Overwhelmed by the little stuff...how do you girls do it???

xxkris10xx · June 2010

So i got engaged in august '09 and im getting married in October, its four months away. I have been really calm planning up to now, much calmer than I thought I would be.
I booked a dj, put a deposit on the hall, got a limo and photograper, pretty much all the big things are done....
But know I'm feeling overwhelmed and can't seem to make any decisions about the small things
What invitations to choose, how to set up the escort card table, what escort cards to use, do i put the favors on the table at each place setting or do i put them in a basket next to the guest book for people to take...
I dont even know where to start with all the little details!
How do you girls do it???

LD1970 · June 2010

Invitations don't have to be hard. Go to the shop with your FI, and look through and pick invitations. You can pick out all the ones you both like, which cuts out all the ones neither or only one of you likes. Then rate the ones you both like, and the one that falls highest on both your list and his is the one you choose. If you keep it empirical, things are much easier.

For escort cards, you can either use the ones your venue provides, if they do, or get the ones that match your invitations. Set them up on the table in alphabetical order so it's easiest for people to find their names.

People are more likely to notice and take favors if they're at each place setting.

There, now you're set!

psichick · June 2010

make a list and just deal with things one at a time. it can be a little overwhelming at times, but just break it down and it will seem a lot easier!

[Deleted User] · June 2010

I just told myself that ultimately, all the little details don't really matter. Years from now, guests won't remember the color of the centerpieces or what the escort cards looked like, they'll remember you and your DH and how great a day it was. If something didn't get done, it simply didn't get done.

For me, it helped to make a list and just start crossing things off. I'm a big "To Do" list person.

quotequeen · June 2010

Invitations: I looked online until I found one that I liked and was customizable the way I wanted and reasonably priced and then showed some designs to FI and we agreed on one. Done.

Most things I avoid stressing about by not caring about them. When the time comes for escort cards I will just get some cardstock and print them. I will give them to my venue and not give a second thought to how the table is set up. I don't know if I will even have favors, but if I do, where they go doesn't matter so I will just pick something.

SarahPLiz · June 2010

Don't sweat the small stuff. That much stress is not worth it for things your guests will barely notice. Don't let all the uber creative people on here make you feel bad if you aren't one of them. I sure as hell am not, and I just decided not to worry about it.

loop0406 · June 2010

I stay organized with my planner that I have with me always, I made a list of everything to be done/paid for, etc for the wedding. My invitations: I ordered online at amazon.com and did them myself, ordered the ashley green invitation kit and bought the green vellum jackets (the invite kit came with the ribbons that tie around the invitations). Total was $113. They were delivered in about a week, took me 2 days to complete (invite wording, envelope addressing, reception card wording)....

If you make a list and tackle from 1st to last (make sure priority ones are done asap) like your invites, you should have those ordered or at least almost ordered since your wedding is in 4 months and they need to be sent to guests soon...

damaless · June 2010

I found what helps with making decisions about little stuff is to not stress too much about picking the BEST thing, just eliminate all the stuff you *do not* like, and then you like all your options, so you can't really go wrong no matter what you decide.

Like, when it came to choosing the menu, we picked a few dishes that we wanted to try, liked all of them, and went with them. I didn't bother thinking, "well, what if I would have liked some other dish even more?" Same with invitations.

arthomas82 · June 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_overwhelmed-little-stuffhow-girls?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:14Discussion:c6ca9fb5-fb4b-4ffe-8fed-13cb9cab04d0Post:0ef5137f-21b0-4f53-b906-5c2991f1ad35">Re: Overwhelmed by the little stuff...how do you girls do it???</a>:
[QUOTE]I just told myself that ultimately, all the little details don't really matter. Posted by Seshat411[/QUOTE]

This + vodka.

Goff2010 · June 2010

Try not to overthink everything

. While you do want your wedding to look beautiful and tastefully done, nobody will think about the details nearly as much as you do

.

jenn.daniel · June 2010

I'm in the list camp. Take it one task at a time, one day at a time.

aerinpegadrak · June 2010

The Knot has a pretty good checklist, I used that to keep me on track and on schedule.

Midgetth · June 2010

Our wedding is October 3rd so I'm getting near the end too. First thing first you NEED to go pick out wedding inviations. They should be getting sent out in July. I got ours at Americanwedding.com they came in a week. Also invitationsbydawn.com has alot of nice fall ones and a huge selection. I got what went with our theme with fall leaves. Secondly they make escort cards that match the wedding invitation. We are putting a real live branch(that we're just cutting off of a tree or find on the ground) on the ecort table, making our own escort cards they will look like leaves,punch holes in them tie some string and put them on the branch in alpabetic order. So it's kind of like our guests are picking their names out of a tree. You don't have to go that fancy if you dont want. My mom is a florist & very crafty sot hat's why we're doing it. You can just lines yours up in alphabetic order on the escort card. Also we are putting our favors at the tables by their dishes. This way nobody not notices them or forgets to grab it accidentally nor anybody can say after the wedding say "Well I wasn't given/recieved a favor."
I hope that helps. Just breathe and enjoy this It should be fun for you not this stressful.

missy68 · June 2010

Don't sweat on the small stuff, and realize that most of it IS the small stuff - favors, monogrammed napkins, monogrammed menus for everyone, etc.

Make a list of everything you want, then sort it by what's most important (thanks, Franklin Covey). Those get the most attention. Do you care about having a terrific cake? Spend your time there. Your dress? etc.

The rest if you've got the time, the budget, and the sanity. Because in the end, what matters is that you, your FI, and the officiant are there, and you say your vows. Nothing else.

HisCB · June 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_overwhelmed-little-stuffhow-girls?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:14Discussion:c6ca9fb5-fb4b-4ffe-8fed-13cb9cab04d0Post:a8be8af8-67d4-4b35-a5c7-06c7c6d985e5">Overwhelmed by the little stuff...how do you girls do it???</a>:
[QUOTE] What invitations to choose, how to set up the escort card table, what escort cards to use, do i put the favors on the table at each place setting or do i put them in a basket next to the guest book for people to take...
Posted by xxkris10xx[/QUOTE]

invites: dont stress over which one, your guests wont know what they arent getting. ditto pp pick a few you both like, rank them indivdually and go with the highest scoring one.

escort cards: whatever is cheapest, has you colors and easy to read. set up the cards in abc order by last name rather than first (this way multiple members of the same family/group will be near eachother on the table, a couple will only have to look for 1 name essentially)

favors: i dont recommend favors, theyre not nessesary, (but i wont rant on that if you care for peoples opnion on them, you can find a post or start a new one) if you must have them, they are a great way to fill in table decor with the centerpeices at the place settings. and people are sure to see them. this eliminates having to have a table/basket just for them, or a bigger table that will hold them and something else.

my wedding is also in october and im less done than you are, dont panic and dont sweat the small stuff.

KabFrr · June 2010

I'm the same way. Deposits for the major things and bigger stuff didn't faze me at all. The letters on our placecards overlapping the borders on them? I flipped out!! I think it's because I feel like the little details make the whole day. FI doesn't get it and gets pissed at me when I stress over what he calls "nothing"

Michelleymydear · June 2010

To do lists got me through the last 2 months of wedding planning. I literally assigned things to each day, especially down to the last couple weeks.

fallingwater · June 2010

Take a deep breath and lets think clearly.

I got my invitations through exclusivelyweddings.com and LOVE them. They have reasonable prices, etc. Google wedding invitations, find some sites, and order the free samples that you like the best. Pick ones that coordinate with your theme, match colors, or beautifully describe "your style". Whatever you choose, make sure you LOVE it. Traditionally, there are family members or friends of the family that, if they're crafty, stitch the invitations onto pillows or frame it. My parents got married over 25 years ago and my mom still has it hanging in her bedroom.

Escort cards. There are a couple options. You can have the reception venue just set them up as tents normally or you could display them in a fun way, but thats something you can decide a lil later.

Favors. My favors are going to be placed at the seats. We're doing favors for every couple and then ones for our single people if they don't bring someone. So favors pretty much at every other seat.

I keep everything organized in a binder. I've separated the binder into sections: ceremony, dj, photographer, reception, dessert (if different than reception), dress (including all girls stuff), honeymoon, and a misc area for things that don't fit into those categories. I ripped things out of catalogs and printed things offline. All ideas and any ideas that I like. Once they're in this one area, separated into sections, I can make decisions easier. Figure out which affects others and make decisions - decide on the favors you like, number of guests determine amount of favors, number of favors and their style determine where you put them.

Good luck!

Overwhelmed by the little stuff...how do you girls do it???

Re: Overwhelmed by the little stuff...how do you girls do it???

Choose Another Board

Search Boards