6 Months and Counting...

Life has been kind of hectic the past couple of weeks (hence my lack of posting...sorry guys). My car decided to stop working properly and I spent all day Saturday learning about "negative equity" and how shady car salesmen are. Mr. Glen Echo and I did eventually find a car salesman who is not shady and a genuinely nice guy. We got a brand new car (with a brand new car payment...yeesh!) and we are totally excited about that.

With the car and the new payment, Mr. Glen Echo and I decided to take stock of where we are budget and planning wise. According to our budget, our tax return should take care of the rest of the wedding costs, which is quite awesome! As far as planning...being engaged for a year to date, we have been able to get a ton of things done early. According to Real Simple, these are the tasks we should be working on during the 6-4 month interval:

Seven to Six Months Before
Select and purchase invitations. Hire a calligrapher, if desired.

-Done! No calligrapher...but I found a fantastic calligraphy font from dafont.com that did the trick. I printed the envelopes off my printer and our actual invitations should arrive in approximately 2 weeks (I cannot wait!!!)
Start planning a honeymoon. Make sure that your passports are up-to-date, and schedule doctors’ appointments for any shots you may need.

-Pending...future in-laws are handling this for us and we recently just came across a hick-up with booking our trip...but they will take care of that and I am sure our honeymoon will be awesome!
Shop for bridesmaids’ dresses. Allow at least six months for the dresses to be ordered and sized.

-Done...for the most part. All but 2 bridesmaids have ordered their gowns, but both have picked them out and it's just a matter of ordering the gowns.

Meet with the officiant. Map out the ceremony and confirm that you have all the official documents for the wedding (these vary by county and religion).

-Hmm...this is the area of planning that we have not done well. We do have a meeting tomorrow, so hopefully this will be hashed out.
Send save-the-date cards.

-Done!
Reserve structural and electrical necessities. Book portable toilets for outdoor events, extra chairs if you need them, lighting components, and so on.

-No need...so I guess this would be a check!
Book a florist. Florists can serve multiple clients on one day, which is why you can wait a little longer to engage one. Plus, at this point, you’ll be firm on what your wedding palette will be.

-Done! Post soon to come about our florist and flowers...one of the vendors we booked early on because I am OBSESSED with flowers!
Arrange transportation. Consider limos, minibuses, trolleys, and town cars. (But know that low-to-the-ground limos can make entries and exists dicey if you’re wearing a fitted gown.)

-Done! Reserved the 24 passenger van for myself and my gigantic wedding party last week with ING Limo
Start composing a day-of timeline. Draw up a schedule of the event and slot in each component (the cake-cutting, the first dance).

-Done! Did this for purposes of catering contract and it has really helped to figure out exactly what I need to get and do in the next couple of months. I do, however, need to work on a day of timeline for the entire day...but my day of coordinator will work on that with me.

Five to Four Months Before
Book the rehearsal and rehearsal-dinner venues. Negotiate the cost and the menu. If you’re planning to host a day-after brunch for guests, book that place as well.

-Done! Thanks future in-laws!

Check on the wedding invitations. Ask the stationer for samples of the finished invitations and revise them to suit your needs.

-Too early to hound her on these...

Select and order the cake. Some bakers require a long lead time. Attend several tastings before committing to any baker.

-Done! Using the fantastic Margie of Artistic Cake Creations...good taste and great price!
Send your guest list to the host of your shower. Provided you, ahem, know about the shower.

-Done!

Purchase wedding shoes and start dress fittings. Bring the shoes along to your first fitting so the tailor can choose the appropriate length for your gown.

-Done! First fitting with Angie is in January!

Schedule hair and makeup artists. Make a few appointments with local experts to try them out. Snap a photo at each so you can compare results.

-Trial is scheduled for next weekend!

Choose your music. What should be playing when the wedding party is announced? During dinner? To kick off the dancing? Keep a running list of what you want—and do not want—played.

-Done! My cousin is working on learning the music and finding someone to accompany him for the ceremony. We have booked our band and will get with them 3 months before to pick out songs.

So it looks like we are on track, with a few minor things pending. How about the rest of you lovely ladies? Are you guys on track?

Introducing Mr. and Miss GWU

Greetings NearlyWeds!!!

I recently became engaged on May 15th, which also happened to be my graduation day from GW. However, this is not the reason for our pseudonyms :P. While we live in DC now, Mr. and Miss GWU originally started out in New Jersey. Coming down to DC for college, I met Mr. GWU my sophomore year of undergrad. He had already graduated. Mr. GWU's younger brother introduced us to each other one low key Friday night and you could say it was butterflies at first sight. From there, we went on to date for 4 years, which brings us to here and now. The engagement was beautiful. He surprised me with dinner at Charlie Palmer Steakhouse. The meal was delicious and I had to say, the entire night I was gradually getting more and more suspicious as the serving staff continued to dote on us throughout the night. You name it: complimentary dishes, personal escort to the little girls' room, visits from the general manager - it was there and it was fishy! At the end of our meal, the manager came over and offered to take us up to the rooftop. We rode up 11 flights of stairs and emerged onto a beautiful roof terrace overlooking the Capitol, the Potomac, and just miles and miles of gorgeous DC on a toasty, spring night. The backdrop was all there. Then, Mr. GWU dropped down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course, the answer was a great big teary-eyed YES!

So now, we are wading into wedding planning waters. I have my Knot subscription and Real Simple Wedding Guide ready to go. Fortunately, Mr. GWU is a true partner in this process and contacted over 40 venues thus far to look at proposals and photos. Once I finish a few lingering graduate class credits, we will have more time to go visit these venues. Ideally, we are looking at early summer (June or July) most likely in Northern Virginia. DC tax is no joke. But who knows? If a venue in DC is simply "the one," we might be willing to eat ramen for a year to save enough. Stay tuned :)

I Just Love a Good Checklist

I was on the Real Simple website this evening looking for instructions on making a ribbon caddy from an oatmeal container.



Somehow the search phrase I used brought up the baby shower checklist. Weird, but then I thought, hmm, I wonder if they have a bridal shower checklist. They do! Ohhhh!

I love Real Simple's checklists! If you haven't picked up a copy of the Real Simple Weddings Guide with all it's great checklists and lists of questions to ask vendors, do so immediately. You'll thank me later (you're welcome).

Yes, it's $13.95, but I'm telling you this is the greatest wedding mag ever. I bought the 2008 edition and have probably only purchased 3 other bridal mags in addition to this. The tips are great, the checklists are awesome, and it's SO practical. LOVE IT.

The Bridal Shower check list is great! Whether you are a MoH, a Mom, or a best friend, this is an excellent guide for throwing a great par-tay. You're sure to be the hostess with the mostess if you follow this. I book-marked this on my own computer and I plan to print it out and add it to my stash o' wedding stuff. I obviously won't be throwing my own shower, but hopefully I have a chance to throw a few in the future, and I know I'll want this to make sure I don't forget anything!

Ohh...there's a honeymoon planning checklist too...