Ahhh! Somehow my wedding went from "so far away" to "holy cookies, that's close". Time really does fly, and now I feel like I'm going to be scrambling to get things done. Exactly what I didn't want to happen! Oh well, I thrive under pressure so I guess it's meant to be. I'm in my element now haha. I haven't done an update in almost 6 months, so here's one to fill you in.

Time flies when you’re wedding planning! Check to see my updates and advice for what needs to get done! #weddingplanning

Let's get real- the past few months were rough. It all started with fracturing my toe on my wedding date (ugh #truestory) and wondering if the date is cursed. Then there's the fact that I get easily overwhelmed when faced with decisions. We almost eloped in Disney World, I almost wanted to call everything off, and I almost settled for an ok wedding dress. Somehow everything worked out, so none of that happened. But I was pretty dang close to an emotional breakdown to avoid the stress of things. Wedding planning is hard, you guys!

Anyway, on a brighter note, here's what went well:

Wedding Dress- Ordered!!

The best news is that I FOUND A DRESS!! Holy crap you guys, this is the biggest deal. I tried on over 80 dresses. I didn't think I was going to be this picky about it, but somehow I was. I started at David's Bridal and really loved a dress, but it didn't go over well with some people. Since I already had my doubts, I took it out of the running. I spent the next year trying to find a replacement. I'd go dress shopping 2-3 weeks in a row, take a few months off, then go shopping again. I went in my walking cast too! That was fun. Gam Gam goes wedding dress shopping. I'm happy to say that I finally found a dress that I love, and I honestly can't wait to wear it and for John to see me in it!

Photographer- Chosen

One of the first things we did, way back in November, was book our photographer. We looked for someone that knows how to take good photos (duh) but also is able to capture the emotions of the day. When we contacted our photographer, Lora, we had a phone call to discuss our expectations for the day, as well as get to know each other. Lora was super friendly and personable. She was able to keep the conversation flowing, got John to open up, and made him SMILE. That, to me, meant she was the one. John is like a stoic puzzle, so the fact that she was able to get him to open up and be comfortable meant we could avoid an album full of awkwardly posed, stuffy photos. I can't wait to see our photos of the special day!

DJ/Videographer/Lighting- Done

When we went to our wedding venue for their annual bridal show, we met a married couple that had their own business doing rentals. They were so friendly and I loved their setup, so we decided to go with them for our DJ, uplighting, and videography. Their wedding was held in our venue, so we were able to see the room transformed from a nice hall to a gorgeous wedding venue. Plus we discovered an awesome thing we could add to make the room pop- starlight floors! This girl loves sparkles, so as soon as I saw it, I had to have it.

From our Disney-themed engagement party. Photos coming soon!

Florist- Chosen!

We picked our florist! We met her, you guessed it, at the bridal show! For this overwhelmed and procrastinating couple, the bridal show was a great place to meet vendors. We picked almost everyone we are using for our wedding from this bridal show! I met Sue at her table and she was giving out roses to all the brides. Fun fact about me: I hate long stem roses. So when Sue handed me one, I politely said "no thanks, I don't like roses". She asked what kind of flowers I liked and picked one out of her arrangement to give to me! It was a really small but sweet gesture, so I knew she was the right one to help us.

Chair Rentals- Done!

We are renting Chiavari chairs for our wedding, since the venue has these dark and uninteresting chairs that look less formal. We are also meeting with a rental company about renting vs buying the items for the centerpieces and decor. In case you didn't realize, decorations are my favorite part of any party, so I'm so excited to see what we do for the wedding. I've got some awesome ideas to transform the room and I can't wait to get started on that!

Can you tell I'm getting excited?!

Here's a picture from 2012. Look how young we were!

Needs to get done:

Meeting with vendors- we have a meeting this month with some of our vendors to discuss options and I'm really excited to see what we cook up.

Tasting- yay! So excited for the tasting. Our venue is making our cake, so I'm super excited to try everything. Cake tasting seems like the best part of wedding planning, besides dress shopping!

Working on invitations- we really want to send our invites early since our wedding is on a holiday weekend.

Getting people to book their rooms- pretty much no one has booked their rooms and no one knows you can book them yet, so we need to get on that.

Accessories- now that I have the dress, I need some accessories to compliment it.

Wow guys, it's crunch time. Really feeling the pressure right about now! Let's talk about wedding planning. What's the most important part of planning? Let me know in the comments.