wedding planning advice?

... and I don't want to hear anyone cheekily saying "don't get married!" lol.. I am just looking for any help I can in planning this wedding; we are shooting for mid August, maybe earely September if we end up renting the indoor lodge at a local park. See, I wanted to rent a large tent and have the reception at home since there is a ton of room, but the lawn is muddy; we would need porta-johns; old people would fall and get hurt; etc. So the hall is $400, compared to over a grand for the tent..
Argh! How do you survive this stuff! Luckily I have a sister and best friend to help me, who have walked this aisle before.. we are not having a ceremony in a church; I am looking for a nondenominational chapell, seems odd to get married right in the hall where the partying will be..

I like this dress..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...dings_10-1.jpg
And I am mad about this ring (it is a custom-made job though..)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ed-Ring-24.gif

Hi Jen, I loooooove the dress and the ring is totally awesome and unique! I have done a few weddings as in the flowers the head piece and some of the food as my family has a catering business back east. If I can give you any help please just ask:D

Cool! They're not located in western NY, are they? (had to ask.. that would be too good of luck. :)

That dress is beautiful. :love:

As for general wedding advice.... do what you like. Don't try and appease everyone, because you just can't. Oh and hire a good photographer. :D

Elmira NY, are you any where near there?

I don't have any advice because i am no good at it------but what i will do is keep my girlfriend away from my computer, so she doesn't get any ideas, and start wondering when her ring is coming!! :carrot:

looking at that gorgeous dress and that amazing ring... makes me think of this article.

i published this in another magazine i worked for. jennifer had a very unique ceremony and i thought you might enjoy reading this:

http://www.saskworld.com/bodymindspi...e_jennifer.htm

Well, IF you really are sure about the whole getting married idea!!! ;) I recommend a destination wedding! I was married in Cancun.. it was beautiful, had a horse drawn carriage that took me from my room to this gazabo that over looked the ocean (were we were married)!


edit...btw...you are assigned a wedding planner when you arrive and you plan EVERYTHING once your down there...was really simple, and much less expensive then you would expect it to be....

I'll try to find some pics..if you want them of course!

my husband and i got married 2 years ago and i pretty much planned and coordinated everything in under 6 weeks with minimal stress. we got married 3 months after we got engaged. my advice is this:

1. get an account on weddingchannel.com. they have time lines and checklists for everything you need to buy, plan, do, etc. this makes the whole thing super simple and keeps you organized. they also have tons of galleries, ideas and links. i made myself a folder and saved a bunch of pics from the site. i took flower pics to the florist to show them what i wanted, cake pics to the baker to show her what i wanted etc. that way everyone knows exactly what you want, including you. :)

2. EBAY! i bought SO much of our wedding stuff on ebay at unbelievable prices. i got bridesmaids dresses and jewelry there for my 3 attendants, all brand new, for under $100. i also got links to the web sites of several sellers, where i found and purchased my own jewelry, headpiece and veil, also new and under $100.

3. buy what you can't find on ebay or on websites of ebay sellers elsewhere online. flowers, decorations, candles, aisle runner, centerpieces, etc. everything is much cheaper this way.

4. save money on decorations by making them yourself. it is amazing how the simplest decorations and centerpieces can look best and be super simple to make.

5. get signed contracts for services being provided. catering, reception hall booking, photography, etc. with a signed contract you know exactly what you are getting and the provider is bound to the terms of the contract and can't take advantage of you.

6. HAVE FUN! there is no reason that planning your wedding has to be stressful or overly time consuming. so many brides freak out and become consumed by the whole process. remember, this is a fun thing! :)

wow... no comment from the bride? you ask us our opinions and suggestions and then don't comment?

i suppose we shouldn't expect a thank you card in the mail then?

:rofl:

Ryan and I planned our wedding in about a month... or rather I planned the wedding since he was still on deployment.
Non of the nondenominational organizations would do anything for us unless we were a member so we had a friend that was also a county clerk do our ceremony (in the same place we held the reception).

That ring is gorgeous and I love love love the dress.

Whoa; I have barely had time to breathe this weekend. We attended an awesome bridal show, and then Sunday we researched so much stuff online.. thanks for the suggestions everyone, I will follow up on all of them.. this guy called and said that we have won a honeymoon package. We have to attend a 90-minute cooking show this Thurs to claim it.. no0 purchase necessary;' we'll see how that goes..

Gin as you know I am a newlywed myself. Here is some advice I can give you to help with the stress. First and biggest No matter what happens or what goes wrong at the end of the day you and Mark will be married. If the cake falls and the dress tears you will be married. Second do what you can and forget the rest. Sit down with mark and figure out what you and him really with out a doubt want at the wedding, be realistic and focus on those things first. Every thing want be perfect, regardless of how hard you try except this now and you will be fine. Understand that this is much about him as you (most girls don't get this part) use some of his ideas even if you totaly hate them, after all a mariage is about compermise start off right. Know what about the wedding stresses you out beyond the point of you being able to deal with it and get someone to help or do that task for you.

I hope this helps and congrats!

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

this guy called and said that we have won a honeymoon package. We have to attend a 90-minute cooking show this Thurs to claim it.. no0 purchase necessary;' we'll see how that goes..

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it's called spam! :rofl:

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

As for general wedding advice.... do what you like. Don't try and appease everyone, because you just can't. Oh and hire a good photographer. :D

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Say this to self every day...talk to Mark or your girlfriends about the stresses you feel. You'll still have them but it feels better to get it out than to keep it bottled up.

I like the dress, but I advice is that dresses that you like you may not like once you've tried it on...and dress styles you would have never thought of, once you try on, you'll be like "oh!".

When you get to the dressing picking out, have some styles or specific dresses in mind, but try on LOTS of different styles. If possible, have someone with you to take pictures of you in these different dresses and then review the pictures...you may realize later that a particular dress style looks awesome that you hadn't realize before. =)

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Originally Posted by cassandra

I like the dress, but I advice is that dresses that you like you may not like once you've tried it on...and dress styles you would have never thought of, once you try on, you'll be like "oh!".

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excellent advice there. the one set rule i had when looking for my own wedding dress was NO strapless gowns. absolutely not. what did i end up wearing? a strapless gown. :P

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Originally Posted by mlededee

excellent advice there. the one set rule i had when looking for my own wedding dress was NO strapless gowns. absolutely not. what did i end up wearing? a strapless gown. :P

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Yep. I really thought I wanted a square-cut neckline princess cut with cap sleeves or something with flowy sleeves...but they looked horrible on me. However, I looked RAVISHING daaahling in vee-neck halter style mermaid cut dresses...=D

This is my dress; I'll try to post a picture of me in it this evening, hehe. =)

thanks guys/gals; I am going to be uber busy in the coming months picking up hours at work, etc.. I will be pretty-much catatonic at night after working so many hours, as I am now.. lol.. but I will keep everyone posted on it all.. the best thing is Marky is the one for me, I know this 100%, and anything and everything after that pales in comparison....