Morning of Timeline

So I've come up with my first draft of my morning of timeline.  My bridesmaids and I needed to get our schedule figured out in order to schedule hair and make-up.  And then my fiances mom wanted to know how long the guys would possibly be hanging out at her house before coming to the hotel, so I had to get the groom/groomsmen schedule done too.

What do you think?  

Bride

6 - 7AM - Everyone showering 

7 - 7:30AM - Breakfast 

7:30 - 9:30AM - My hair and make-up 

9:30 - 10:30AM - Getting dress on/getting ready

10:30 - 11:30AM - First look with fiance/bride and groom pictures

11:30 - 12:30PM - Bridal party pics (I will eat during groom/groomsmen pics)

12:30 -1:30PM - Family pics

1:30 - 2PM - Extra time for pics/last minute touches 

2PM - Ceremony

Bridesmaids  

6 - 7AM - Everyone showering 

7 - 7:30AM - Breakfast 

7:30 - 10AM - Hair and make-up 

10 - 10:30AM - Helping bride finish getting ready

10:30 - 11:30AM - Finish getting selves ready

11:30 - 12:30PM - Bridal party pics 

12:30 -1:30PM - Lunch

1:30 - 2PM - Extra time for pics/last minute touches 

2PM - Ceremony

Groom

8:30 - 9:30AM - Breakfast

9:30 - 10:30AM - Getting ready at hotel

10:30 - 11:30AM - First look pics/bride and groom pictures

11:30 - 12:30PM - Bridal party pics (He will eat during bride/bridesmaids pics)

12:30 -1:30PM - Family pics

1:30 - 2PM - Extra time for pics/last minute touches 

2PM - Ceremony

Groomsmen

8:30 - 9:30AM - Breakfast

9:30 - 10:30AM - Getting ready at hotel

10:30 - 11:30AM - Finish getting ready

11:30 - 12:30PM - Bridal party pics 

12:30 -1:30PM - Lunch

1:30 - 2PM - Extra time for pics/last minute touches 

2PM - Ceremony

The Big 200

First, sorry for the large number of posts today.  As you know we just relocated, so I am currently job hunting (which means I have a little too much free time).

 Second, I just realized that we have exactly 200 days until the wedding!!!!  I can't believe how fast time is going by.

How many days do you have left until the big day?

Astonishingly Average - Some Interesting Wedding Statistics

I just stumbled upon this updated infographic on wedding statistics.

I was curious to see how my fiance and I compare to everyone else.  What I found out - we appear to fall in with most other couples in the majority of our wedding decisions.

• When did you say I love you?  I'm going with somewhere in the 1-6 month mark.  So we were the same as 48% of couples.
• How long had you been dating before you met your fiance's parents? Like 44% of couples, I think I fall into the 1-6 month mark for this.  
• How long was your engagement?  Almost exactly 15 months.  The same as 40% of other couples.
• Did you hire help to plan?  No, we did it ourselves.  Again we were in the majority - 68% of couples planned by themselves.
• On average how many hours per week did you spend planning your wedding?  I'm going to guess that we fall into the 1-9 hours per week range, just like 47% of couples.
• At any point during your engagement did you say, "let's just elope"?  Yes, several times.  And apparently we weren't alone - 74% of couple shared the same thought at some point during their engagement.
• Did you send out a save the date card, post-card, or magnet?  Apparently we were in the minority with our save the date postcards. Only 22% of couples opted for postcards, most sent out ordinary cards.
•  What wedding color did you choose?  We picked the second most popular wedding color - purple.  Nearly 1/3 of brides (30%) opted for purple on their big day.  The most popular wedding color - blue (37%).
• Wedding month:  September (one of the two most popular months for getting hitched)
• Wedding day:  Sunday.  We were in the minority on this one.  67% of couples tie the knot on Saturdays.
• Wedding Reception Location:  Like 39% of couples, we are having our wedding reception at a ballroom.  We might fall into the "Other" category (like 22% of couples) since ours is not a hotel ballroom, but an old bank restored/transformed into a ballroom.
• Where are you taking your honeymoon?  We, along 55% of couples, are throwing on the sunblock and sipping mixed drinks with umbrella straws at our tropical destination.

How do you and your fiance compare?  Check out the information below?  Find anything surprising? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.  

Home Sweet Home

Things have been crazy this past week , but we finally we made it back to New York!  We officially got in Saturday night (technically 3AM Sunday morning).  Sunday was spent unpacking the truck and putting things into storage (where it will stay until we find a house).  Monday was spent moving and upacking boxes at my fiance's parents house (where we are staying until we find a house).  Tuesday my mom and grandmother got in to the area to visit (they'll be staying until Sunday).  We had originally planned the visit before we knew we were moving and were going to meet up in the New York area for wedding planning.  They were both looking forward to it, so I decided that even though it would be hectic I didn't want to cancel.  Then, today (Wednesday) I went to my dentist appointment and my fiance packed up and left for his bachelor ski trip to Vermont.  I FINALLY had some downtime and decided to add this quick update.  Somehow in the midst of the craziness, we did manage to accomplish some wedding related tasks which I'll post about tomorrow.  I felt like tonight was the first time I actually was able to sit on the couch and relax since we found out we were moving (which was just over 2 weeks ago).  It never thought it could feel so wonderful to just sit on the couch and do absolutely nothing.

8 Months and Counting

I officially have hit the 8 month mark - that means that exactly 8 months from today I will be slipping on the gown and saying I Do!

In celebration of hitting my 8 month mark I made a list of the top 8 things I have done so far for the wedding:
1. Picked bridesmaids & created a website for us to use for planning
2. Went searching, found a venue, and picked a date
3.  Had our engagement pictures done & had them featured in another blog
4.  Finalized our guest list & sent out save the dates
5. Found my dress & got it for a great deal
6. Designed our invitation suite & again ordered our invitations at a great price
7. Booked our DJ
8. Applied to be a weddingbee.com blogger


How many months do you have until the big day?  Time flies so quickly, it'll be here before you know it!

Wedding Binder Links

As promised, here are the links to the print-outs that I used for my wedding binder.  I basically used a mix between the following two sites.  My suggestion is to look through both of them and pick out the worksheets and information sheets that work for you.

The best part about these, they are all FREE!

PASH Wedding Printables

Russell and Hazel Wedding Templates

Printable Calendars

Do you have any other great sites for wedding binders?  Please share!

Happiness

Dave and I went out for Chinese food this afternoon with a friend.  Of course, after enjoying the buffet we received our fortune cookies.  Dave's fortune read, "Stop searching forever.  Happiness is right next to you." I guess sometimes those fortunes are true.

Being engaged isn't all about the wedding planning, it's also about my fiancé and I. This reminded me to take a break every now and then from wedding planning and just enjoy being happy with my fiancé.  We spent that afternoon catching up on some of our t.v. shows and cuddling on the couch.

What do you do to take a break from planning?