Thursday, June 23, 2011

Pri-or-ities!

My mom bought me this magazine today. I was thrilled even though I swore off wedding magazines now that I'm thoroughly engrossed in internet wedding planning sources. It was always so much more ads than content and it's hard to see all the things I can not afford. I opened this one up to the first article: Getting Started....

It was well written and one of their first suggestions was to make a list your ideal wedding elements. They suggest taking your time and really thinking about it. Once you've got them on paper you should rank them by importance.

Prior to reading the article on the advise of a been there done that bride I wrote my priority list:

  1. Only things that have significance to us. Meaning no empty traditions or "supposed to's"
  2. Great Pictures They are the piece of your wedding day you keep forever.
  3. Unforgettable Good Time I don't mean keg party good time. I mean the kind of wedding where everyone joins in and participates and leaves all glowy.
  4. Full Bellies I went to three weddings in a row where I was either pregnant or postoperative and I want everyone to be stuffed. I'm 100% in favor of a full dinner, just not a super formal one.

My list is an overall general list and they were suggesting a more item specific list to assist budgeting and time lining the planning. I had to chuckle when they said:
If your list consists of 75 items, make peace with the fact that you can accomplish (and probably afford) only the first 25 and don't even build the others into your time line. So, I took a deep breath and began a list. I ended up with 16 items and I ranked the items by their importance to me. I knew full well Mike would agree with my list, but not my priorities. So here they are in order:

  1. Rings we will be happy with forever.
  2. Not working/being in charge on my wedding day
  3. Great photographer
  4. Botanical garden venue
  5. Meaningful ceremony
  6. Great meal
  7. Lovely flowers
  8. Amazing artistic cake
  9. Beautiful gowns
  10. Great music
  11. Beautiful maids
  12. Themed decor
  13. Kids activities
  14. Comfortable groomsman
  15. Surprises!
  16. Slideshow

I'm not sure how things will change as planning progresses, but I'm sure my original core list will remain at the heart of things. I know it sounds like a long list, but some of them will take care of themselves. They won't all cost money and some will be down right fun to pull off. Nine-ish months and counting...

3 comments:

  1. This may sound strange for a wedding, but believe it or not I had silk flower arrangements. Even my bouquet was made from silk flowers. You couldn't tell the difference and it made planning ahead so much simpler. No wilting! Plus, hey it was MY day, so that made me happy. The hell with what anyone else thinks. :) Definitely no empty traditions in my wedding. We had a JP with an eye patch! LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's funny, you should show Jack pictures and tell him you were married by a pirate.
    Silk flowers can be pretty and paper and fabric flowers are really popular right now. I just feel like getting married in a botanical garden is all about natural beauty and live flowers done sparingly is the way to go.

    ReplyDelete
  3. So glad the magazine is helpful. I thought its title of Simple Living would be practical ideas. Not your normal bridal mag at all. So cool. Simple handbooks can be very helpful, when you have time to pick and choose what may work for you. It makes me happy to watch you plan this wedding. Im where Im suposed to be. Glad Im here on the sidelines<3

    ReplyDelete

I thrive on your feedback. Leave your two cents.