Advice from This Bride to a Soon-To-Be Bride!
...if you're interested! Again...this is still a work-in-progress, so check back for updates...
The Planning!
I had a year and a half to plan my wedding; because of that, I decided to get all of my vendors booked ASAP so that I didn't have to worry about it as the date approached. You will have plenty of things to do when the wedding gets closer, so booking early is highly recommended!
Dress Shopping!
Start thinking about your dress, bridesmaids dresses and colors! In all honesty, I didn't really find all of those bridal magazines helpful in finding my dress, or even to get ideas of what I liked; the Knot was the best resource for me. However, looking at a dress online or in a magazine is completely different than when you actually go see them and try them on! The shop I bought my dress at didn't allow you to take photos until you purchased your dress, but I HIGHLY recommend sneaking photos of you in every single dress you try on! Make sure you turn off your flash and have someone cough so they don't hear the sound of the camera! I couldn't believe how my opinions changed about dresses after seeing photos. Staring at myself in the mirror just didn't do it. There was a particular dress that I thought was a contender until I saw myself in the photo. YUCK! I didn't like it at all. I couldn't believe the difference between looking in the mirror and seeing myself in the photo. Also, once you find THE dress, STOP LOOKING! You will only second-guess yourself. Give yourself at least 6 months to get your dress...so again, order early!
My MOH and I went shopping for the BMs dresses with a plan. We knew we wanted "tiffany blue" for the dresses, so we first needed to ask what designers made dresses in that color. We saw the color swatches and then knew to look at those designers with the colors we liked best! We finally saw the dress that we both liked and went ahead and ordered it! Remember ladies, HAGGLE! I had 10 BMs and 1 JrBM PLUS my dress, so I made them come down significantly! I think we saved a total of 20% on each dress, which I know my girls appreciated. Speaking of bridal party, all but 4 of my BMs were from out of town. The very first thing I did once we ordered my MOH's dress was email the rest of the BMs and show them a photo of the dress - advise them of the price and deposit - give them the shop's phone number and give them a deadline to order by! The last tip is very important! You need to stay in touch with your BMs and the Bridal Salon to ensure everyone has ordered their gown by the due date.
Once the dresses come in, make sure the ladies pick them up immediately so that in the event something needs to be re-ordered, you have that option!
Booking Vendors!
As I mentioned previously, I started my planning process in Australia, so I relied heavily on The Knot's message boards - specifically the Chicago Message Boards. I started asking about different vendors and was given so much advice, and then I took it from there - separated the ones that were not within my budget, the ones I didn't care for - and then the remaining vendors, I emailed and scheduled to meet with; This is the order I booked my vendors:
- Church
- Reception Hall
- Photographer
- DJ/Musicians
- Videographer
- Day Of Coordinator
The Planning!
I had a year and a half to plan my wedding; because of that, I decided to get all of my vendors booked ASAP so that I didn't have to worry about it as the date approached. You will have plenty of things to do when the wedding gets closer, so booking early is highly recommended!
Dress Shopping!
Start thinking about your dress, bridesmaids dresses and colors! In all honesty, I didn't really find all of those bridal magazines helpful in finding my dress, or even to get ideas of what I liked; the Knot was the best resource for me. However, looking at a dress online or in a magazine is completely different than when you actually go see them and try them on! The shop I bought my dress at didn't allow you to take photos until you purchased your dress, but I HIGHLY recommend sneaking photos of you in every single dress you try on! Make sure you turn off your flash and have someone cough so they don't hear the sound of the camera! I couldn't believe how my opinions changed about dresses after seeing photos. Staring at myself in the mirror just didn't do it. There was a particular dress that I thought was a contender until I saw myself in the photo. YUCK! I didn't like it at all. I couldn't believe the difference between looking in the mirror and seeing myself in the photo. Also, once you find THE dress, STOP LOOKING! You will only second-guess yourself. Give yourself at least 6 months to get your dress...so again, order early!
My MOH and I went shopping for the BMs dresses with a plan. We knew we wanted "tiffany blue" for the dresses, so we first needed to ask what designers made dresses in that color. We saw the color swatches and then knew to look at those designers with the colors we liked best! We finally saw the dress that we both liked and went ahead and ordered it! Remember ladies, HAGGLE! I had 10 BMs and 1 JrBM PLUS my dress, so I made them come down significantly! I think we saved a total of 20% on each dress, which I know my girls appreciated. Speaking of bridal party, all but 4 of my BMs were from out of town. The very first thing I did once we ordered my MOH's dress was email the rest of the BMs and show them a photo of the dress - advise them of the price and deposit - give them the shop's phone number and give them a deadline to order by! The last tip is very important! You need to stay in touch with your BMs and the Bridal Salon to ensure everyone has ordered their gown by the due date.
Once the dresses come in, make sure the ladies pick them up immediately so that in the event something needs to be re-ordered, you have that option!
Booking Vendors!
As I mentioned previously, I started my planning process in Australia, so I relied heavily on The Knot's message boards - specifically the Chicago Message Boards. I started asking about different vendors and was given so much advice, and then I took it from there - separated the ones that were not within my budget, the ones I didn't care for - and then the remaining vendors, I emailed and scheduled to meet with; This is the order I booked my vendors:
- Church
- Reception Hall
- Photographer
- DJ/Musicians
- Videographer
- Day Of Coordinator
