Across town, Julie checks in with her wedding planner. Her mom accompanies her to the wedding planner’s office to see a sample of some of the wedding decor. Although they had decided to scale down on what they had originally decided to order, they are thrilled to see the quality of workmanship in the samples displayed. Her wedding planner explains to them how she is connected to local artisans who are very talented in what they create. They look over each sample and make their final decisions on which pieces that they want to order for the ceremony and which pieces will work best for the reception. An hour passes and all is handled. The wedding planner has a list of what she needs to order from the local wedding vendors and Julie and her mom leave feeling confident that everything is in good hands.
Does any of this sound familiar? Doing things yourself versus hiring someone to handle the details for you is a hard decision at times. While doing things yourself may help you cut some corners in order to save a few dollars here and there, hiring someone to handle things for you will help reduce stress and anxiety when it comes to all the tedious details. If you are a person who loves the hands on approach, then my goal in writing this tale of two brides is to simply show you the pitfalls that you may encounter. This will enable you to foresee what lies ahead of you so that you can better devise a wise plan of action.
On a more personal note... All too often we get caught up in wanting to create the perfect decor for our dream wedding. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but make sure you take into account the cost of all the items needed to create each piece. You will also need to make sure that you have plenty of help, time and space set aside in order to actually make these items. Couple this with the fact that your wedding day, the day before and the day after, are all going to be extremely stressful and hectic days. You may or may not have time to decorate the venues with all your elaborate handiwork yourselves. You will need time to get your hair, nails and makeup done, and so will your girls who are in your wedding. You will need time in order to get into your dress, and so will your girls. You will also need time to devote to pre-ceremony photography, and that can take a pretty hefty chunk of time. So if this is the route that you have decided to take, just make sure to plan ahead for all the seen and unseen events. This will help to alleviate any added stress to an already stressful day.
Don’t forget to watch for next month’s issue to see how Trina and Julie are coming along with their wedding planning.
The author, Sheri Kirby, of Simply Sheri Photography, is a middle Tennessee-based wedding and portrait photographer and staff writer for Tied in a Bow. She may be reached at [email protected] or at www.simplysheriphotography.com.
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