How fun is it to plan a wedding?   Let me just tell you how much I’ve loved this week… A LOT!

We started it off getting our engagement pictures. So much fun! One of my very good friends (Kara) did these for us and it was an absolute blast. We went to a gorgeous park  that Kara’s family owns which is tucked back in the woods. This brought back a flood of memories as I remembered playing at this place several times when my friends and I were younger. Such a beautiful place with trees, swings, a pond, canoes and wide open fields all around. Michael and I had a blast as we posed in different areas with different props. We’ve highlighted just a little bit of the photo shoot in the video below, but it will be fun to show more of the pictures when we get them.

I also went dress shopping with my cute mom and sister. It was so much fun! We took a Saturday and hit a few shops. I didn’t want to put any pictures on here because I didn’t want Michael to see me in any dresses until the big day, but I did find out I LOVE lace, the Queen Anne neck line or the sweetheart, not too full but a nice A-line and I love a long train. So we’ll see what I end up getting!! I’ll probably do a little sneak peak when we get closer to January.

But check out the video for a little more info on what we did this week! Also, make sure to see the list below of everything as well. Wow! A lot to do still, but we’re rollin.

WEEK 3

1. Wedding Dress shopping with my mom and sister! So fun!
2. Engagement  pictures
3. Solidified guest list for ceremony
4. Discussed honeymoon location
5. Discussed food options for reception
6. Booked  wedding photographer (Elizabeth Taylor Frandsen – my all-time favorite professional photographer!)
7. Booked graphic designer for wedding invitations (My good friend and co-worker, Tammy.   I  would definitely suggest having a skilled friend do this so it can be unique and still maintain a good quality.)
8. Family and friend bridal showers scheduled
9. Help girls  in the family pick their dresses (everyone got a cute mint green dress and the moms will be in orange)
10. Listen to Pandora all the time for wedding music ideas – I have 2 stations, one called love songs on the radio and the other is wedding songs on the radio. Of course I listen to my regular love – country music – poor Michael, he hates country music. But he said it’ll be fine, followed by the fact that I’m lucky he loves me that much ha ha.
11. Met with  my coordinator at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for a minute (p.s. you get a FREE coordinator to help you plan  a wedding at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building! Can I just say, AMAZING!! So grateful because I have no idea how to focus all of mine and Michael’s style into a cohesive feel and look at a wedding event. We definitely need all the help we can get.)
12. Met with  Flowers Squared ( I learned a ton! I found out I kind of jumped the gun  with this and they gave me some pointers to figure out our style and theme a little more. Can’t wait to delve in further. They’re going to start  thinking of ideas though. I gave them a fun idea of a marshmallow back drop by the hot chocolate that I saw on Pinterest and now they are playing around with the idea of incorporating marshmallows in more of the decor!   Can’t wait to see what they come up with! Sounds so fun!!)
13. Started  our registry with Amazon.com (we’ll also be going out to Bed, Bath & Beyond next week)
14. Stayed organized with our Google Docs, Wedding wire check lists and personal  calendars
15. One day we just played because we felt like we hadn’t just gone out and played for a while! Definitely a good idea! I don’t care how stressed you are when you plan a weddimg, you need  to play sometimes. In fact, when you are extremely stressed is probably when you should take a moment to just play and relax.

For additional info and the video, go to http://www.templesquarehospitality.com/blogs/weddings/?p=1680