One of the worst feelings during wedding planning was not having someone to give me advice.
I was literally drowning in my own problems, constantly wondering if this was ok or if I should be doing this? When do these need to be sent? Who is responsible for this?
It was an ongoing list of what do I do?
Once again, I found myself with Pinterest and a glass of wine. But I was soon overwhelmed with all the information I was reading….that I had to compile my own list of things to do. I had to trust my own instincts and prayed I was doing everything correctly. In previous posts, I mentioned that I’m the first of my close friends to get married. So I was literally leading myself into walls and getting stuck into everything. The great thing about best friends is that they made me feel confident about everything I did. Personal cheerleaders, if you will.
Because I got engaged more than a year out from my wedding date, most of the “wedding checklists” online weren’t personalized for myself. And being OCD, I honestly needed everything to be booked ASAP.
I literally had all the major vendors booked in the beginning. I even experienced this “lull” in wedding planning where I didn’t know what to do with myself. People would ask me, “how’s wedding planning going?” And I’d say, “good?” I didn’t know if it was normal to be sitting around. Media projects wedding planning to be constantly on the go.
That was not true.
So what made planning smooth for this OCD bride? Having a planner, making lists, and checking them off. That was my lifesaver. So I encourage you brides to get a planner. Not specifically a wedding planner, a simple old planner would suffice. I personally love The Happy Planner because of its versatility and encouraging quotes. (Terri tip: get it at Hobby Lobby for 40% off). The Happy Planner actually has a “wedding edition” that you can add to the back of your planner.
Still a little overwhelmed on how to get started? Grab a pen and paper…let’s see if I can help you out.
I created this little wedding checklist for my all my teacups&hiccups brides to utilize. I based it off a year out to start planning. I may not have included everything that you may need but that’s the beauty of weddings. Not one wedding is similar to the next! I also tried to make it as generalized as possible. Having overwhelming checklists was an awful feeling. My brain wanted to explode! All I needed was a simple checklist, not something overloaded with information that was mostly useless to me. After all, I was my own wedding planner. I had to take responsibility and hustle.
Terri Tip: If you are having a Catholic Ceremony, I would suggest starting your pre-cana ASAP. Do not wait until the last moment.
Wedding planning comes with a lot of uncertainty and unsuspecting drama. Don’t let the bridezilla get to you. Take it as it is, move on. It’s hard to hear now, but trust me…everything will work out.
One of my upcoming wedding series posts will be dedicated to DIY tips but I decided to share my number one hack. Do you want to know what my MY MOST IMPORTANT TIP that helped me out without even knowing it? This would especially benefit the soon-to-be bride who knows the question will be popping soon.
If I didn’t have this, this probably would have been the WORST part of planning.
Addresses. I swear, if I didn’t have an email full of addresses composed of family and friends, sending out Save the Dates and Invitations would have been the death of me. This was the key element to planning. Do yourself a favor and get addresses ASAP, as soon as you start planning. I used Minted for my Save the Dates & Wedding Invitations. It was easy to plug addresses from an Excel spreadsheet into their system. You will thank me later.
Have questions about my checklist…shoot me an email in the contact form above or leave a comment below! I’m here to help you or be an ear to listen to you. I swear I will listen and not give any advice, unless you ask for it. Girls Scout Honor. I would love to try and make a personalized checklist for you!