Wedding Planning Part 1

The basic reason for this blog is to start documenting the journey towards a wedding. The journey towards marriage is in a much better place and is more sacred in my eyes, thus something I do not feel the need to parade publicly. Chris, my wonderful fiance proposed on October 11, 2009 and only a few weeks ago did we finally secure a date: August 28, 2010. The countdown begins.

Resources:
Friends
Friends Weddings
Cyber Stalking (only ideas, dresses, etc. not people)
Real Simple Weddings
Bridal Magazines - pick several
Bridal Expo's
Erica Garcia

Needless to say there are a variety of other resources used in this process such as books on wedding planning, pastors, premarital counselors, mentor couples, and your fiance but I feel the ones above are the primary sources.

Step one : Size
Decide vaguely on the size. For example, I would not mind having a small wedding of 50 people or so but when Chris and I wrote down the names of our family and friends who were unquestionably invited 50 wasn't feasible. We decided our wedding would probably have 120 - 150 and could easily reach 200 if we weren't discerning.

Step two : Wedding Party
Mom, Dad, Aunt Pam... Everyone knows that part but what about your bridesmaids. This was the most exciting part. Immediately I wanted to call about twelve friends and ask them to be my bridesmaids. Unfortunately, my goal is to have a beautiful wedding at a reasonable price so twelve attendants could break the bank with gifts alone! During one of my readings I found a rule of thumb that said you want one bridesmaid per thirty-five to fifty guests. Not knowing the official size of my wedding I decided on five bridesmaids. Mostly because I could not imagine walking down the isle without these women next to me. My maid of honor was easy - my little sister. *Smile!* She is my partner in crime, my longest friend, and, at times, my dearest enemy. If you have siblings you know what I mean. Second was also a given, my best friend from second grade on: Jenniffer. This was something that had been dictated since we were young and spoken of occasionally. My question was, "Can I have two maids of honor?" and "Is it worth it?" I decided one was enough and Jen could be my first bridesmaid.

Next, came friends. Two of these are sisters I have known since I was at least six years old, potentially earlier. Either way, these two are the extended family I didn't have nearby growing up. They have been involved with boyfriends, other friends, frat parties, bars, non-frat parties, politics, religion... and most importantly have laid in bed with me eating popcorn while watching The Food Network and discussing the a fore mentioned items late into a Friday night. My other bridesmaid is a dear friend with whom I have become extremely close after meeting through a job a few years ago.