Journey to the Chuppah: Dresses, Florists and Photogs, OH MY!

In Barnes and Noble recently, I was reminiscing with Mr. Hermit Crab about one of the first few days after we had gotten engaged and returned home from Ottawa. I had gone to Barnes and Noble and stood in front of the Bridal shelves for about 20 minutes, occasionally leafing through one or the other, but mostly being totally overwhelmed. I left with a wedding magazine in hand (I can't remember which one at this point, but I've had them all - reviews to come), and a mission. I was going to create my own wedding planner. If you would like to purchase a pre-made one instead of make your own, Miss Pencils has written a great post about her research!

I went to an office supply store next to pick up my supplies.

I knew I needed to get organized, so first I designated a space in my house:

At this point, it has filled up with my accumulation of wedding magazines and paraphernalia - and yes, this is the nook under one of our desks!

Then I set to work putting the binder together. To make your own wedding planner, you will need the following (I was making two binders at this time):

one inch binder
tab dividers
three-hole-punched zipper pouch
sheet protectors
three-hole-punched business card holders
sheets of lined paper

Our furbaby, Rashi, helping me

And assemble! I put the zipper pouch at the front of the binder, and use it to hold things like post-it notes for easy note taking and reminders, and stamps and address labels, so that when I go to write thank you notes, all my supplies are in one place. I also put the card holder at the front to keep all the cards collected in one place as we met with different vendors. Once we would make a decision on a vendor, I cleared the binder of all necessary information, so that it was as up-to-date and organized as possible.

I buy the packs with 24 tabs and label them the following (in no particular order): To do lists, Notes and Resources, Budget, Thank you list, Registry info, Invite list, Invitations, Venue, Caterer, Music, Florist, Ceremony, Dress, Accessories, Hair and Makeup, Bridal Party, Men's Outfits, Rehearsal Dinner, Honeymoon, Bachelor Party, Bachelorette Party, Transportation. You may have other things that come up that you would want to keep track of.

As for all the notes that the pre-paid binders come with, I find that sites like Weddingbee and ever so occasionally, the Knot (I have used their checklist and countdown from time to time), and my plethora of wedding magazines (thanks mom for the subscription!) have been enough for ideas and guidance. I have also used several books, which I will talk about soon.

My binder has been so helpful organizing thoughts and contracts, thank you lists and important dates, that now, often when close friends and family get engaged (as long as they are living Stateside!), I made them binders with special covers: