Bride Blogger Amanda: The Last Week

As I reflect on the last 16 months of our wedding planning process, I feel like I’ve run a marathon and I can see the finish line. I’m very glad we had a lot of time to plan and pull things together; I think having plenty of time and a clear direction really helped minimize the stress for all involved, especially since we bought a house, moved into it and I started a new job, all within the last nine months. I can honestly say I’ve had very few frustrations, and those that did crop up worked themselves out and were nothing that could ruin or complicate anything. And now we’re finishing up the last little details and waiting with anticipation for our wedding day in less than a week. I couldn’t be more excited!
 
In thinking about how we’ve planned and the choices we’ve made, there are a few things I’m really glad we did:

• Talked to our parents about our wedding budget very early on and agreed on everyone’s contributions right off the bat.
• Reserved our church two days after getting engaged – and that was the reason for our 16-month wait!
• Reserved one of the coolest spots downtown for our reception – 1316 Jones Street.
• Did our Save-the-Dates and guestbook at Shutterfly.
• Took our time picking a photographer and met face-to-face with several before deciding on one.
• Got the digital proofs of our engagement session, which allowed us to do our Save-the-Dates and guestbook how we wanted to do them.
• Borrowed all our table decorations. What a savings!
• Contributed to both the groomsmen’s tuxedoes and the bridesmaids’ dresses as a gift to our wedding party.
• Donated to two charitable organizations in honor of our grandparents who have passed away in lieu of wedding favors for guests. Instead of spending the money on something guests might not use, we wanted to spend our money more intentionally on something meaningful.
• Ordered our invites rather than making them.
• Got the dress I really wanted, rather than one that was less expensive just because it was less expensive.
• Had great bachelor and bachelorette parties to spend time with our closest friends in our favorite city of Chicago before we get hitched.
• Decided to take a few days off after the wedding, even though we can’t take a “real” honeymoon right now.
• Decided almost everything together, from the locations to the food to the flowers and programs. This really makes the day ours.

This week will be full of manis, pedis, airport runs, reunions, last-minute details and other excitement. I’m so honored to have been able to share my experience with you here. I can’t wait for our big day, and I’ll check back here in a few weeks to let you know how everything went!