This will be my last Planning Assessment because our big day is finally upon us. We last left off at the three month mark, so let’s catch up using our trusty Real Simple wedding checklist and make sure we are READY. TO. GO.
Two Months Before
- Touch base again with all the vendors. Make sure any questions you or they had on your first draft have been answered.
I have pretty much been in touch with all my vendors via e-mails or Facebook, but confirming with vendors is one of the many awesome things my wedding coordinator, Rebel Belle Weddings, has been able to take off my plate for me. Yay!
- Meet with the photographer. Discuss specific shots, and walk through the locations to note spots that appeal to you.
Our photographers are in Nashville and I am in Los Angeles, so meetings are difficult. Thank goodness for e-mail!
- Review the playlist with the band or deejay. Though you probably won’t be able to dictate every single song played, you should come prepared with a wish list.
Our DJ Sound Prodigy has a super cool online playlist and Mr. BFT and I have been slowly entering our song requests. But we do need to go over the final list in the days before the wedding to make sure we don’t need to veto any of the other’s selections! (Let’s hope Mr. BFT doesn’t notice the N*SYNC.)
- Send out the invitations. The rule of thumb: Mail invitations six to eight weeks before the ceremony, setting the RSVP cutoff at three weeks after the postmark date.
Well shoot, we did this at the three month mark, I think. Regardless, it has been long done.
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| See ya, invites! |
- Submit a newspaper wedding announcement. If you’re planning to include a photograph, check the publication’s website: Some have strict rules about how the photo should look.
Do people still read newspapers?
- Enjoy a bachelorette party. Arranging a night out with your girlfriends generally falls to the maid of honor. But if she hasn’t mentioned one to you by now, feel free to ask—for scheduling purposes, of course!—if a celebration is in the works.
I didn’t get a proper bachelorette party but some of my awesome Disneyland Bride friends took me out for dinner and drinks a few months ago, and it was awesome!
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| Bachelorette parties with Hello Kitty ears and lots of desserts are the best kind of Bachelorette parties. |
One Month Before
- Enter RSVPs into your guest-list database. Phone people who have not yet responded.
Done and done, and thankfully we had very little guest drama. I still don’t understand why it’s so difficult to check off a box and return a card via it’s pre-paid envelope. BUT ANYWAY. We are managing our guest list on an Excel spreadsheet shared between Mr. BFT and I via Dropbox, which allows either of us to amend the guest list or access it from any computer or mobile device. Dropbox is pretty awesome.
- Get your marriage license. The process can take up to six days, but it’s good to give yourself some leeway. If you are changing your name, order several copies.
We did this during my lunch break a couple weeks ago. It was much easier than expected. The difficult part for me will be remembering to bring it to the ceremony.
- Mail the rehearsal-dinner invitations.
We included this on our main invitation.
- Visit the dressmaker for (with luck!) your last dress fitting. For peace of mind, you may want to schedule a fitting the week of your wedding. You can always cancel the appointment if you try on the dress then and it fits perfectly.
I got my dress a loooooong time ago. No stress-inducing, last minute appointments for me!
- Stock the bar. Now that you have a firm head count you can order accordingly.
Hopefully Disney is taking care of this.
- Send out as many final payments as you can.
We waited until the last possible minute to pay our vendors so we could collect as much in interest as we could. But pretty much everyone is paid, at this point!
- E-mail and print directions for drivers of transport vehicles. This gives the chauffeurs ample time to navigate a route.
Pretty much all of our vendors know where they are going, but we did make a custom map and put it up on our wedding website for our guests and vendors who may need it.
- Assign seating. Draw out table shapes on a layout of the room to help plan place settings. Write the names of female guests on pink sticky notes and the names of male guests on blue sticky notes so you can move people about without resketching the entire setting.
THIS. Was a chore. But it’s done. And we did go the names-on-sticky-notes route but I have no idea why they need to be colored based on gender. What a weird suggestion.
- Purchase bridesmaids’ gifts. You’ll present them at the rehearsal dinner.
I have no bridesmaids but I did get gifts for all the ladies who helped plan my bridal shower. Mr. BFT did the same for the guys who threw his bachelor party. But I don’t think we will present them at the rehearsal/welcome dinner, in front of all the other guests.
- Write vows, if necessary.
If by vows you mean the entire ceremony, then yes, this is done.
- Get your hair cut and colored, if desired.
Check!
Week of the Wedding
- Delegate small wedding-day tasks. Choose someone to bustle your dress, someone to carry your things, someone to be in charge of gifts (especially the enveloped sort), someone to hand out tips, and someone to be the point person for each vendor.
Thank god for RBW, is all I can say about this.
- Send a timeline to the bridal party. Include every member’s contact information, along with the point people you’ve asked to deal with the vendors, if problems arise.
Again, no bridal party. I love automatic check-offs!
- Pick up your dress. Or make arrangements for a delivery.
ALREADY GOT IT.
- Check in one last time with the photographer. Supply him or her with a list of moments you want captured on film.
Not super thrilled with the idea of making a list of “moments.” Why can’t the moments happen organically? I think they know the big ones to capture (the kiss, cake cutting, etc), hopefully.
- Set aside checks for the vendors. And put tips in envelopes to be handed out at the event.
This still needs to be done. Anything involving money is a big source of stress and therefore gets delayed until the last minute.
- Book a spa treatment. Make an appontment for a manicure and a pedicure the day before the wedding. (You might want to get a stress-relieving massage, too.)
HAHA, really? Who has time to go to the spa the week before your wedding? I’m getting a manicure the day before, right before the rehearsal, and it was difficult to squeeze just that into my timeline. Good thing my shoes are closed-toe because I don’t think I’ll have time to get the tootsie tended to.
- Send the final guest list to the caterer and all venues hosting your wedding-related events. Typically, companies close their lists 72 hours in advance.
Disney closes their list a bit earlier, so this has been done.
- Break in your shoes.
Luckily my shoes are super comfortable and I actually already wore them for bridal portraits (SURPRISE!) so I know this is not going to be a problem. But I also have a pair of sparkly Toms to wear at the reception if needed.
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| My purty shoes. |
- Assemble and distribute the welcome baskets.
On-going project but mostly they are ready to go! They just need a few last minute additions once we get to the resort.
- Pack for your honeymoon.
Well, it’s not quite a honeymoon, but we do need to pack for the couple of days we are staying at Disneyland after the wedding. I’m a last minute packer, and I assume this trip will be no different.
Mostly everything is done, or partially done. It can’t be that easy, can it? I’ll let you know. There will be no Friday Favorites tomorrow so the next time I post, I will be a Mrs! Thank you for following along with my wedding planning journey! The best is yet to come!
