Diving Headfirst Into Wedding Planning

I jumped quite quickly into wedding planning. I already had some ideas of what I wanted from discussions with Mr. Kettle and my mother. He and I discussed things like wedding size, bridal party, officiants, and of course, wedding date.

Momma Kettle and I had a special understanding about weddings. We'd been discussing what I might want for my wedding for years. This is, of course, without a groom in mind, but that's how we roll. We do what we want.


Us at the White House Blue Room right before Christmas. See all that leg out? Yeah, we're rebels.

 

The first thing Momma Kettle and I began planning was finding a venue for the wedding and finding a wedding dress for me. Also, we came up with a tentative budget (that has since changed 3 times).

A lot of brides I know, especially ones who grew up in my church, find they have a battle on their hands when it's time to discuss wedding venue. Some can't fathom, or aren't allowed by family, to get married outside the church. Others are stuck when it comes to reception because they don't want to make people travel too far.

I didn't have those issues as I expressed up front that I would be no means get married in my church. I'm very religious, but I just had a different vision for my wedding. I would still have a religious ceremony, but somewhere other than my church. Or Mr. Kettle's church.

Momma Kettle and I each came up with a list of venues and moved the ones that appeared on both lists to the top of our joint list. We talked numbers with Daddy Kettle and eliminated the ones outside our price range. We did the same process with finding a bridal salon for wedding dresses. And I showed my mother tons of pictures of wedding dresses so she would understand that traditional wedding dresses were out of the question for both my style and my vision of the wedding.

The first thing Mr. Kettle and I did was to confirm with our chosen people that they could actually be a part of our wedding. We needed to be sure that all 33 members were available. That's right, hive, I said 33. We had: 2 Best Men, 2 Maids of Honor, 2 Bridal Attendants, 8 Groomsmen, 6 Bridesmaids, 2 Junior Bridesmaids, 2 Flower Girls, 2 Ring Bearers, 3 Hostesses, 2 Ushers, and 2 Officiants.

We had a relatively short To-Do list to get accomplished within the first month. Find a venue, find a dress, and confirm wedding party. Also, we wanted to come up with our guest list so we could send out save the dates.

Personally, I really wanted to, and needed to, get organized. I had a plan for getting it done, thanks to Weddingbee. Two weeks before getting engaged I started my new job. With my very first paycheck, I splurged on a purchase. I could have gotten it for much cheaper, but it was soooo purty. Plus, it fit my ideas of how things should be organized. What did I buy?

Screenshot of Wedding Binder via Russell and Hazel

I could have put this together at Staples or Office Depot for half the price. But it was just sooooo pretty. I was very happy with my purchase. And it has kept me very very organized.

Up next I will talk about our whirlwind weekend of venue and dress shopping.

Did you dive headfirst into wedding planning? Were the people aroud you accepting to your vision of how things should be for your wedding?