the time of planing for that wonderful day. If there is nobody that can help you,how about a professional wedding planner who can help guide you. That should help to keep some of the pressure off of you. Just remember this is only one day out of your life. No matter what happens on that day you will still be married

Answer 5

Church/wedding site and reception site should be done as soon as you pick a date so you can reserve the sites. The alternative is to see what they have available and then set your date from this information.

Dresses need to be ordered six to 12 months before the wedding date. This time will cover ordering and delivery times as well as alteration time. You don't want to wait until the last minute just in case your dress is the wrong style, size, there are imperfections, etc. All of this takes time to correct. Check out Dreams by Renee. They have some absolutely gorgeous dresses and are able to do cusom work if needed. http://dreamsbyreneebridal.com

Flowers, decorations and invitations don't take nearly as long as everything else. Start visiting florists so you can get prices and ideas.

Are you (or do you know someone willing to help that is) crafty? Check out Michaels for decorations, floral, favors, etc. It will help with your budget if you can do as much as possible yourself. I used to be an Instructor/Event Coordinator for them and we had alot of classes for wedding related items. http://www.michaels.com

I'm a rep for Regency Thermographics. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. http://AphroditesCreations.regency.ac

Good luck!

Answer 6

Relax. At this point just focus on the vendors that you need to have exclusively on your wedding date: the wedding site, the officiant, the photographer, the band, maybe the caterer. You need to pin them down before somebody else does. You have plenty of time for all the rest. My wife and I had a pile of books for our wedding three years ago... the best and only one you need is "Weddings for Dummies." It's a great book. We also loved "By Recommendation Only" but I think that might be a Bay Area book only. Maybe there's an equivalent where ever you live.

Answer 7

invision what you want.
ie. how many bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower and ring bearer and get those people on board. and the colors you want

Get a place for wedding and ceremony

Get to trying on dresses for you and bridesmaids

then worry about food and such, cake and catering.

I am getting married in July of next year and this is pretty much how i got things done. I think finding where you want your wedding is the biggest thing to knock out. everything kind of follows that, because then you can look at decorating flowers and what not.

Dont stress out too much! your wedding is suposed to be a fun thing to plan, dont turn it into anything else :)

Congrats!

Answer 8

There really isn't much you can do until you get about 6 months or so away. Until then, start deciding who will be in the wedding party, who will be invited, and check with the places you want to have the ceremony and reception; sometimes those places need to have reservations several months in advance.

Answer 9

Not sure you do know what an autobiography is. A biography is a history of someone's life, which is what you intend to write about King Henry. An autobiography is a biography of one's own life, so it's impossible for you to write one about someone else. If you want to write a fake autobiography of Henry, that would be a piece of fiction. For such a historical novel, you might want to start with him saying a bit about his ancestry, then continuing as you have about his birth. Perhaps following with his earliest memories. Of course you'll have to make that part up. Think about the sort of thing that's in your earliest memory and adapt it to Henry's life.

Answer 10

10 months? That's a long time. I'd say you're insane for planning anything this far out, not to mention for worrying that you're behind schedule. If you don't chill out, you're simply not going to be happy about your wedding. You'll be miserable about it, and all the work you're going to do to make it "the happiest day of my life" is going to be wasted.
I guess you could start looking for dresses, and you could select your bridesmaids and tell them to save the date... and then chill for another six months or so, and think about your upcoming MARRIAGE, not your wedding. Remember that there's a difference.