Tired, and the checklist seems never ending!

Sp2012

Hi Ladies!

This is my first post on this month board, we're getting married on April 5th

I must admit I'm tired at this point.  I think partly it's due to holiday shopping plus wedding shopping, plus full time work & commute, although I'm happy to be wedding shopping when there are holiday sales!  So here's my list (sorry it's long, but I'm trying to be detailed).  I hope the font color is ok, I've never played with it before

Done:
Venue
Officiant
Photographer
DJ
Florist
Hair & Makeup
Wedding dress
BMs dresses
Rehearsal dinner - FMIL is planning so I'm off the hook!

Working on:
Invitations - went to several stationers & looked online, but still am undecided and honestly stopped looking
Dress Alterations - need to call for appointment, 10 weeks prior?
Cocktail & Reception food, beverage, cake- will have tasting in January and decide
Flight & Accomodations - in the process of booking
Groomsmen outfits - fiance is being slow on getting me their sizes, GRR!
Wedding shoes- browsing online, but I think I just need to shop in person
Favors - will probably order local Hawaiian cookies, can wait till later to place order

Not done/undecided:
Grooms outfit & wedding ring- hopefully will be done over winter break
flower girl & ring bearer outfits -  wait until just before the wedding since kids grow so fast?
DOC - none of my family ever used a coordinator, so I'm undecided
linens/chairs - I like the covered or chiavari chairs but am undecided due to cost
escort cards - I can't do till I know who's coming anyways right?
veil - might borrow from my sister if I decide to go with one
undergarments for dress - need the exact ones I'll wear when I go for dress fittings right?
programs - I've read that these might be unnecessary so I'm inclined to skip.
OOT bag - undecided, it seems like a lot of work if our guests are all at different hotels and arriving on different days!  We're planning on hosting a breakfast the morning after the wedding, and announcing some non-hosted times to get together, is this enough?

Am I just being too lazy with all the items on my "undecided list"?  Anything that I've left off my list?  Let me add that my fiance has no interest in planning, he'll give me his opinion if I ask, but that's about it. 

Thank you, and again sorry it's long, but it's good to get it off my chest!

meganb1977

I know how it is that the list of things to do seems so long!  Jealous that you're in Hawaii though.  After taking a trip there just before our engagement I decided I wanted our wedding to have a Hawaiian theme.  (I wanted a destination wedding on a beach and fiance didn't so the theme is a compromise).

Working on:
Invitations - went to several stationers & looked online, but still am undecided and honestly stopped looking

Don't forget you can also consider DIY with a kit from Michael's or Office Depot.  Maybe you can help yourself decide by just keeping it simple maybe with text and some kind of border?

Dress Alterations - need to call for appointment, 10 weeks prior?

I had to call about ten weeks prior to my bridal portraits.  It doesn't hurt to book this early in case you run into a situation like I did where the seamstress is only there for one day every other week and is going to be going back to visit her family in her home country for a month.

Cocktail & Reception food, beverage, cake- will have tasting in January and decide

Sounds like this one is under control!

Flight & Accomodations - in the process of booking

This too.

Groomsmen outfits - fiance is being slow on getting me their sizes, GRR!

Assuming you're renting from a tuxedo shop, is there a form the shop has which can be distributed via a mass e-mail?

Wedding shoes- browsing online, but I think I just need to shop in person

Definitely better to be able to physically look at the shoes and try them on!  Although some of the online shops have a pretty good return policy you can't always get very good prices on the shoes.

Favors - will probably order local Hawaiian cookies, can wait till later to place order

Sounds like this is under control too.

Not done/undecided:
Grooms outfit & wedding ring- hopefully will be done over winter break

Once your groom can come with you if he can be decisive this shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

flower girl & ring bearer outfits -  wait until just before the wedding since kids grow so fast?

If you're getting outfits off the rack from a department store like Penney's I would say yeah.  Otherwise the associates at the bridal or tuxedo shop should be able to help with ordering the right size.

DOC - none of my family ever used a coordinator, so I'm undecided

Your venue may have one to make sure your ceremony flows smoothly and if you have a DJ he will also help keep things flowing with the first dance, cake cutting, etc.  I would look into those possibilities before hiring a separate person.

linens/chairs - I like the covered or chiavari chairs but am undecided due to cost

Maybe once some of the other items are more finalized you can decide whether there is room left in your budget.

escort cards - I can't do till I know who's coming anyways right?

Yes you might need a better idea of who is coming, and you might also be able to print these yourself with cards from Office Depot.

veil - might borrow from my sister if I decide to go with one

That could be your "something borrowed."

undergarments for dress - need the exact ones I'll wear when I go for dress fittings right?

Yes, and your shoes!

programs - I've read that these might be unnecessary so I'm inclined to skip.

Yes these aren't a "must."  But something you may be able to type up in Word and have printed at Office Depot if you do want to do them.

OOT bag - undecided, it seems like a lot of work if our guests are all at different hotels and arriving on different days!  We're planning on hosting a breakfast the morning after the wedding, and announcing some non-hosted times to get together, is this enough?

That sounds like more than enough.  I don't think out of town bags are a "must" either, although especially if a lot of the people coming are internet-savvy I would put up some information on your wedding web site about things they might want to see and do on their trip.

Am I just being too lazy with all the items on my "undecided list"?  Anything that I've left off my list?  Let me add that my fiance has no interest in planning, he'll give me his opinion if I ask, but that's about it.

Not at all.  Still time for those items.  You're lucky your fiance is letting you take the lead!  Mine has been very picky about some things.  Glad you got it off your chest and good luck getting some things checked off soon!

Thank you, and again sorry it's long, but it's good to get it off my chest!

rardito

The only thing that comes to mind is don't forget to get your marriage license, but I think you have to be 60 days or less from the wedding or it will expire.

Oh, are you having a card box, and have you gotten things like the cake server, garter(s), guest book/pen, and toasting flutes for you and FI?

I use various wedding checklists to make sure I have everything, there is one on the Knot if you haven't looked at it yet.

em01092

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_april-2012-weddings_stalled-planning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:05427f07-4ba2-44d6-9271-99a7af1ee5c0Discussion:a2df84dd-6b6f-4b74-bf52-5dc483f7a1bcPost:b3a5934e-3297-40ea-8d3f-2407c28ea3ad">Re: Tired, and the checklist seems never ending!</a>:
[QUOTE]The only thing that comes to mind is don't forget to get your marriage license, but I think <strong>you have to be 60 days or less from the wedding or it will expire</strong>. Oh, are you having a card box, and have you gotten things like the cake server, garter(s), guest book/pen, and toasting flutes for you and FI? I use various wedding checklists to make sure I have everything, there is one on the Knot if you haven't looked at it yet.
Posted by rardito[/QUOTE]

<div>I think this depends on the state. GAs is 2 years. Still a good reminder/point though! </div>

Sp2012

Hi ladies, thanks so much for your input!

@ meganb1977: so helpful to have your input per item, thank you!  I'll look into booking my alterations appointment now, and do wedding shoe shopping with my christmas shopping!

@ rardito: we're going to skip the garter toss, maybe do an anniversay dance for my bridal bouquet.  I think I'm borrowing this idea, but rather than a guest book, maybe having a bunch of vintage hawaii postcards for guests to sign & we'll collect & mail home from hawaii... then somehow assemble into a guest book once we're home?  Good point about card box - and for cake server, toasting flutes, maybe the hotel can provide.  I'm also trying to limit what items I have to pack & bring to Hawaii

@em01092:  we'll plan on getting our license once we arrive on island for our wedding, this'll be just a few days prior, but for sure I'll look and see if we need to schedule an appointment or can just do walk-in!

graffeo

hey laides I wneded up using  invitationconsultants.com for my invites and you can get samples. They tell you they dont coem with words on the samples but all the ones i got had writitng on them. 

blgrout

Invitations by Dawn offers samples too.  I have been having a hell of a time with invites, so I  ordered samples and showed them to FH.  He, of course, didn't like any of the first few I picked.  So we tried again.  And again and finally found one that he said he liked.  For me, the more I look, the harder it is to pick.  Then we had disaster with logistical details, but that's another story.

In the end, we're buying invitaitions from David's Bridal, and all I can say is, I'm glad we're ordering and that's almost off the list.  I hate invitations.  

faerylvr27

I got my invitations from vista print. they came out really nice and they always have some sort of deal so after i created & saved them, they sent me an email reminder with a 30% off coupon.

i also got my escort cards from them, which i will either hand write or clear label the info on each card. i got like 200 for maybe $10? it was really cheap.

also shoebuy.com & endless.com have a HUGE selection of shoes and they ship 1 or 2 day air and free returns. hth!!

theatretwin

I'm pretty sure we're doing Hawaii for our honeymoon! Cool!
I'm going back and forth too about the flowergirl dresses. The mom's want to wait, so we're waiting a little bit and hoping to buy off the rack. They want to wait until Easter but that'd give me a heart attack!

I'm DIYing my escort cards (they're paper flowers, hanging on branches), and I've got about 75% of them done, since writing the names on them will be sort of last minute.

I'd probably say getting your invites done is really the next thing, but don't worry, there's time!

faerylvr27

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_april-2012-weddings_stalled-planning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:05427f07-4ba2-44d6-9271-99a7af1ee5c0Discussion:a2df84dd-6b6f-4b74-bf52-5dc483f7a1bcPost:3b7db0ee-5e9c-407f-b0d7-046ac8cd0421">Re: Tired, and the checklist seems never ending!</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm pretty sure we're doing Hawaii for our honeymoon! Cool! I'm going back and forth too about the flowergirl dresses. The mom's want to wait, so we're waiting a little bit and hoping to buy off the rack. They want to wait until Easter but that'd give me a heart attack! I'm DIYing my escort cards (<strong>they're paper flowers, hanging on branches)</strong>, and I've got about 75% of them done, since writing the names on them will be sort of last minute. I'd probably say getting your invites done is really the next thing, but don't worry, there's time!
Posted by theatretwin[/QUOTE]

have you figured out how you were actually going to place them on the trees so people can find them easily? i want to do a tree too, but this part makes me nervous. if you dont mind sharing your idea, i would reallyyyyy appreciate it :)