Wedding planning is never easy, especially if you got everything covered from day one up to the wedding event. Shopping for the needed bridal party dresses, booking from one vendor to another, and basically rendering extra time at night to go through your daily accomplishments can be really stressful. Sure, the experience can be demanding, but it’s one of the biggest events in your lifetime, so it should not be entrusted to someone who doesn’t likely feel the same excitement as you do. At least, that is what I thought, so me and my hubby did our wedding preparations all by ourselves. Thankfully, offered help is quite a handful, which makes it breezier and more meaningful.

Without wasting time, we immediately created a timetable. It’s similar to a diary and a calendar of activities with which each date is filled with tasks. And, because scheduling and organization is our forte and hobbies, we found the timetable pretty easy to create and follow. Four months prior to the wedding day, we first talked about the date, time, and venue of the wedding day. We considered weekend to be the perfect day as we picked a church wedding for the ceremony. After that, we made a list of our chosen guests. We only picked immediate family and relatives and selected pals who are very close to our hearts. The number of guests is an important consideration when choosing the venue for the nuptials and the reception. Once we have already set the date, time, and venue, we immediately went to our chosen during the first weekend of the start of the wedding preparation. We talked to the personnel in charge, paid fees and dues, and submitted the needed requirements.

During the engagement period, we already started getting recommendations from trusted individuals about reception sites, making it easier for us to narrow our choices. We researched online for the names of vendors who have the most recommendations, checked feedback, and studied their products and services. We then came up with our top two choices, made booking appointments with their management, and visited their sites physically. We made sure to allot a few hours for this aspect because we need to know if our guests will fit the area, if its setting matches our needs and preferences, and if the spot is beautiful enough to do away with heavy decors. We always keep in mind not to indulge with expensive decors and do it on our own. After all, we got an offered help from our cousins, and I also got an inspiration from an online source.

After we picked the reception site, we proceeded to the next issue – the bridal dresses and the entourage’s outfits. We had the most laughs in this part because most of my girls are quite shy about wearing strapless dresses. In the end, I was able to convince them that they looked stunning in my chosen bridesmaid dresses. My gown was a Vera Wang-inspired mermaid wedding dress and I had it tailored for me. I ordered two bridesmaid gowns and a flower girl dress from http://www.bridesire.com, which arrived in a month. We still had two months to have it altered, so there were no signs of rush, and everything fit perfectly on them. For the boys, we bought a semi-formal top, similar to that of my husband’s, as all of them provided their own black pants.

Three months prior to the wedding, we started ordering our ring bands, buying our shoes and accessories, and making the invitation. Thanks to Adobe, I had the invitation sent online. We personally sent the invitation to guests who don’t have email accounts to be sure that they’ll receive it. We got our two-tiered cake from a reputable bakeshop in the locality along with 50 cupcakes as our wedding favor. Two months before the big day, I started collecting the needed materials for the centerpieces and the decors. I mostly had tulle, beads, ribbons, organza, baskets, marbles, bowls, and scented candles to complete the centerpiece. We do away from too many flowers to keep it within the budget and we basically spent about $200 only for the decors.

On the big day, offered help poured. A gal pal did my hair and makeup as well as the bridesmaids’. My husband’s mom made two dessert;, my cousins helped me do the centerpieces; my hubby’s bro operated the laptop for the music during the wedding and the reception; his cousin was the photographer and the driver; and we only used my dad’s car. Thanks to all these offered help, we were able to save much and keep our budget for the wedding. With about 50 guests, two venues, tailored bridal gown, and discounted catering service, we were only able to shell out less than $4000 for everything. Everybody was comfortable, satisfied with the food, and happy during our inexpensive, yet very organized wedding. Indeed, wedding management is really all about time management.