YOU SAID ‘YES”, NOW WHAT?
IT’S THE DAY YOU HAD BEEN WAITING FOR since you met or the moment you’ve dreamt of
since you both said, “I love you.”
It doesn’t matter if it was the casual, traditional, down-on-one knee proposal at your parents’
house surrounded by your friends and family, a proposal made while on a romantic getaway or some
extravagant proposal that would put Kim and Kanye to shame (think rented out baseball stadium,
orchestra, and a Jumbotron professing, ‘PLEEEASE MARRY MEE!!!’ Also to my future husband: Please
take note. Just kidding. Kind of ).
The important part is that you both have reached the point in your relationship that you’re ready to
take it to the next level of commitment with marriage and a wedding.
So, now what?
There’s a lot of strategic planning that has to take place when you’re planning such a big day because
there are so many vendors and people involved in bringing everything together.
While there are all kinds of wedding planning and organizing books that will help you in making
sure you’ve crossed everything off the list for creating a beautiful and memorable day, I’ve compiled
a crash course of things to consider prioritizing so you’re not left feeling disappointed.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or just not even sure where to begin, then going to wedding shows in
your area is a good place to start. Just in Southern Indiana and Louisville alone we have over 20 shows
a season that you can attend.
There are usually two types of shows. One is more of an open type of show where it’s hosted by a third
party organizer that gets all the vendors booked and hosts it in a large facility for you to walk around,
mingle and talk with whomever you want (Extol hosts one every summer…so stay tuned). They’ll
usually have a large selection of venues, DJs, caterers, florists, bakeries, travel agents, wedding dress
and tux businesses, transportation, photographers, wedding planners and anything else that could be
associated with a wedding. It’s a good place to start to get your mind in the wedding planning mode.
The second type of show is venue specific. It’s hosted by a venue and showcases the vendors who are
on their preferred vendors list or exclusive to their facility.
You can’t go wrong with either type of show. In fact, I encourage you and your fiancé to go to a
handful of shows just to see what’s out there. In this day and age where there are so many options
and everything is online and only a click away, it’s refreshing to go out and speak face-to-face with
vendors. It gives you a chance to not only see their work in person but also feel if their personality
and work style fits yours.
A wedding and reception are such milestones in your life and memories that you’ll have forever that
the last thing you want is to feel tension or uncertain whether you’ve made the right choice in whom
you’ve booked to help you execute the vision you have your special day.
So, do your homework.
If you’re unsure about a vendor, google them. Google, Yelp, Facebook and other online options
allow for users to leave reviews that can vary from the good to the bad and ugly. Facebook also has a
number of wedding-related pages that you can join that are topic and location specific. Join one to
either read the posts and comments or to post something yourself. Users will often tag vendors when
commenting. You can find them by searching with key words.
Good luck and congratulations!
Alexas Gregory has worked in the wedding industry for years – she currently serves as general manager
of Stumler’s Catering – and is a regular contributor to Extol Magazine.
PHOTO BY PHOTO LULU
PHOTOGRAPHY,
TRINA WHALIN