too smoothly?

[yarrmatey]

So my FI and I have literally been engaged for almost a month, and I feel like I''m done. I plan events for the firm I work for, so I was already familiar with the vendors I wanted to use - but I keep hearing from all the ladies I work with how much of a nightmare wedding planning is, and I''m not having that experience at all!

I have my caterer, DJ, baker, ceremony musicians, florist, officiant, photographer, I''ve picked out our invitations, I even have my wedding shoes!! (no dress yet - but all I care about is my shoes!

)

Has anyone else had this experience? I feel like I should be more stressed out or something!

 

[neatfreak]

I think the stress comes more with choosing who to invite, family politics, seating charts, etc. All the annoying details. I didn''t find booking my vendors hard and I thought the process was overall very smooth and easy, but it seems most people''s stress comes once family members are involved with decisions!!!

 

[sumbride]

Date: 12/15/2007 9:55:56 AM
Author:yarrmatey

I have my caterer, DJ, baker, ceremony musicians, florist, officiant, photographer, I''ve picked out our invitations, I even have my wedding shoes!! (no dress yet - but all I care about is my shoes!

Being in event planning definitely gives you a good head start!

So you have your_______ but do you have your__________?

- caterer -- menu?
- DJ -- song lists? dance lessons?
- baker -- inspiration cake photos? flavor choices? topper?
- musicians -- songs for the ceremony chosen?
- officiant -- venue? ceremony written? vows selected? rehearsal scheduled?
- photographer -- photo lists? portrait sessions scheduled?
- invitations -- wording agreed to by all parties?

so what I''m trying to say really is that the stress comes in the details most times, not the big picture. You''re definitely off to a great start though! congrats! And once you have your decisions made, don''t keep looking!!!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I completely agree with everybody else--we started planning about a month after we got engaged and had the venue booked within a week and I got my dress the same week (I spent 1 day shopping). I waited a few more months because I didn''t want to deal with booking anything else, then about 3 months before the wedding I thought "hmm, I should really book these other things", so I booked the caterer, photographer, table/chair/linen/glass rentals, officiant, musician, flowers, cake, invitatio--basically absolutely everyhthing in about 3 weeks. I felt so relieved. Andit wasn''t even that bad.

Then came the details!! And the family crap. Oy, I wasn''t prepared! I basically made a conscious choice not to really care otherwise it was going to take over my life. I did spend more time sorting through details than I wanted, but I had a very normal life with a normal work week and normal weekends and in the end, it was wonderful and I was glad I didn''t get bogged down in wedding stuff!

So my point is that it''s fabulous that everything is booked so quickly! Just don''t let those details drag you under!

 

[swimmer]

Yarrmatey,
NEL and the other women have some great insight here. I too was like you, I suppose till the save the dates were out and the details started crashing down on me. What the details will be and the particular insanities will all vary from bride to bride, but embrace this calmness and save some of it for later. I was like you a few weeks ago, wondering what the big deal was...

 

[Neveah]

I felt the exact same way! From the day we got engaged it gave us 8 months total until the wedding day.... We got to work immediately. In 2 weeks we had it all done. (all the big stuff.... reception, photog, dj, church,etc) Then, well it was pretty boring. Nothing to do...
Well we are a little more than 4 months away and IKES. Everyone is now calling about that little thing I''ve forgotten. The details. So WOW we have a lot to do! So just wait until you''re closer to your date and then there won''t be enough time in the day! Good Luck and have fun!

 

[yarrmatey]

- caterer -- menu? yup, picked the menu
- DJ -- song lists? dance lessons? FI is in charge of picking the music - he''s a total control freak and swears he will "throw down" if anyone tries to play YMCA

- baker -- inspiration cake photos? flavor choices? topper? I''ve picked the design, but not the flavors yet. FI has also chosen his groom''s cake.
- musicians -- songs for the ceremony chosen? we''ve picked those as well!
- officiant -- venue? ceremony written? vows selected? rehearsal scheduled? This is still on the to-do list... it''s hard to decide between a "traditional" ceremony or adding more of our own flavors!
- photographer -- photo lists? portrait sessions scheduled? I''m in the beginning phase of this, it helps that the list is short(er) because the only person from my side of the family who will be there is my sister.
- invitations -- wording agreed to by all parties? yup, wording done.

I just feel like all the (unsolicited) advice I''m getting makes me nervous that these choices are going too easily! We''ve done our prelim guest list with no arguing at all! From either of us or his parents! I''m worried that six months from now it''s all going to explode!

 

[CrownJewel]

Yarr, I''m so impressed! Now you can come over and help me plan my wedding! I got engaged October 2006 and all I have are my dress, bridesmaids, and venue.

I can already tell that you will be a VERY valuable resource on this wedding board!! Congrats on getting so much done already!

 

[cara]

No, you are blessed.

Think of all the vendor info that people have to learn for their one event that you already know from your job. Probably you also had some reasonable idea of how much things cost, so you have less sticker shock as well.

That''s a lot of the stress for some people. Yes, there can be family politics on the invites, but sometimes you get lucky! And being a planner, you are not going to put off all the lists and last-minute stuff til the last minute. A lot of the stress is trying to finish favors, DIY flowers, programs, etc., the night before the wedding.

There''s no saying you woln''t freak out at some point and become less functional once you realize its your wedding, but no need to worry now!

Just enjoy it...

 

[Jas12]

I enjoyed planning for the most part and remember feeling ''wow, this is easy'' at first as well. If you are the type to make decisions easily and not torture yourself over those choices in the months to come (second guessing or changing your mind when you see something new) and you avoid guest list/family and seating drama--that makes things a whole lot easier!!

But rest assured, the stress comes near the end--not to say it''s not ''enjoyable'' stress (i liked the rush at the end but it was craziness)
but as others have pointed out, most of the nitty gritty can''t be done until the last week or so and the loose ends just hang until then, so just be super organized and it''ll be smooth sailing.