The Final Days of Wedding Planning

Well guys, this is it. After two years of wedding planning and 8 months of writing about my wedding planning on this blog, we’ve only got a few days left and this is my last Wedding Wednesday post! (I’ll still post wedding planning tips, there just won’t be posts following my own planning!) I’m stuck at work still today and tomorrow, but then Friday the wedding weekend begins! We’ll start with some wedding prep (ie a trip to the nail salon). Saturday is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and Sunday is the big day.

Our life has been a flurry of planning lately. I’ve virtually been taken over by a slew of to-do lists. Most of them are long. And scary. The biggest tasks lately have been the seating chart, final meetings with vendors and putting together the wedding day timeline, and buying tons of last-minute items that we’ve forgotten. Dave had this bachelor party last weekend and I had my final dress fitting! I’m going to be exhausted after a day of dragging around that bad boy, but it’s going to be worth it!

Strangely, it still hasn’t hit either of us that we’re getting married in just a few days. Maybe it won’t until the wedding day? Or until I’m walking down the aisle? Who knows.

The wedding day isn’t even here yet, but I can finally see all of our day coming together as we finish up the last few details. It’s been a lot of work, to say the least. Luckily I’ve got a fiance who wasn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves and get his wedding planning hands dirty.

And even if it doesn’t all come together and the day is a disaster, that steak, open bar, and marrying the most amazing guy ever will sure make it the best day of my life.

Creating a Wedding Day Timeline

For your wedding day (or weekend) to run smoothly, it’s important to create a timeline so everyone is clear where/when events are happening, and so that it’s easy to stay on track. Your wedding day is going to be a busy one, and any sense of order you can get will make a huge difference. Being only a week and a half away from the wedding and having had our final meetings with all of our vendors, I am in full force finalizing the timeline. Here are some tips I can offer to far.

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+Consult with your vendors. Your hair stylist knows better than you how long it will take to do hair for six bridesmaids, just like your photographer will know better than you how long pictures will take. Make sure to talk to all the vendors before setting anything in stone.

+Skip the gap. Often times a couple will have the ceremony early in the day and then have several hours before the cocktail or reception. People are becoming less tolerant of this. Have a later ceremony and take pictures during cocktail hour.

+First look or no? Obviously the tradition is for the groom to not see the bride before the wedding, but many couples and ditching that tradition in exchange for a first look. You’ll have to be ready earlier, but it saves time after the ceremony. For the record, Dave and I are sticking with tradition. He won’t see me until I’m walking down the aisle!

+What type of dinner are you having? This will definitely play a role in determining your timeline! If you’re having a large wedding or a buffet dinner, you’re going to want to budget extra time.

+Leave wiggle room. If one thing runs late, you don’t want it to throw the entire day’s schedule off drastically. Schedule more time than you need for everything.

+Don’t street about changes. I guarantee not everything on your wedding day is going to start at the exact minute designated on your timeline. That’s okay. Don’t let it stress you out and throw off your mood for the whole day.

+Trust your vendors. They are the experts. They are professionals. They have done countless weddings before and I guarantee several of those had the timeline go out of whack. Defer to them and trust that they can help straighten things out.

For those who have been married, what are you best timeline tips?

Date Nights

We make sure to keep date nights as a regular part of our routine. Sometimes that means ordering a pizza, renting some movies, and curling up on the couch. Sometimes it means going out to dinner. We have a few favorite restaurants in the area that are always in the rotation. Tonight we headed to one of those favorites, Hu Hot Mongolian Grill. They’re located in various states throughout the country. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it! You put together your own plate from their noodle, vegetable and meat selection and watch them grill your meal.

When you’re in a long-term relationship, it’s important to do new activities together to keep things exciting. It’s easy to get caught up in the responsibilities of work, kids (not in our case), and taking care of a home and forget to devote substantial time to your relationship. Date nights don’t have to be reserved for weekends. Binge-watching Netflix with your significant other while both scanning social media might make for an entertaining night, but sometimes it’s important to unplug and devote all of your attention to one another.

Date nights don’t have to expensive, either! There are tons of great options to have a fun date night that doesn’t break the bank:

1. Picnics. Pack a lunch or dinner and head to a local park. You can bring board games. You can bring a pet and head to a dog park instead. After eating your picnic, spend an hour or two playing with the pup.
2. Groupon. You can ALWAYS find Groupons for local restaurants! You might not find your favorites on there, but it will give you the opportunity to try something new and possibly find some new favorites.
3. Cooking Together. Pick one night per week that you pick a new recipe and cook together. It can be as easy or difficult a recipe as you like, depending on your cooking abilities. If you’re really into cooking, try a difficult recipe that will challenge you. If you’re more likely to burn the kitchen down than make toast, there are plenty of options! You can buy pre-made pizza crust at the grocery store. We like to pick one up, along with our favorite pizza toppings. It only has to cook for about 10 minutes and it’s barely more work than making a frozen pizza.

There are so many options when it comes to low cost date nights, and these are just a few! If you’re interested in seeing a more extensive post on low-cost date nights, including websites and resources, let me know in the comments!

What is your favorite option for date nights with your significant other?