Hi! Newbie here!

sew0159 · December 2011

Hi! Newbie here.

My name is Stephani (Steph for short). My fiancé’s name is Jonathan (Jon for short). We've been engaged since May 1, 2011. I've been lurking around the Knot for about 2 weeks now, and figured it's time I introduce myself. I'm from Texas. I moved to Minnesota 3 years ago, and then moved to Pennsylvania two years ago. Last month I moved back to Minnesota. My fiancé is still in Pennsylvania. He works for Penske and is working on getting a transfer in place.

The only wedding I have ever been to is my uncle's when I was 8 years old. So, suffice to say, I know NOTHING about weddings. We originally had our date set for December 24 at 10am, but then decided to move it to May 21 (time not yet set).

I've got only a million questions! Starting with - what the heck do all your abbreviations stand for? I've figured out a couple like BM, STD (with tbh, freaked me out before I knew what it stood for), MOH, MIL. I don't have any in mind now, but I know that I have gone through tons of posts that have abbreviations that I haven't been able to figure out. I'll make a list every time I see one and then post it here.

I use the forums regularly on a game site, so I know basic forum rules. However, I'm not sure exactly what etiquette is for theKnot. Every time I have a new question, should I make a new thread? Should I get a whole bunch of questions in one place? I've been trying to get as many answers as possible by first searching through the already-made threads.

I'm on an extreme budget. We'd rather have more money for the honeymoon than the wedding. We're trying to keep the wedding around $2500 (not including the dress, which is already bought and paid for). I've been doing tons of research, and calling all kinds of vendors/venues to see where I can cut costs and/or make deals. I think I'm doing a pretty good job so far. I'm excited to have a DIY wedding, too!

OH ~ and did I mention? I breathe wedding planning right now. Dad says I need to stop and take a break, but I can't! I'm OBSESSED!

Anorton1204 · December 2011

Hi! Welcome! I must admit, when I first started on here I was struggling with the abbreviations as well but you get used to it and everyone is very nice so just ask. If you have a question just start a thread and ask away!

I work for Penske too that is ironic! What does he do? Penske has his hands in everything so there are many different avenues to the company. I am a Client Advisor (Salesperson) at BMW in Scottsdale. Although I am from MN and we are getting married in Cottage Grove in 2013.

Good luck with the planning!

Ashley

jennipea382 · December 2011

Welcome! I believe under FAQ on the left sidebar is where you can find the list of abbreviations. As for rules, most of it is common sense forum rules such as no harrassing, advertising , excessive posts (like 10 posts about the same thing), stuff like that. Most of the women on these boards are very honest, so I will warn you that if you take offense easily, you might have issues. If not, awesome! Just wanted to throw that out there in case you run into any problems on other boards.

For posting, it really depends on what the questions are. It's nice to have one post we can respond to, but if the questions have absolutely nothing to do with each other, then it's fine to make more than one post.

Anyways, I'm happy to help any way I can even though I'm barely into the planning process (reception booked and that's it!). Happy planning!

mzad22 · December 2011

Welcome and congrats! Everyone here is super helpful so if you have any questions, just ask! I know what you mean about the wedding planning. I got engaged last July, and for about 3 months it pretty much consumed my free time! I have finally struck a balance, which is probably a bit better for me

Sounds like you have a good start, have fun planning!

knottiee50e18e2e6011463 · December 2011

Hey!

I'm a newbie here too! I've also been lurking around the forums, searching around the Knot and just generally getting information on weddings!

My Fiance and I got engaged in July, but we're just really getting serious about planning now. I didn't realize how far in advance people plan things!

Also definitely trying to stick to a pretty tight budget. Planning on doing a lot of DIY crafting (centerpieces, cake, flowers, etc.)

My FI has gotten a little annoyed because it seems like everything I see or do reminds me of something with the wedding! He's getting used to it, and is excited for some of the planning. He love cooking and is excited to help with the cake, we're going to bake and decorate our head table's wedding cake by ourselves and then have other family members help with a dessert buffet for the rest of the guests (the reception site has already OK'd it!)

Super excited to get more information and plan more details!

graysquirrel · December 2011

Welcome! The MN brides are great-- there is no snark here like on some of the boards. I will tell you that people on TK can be very blunt (including myself once and a while), but these girls are always helpful! And if you have wedding brain, you've come to the right place! I've been married since July and I keep coming back for more! Mostly because I got such good help that I want to pass it on.

It is ok to ask multiple questions in one post, but if they are complicated or would get long responses, it would be just fine to put them in separate posts.

musicalsunlight · December 2011

Welcome and congrats on your engagement! There are a lot of friendly and helpful ladies here both already married and planning. Feel free to post a thread when you have a question about something. As far as the acronyms go, here is a pretty extensive list in this post:

http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_faqs-read-this-first-before-posting

If you have any others you question, of course ask away. Looking forward to hearing your plans!

sew0159 · December 2011

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all your responses, congratulations, welcomes, and whatnot. I certainly appreciate it!

What's one thing about wedding planning that has driven you all nuts? Mine is that I feel like I have to please everyone and if anyone makes a comment or a look that is even SEMI-negative, I instantly start second-guessing EVERYTHING. I'm a bride that can't seem to stick to one thing!!

Thanks Muscialsunlight for that link! I'm SO bookmarking that!!

jennipea382 · December 2011

I agree with feeling like I have to please everyone. But on the other side of things, there are a ton of people who keep saying "it's YOUR day, do what YOU want." So I'm trying to find that balance between having everything we want but also making sure our guests have a great time!

I think the thing that bugs me the most though is the ideas some people have. I appreciate input from my friends and family but some ideas are just terrible. For the bar, my aunt suggested drink tickets and my mom suggested still charging for the drinks (PEC doesn't allow cash bars so we're providing) to get the money back. I'm not against cash bars (which is looked down on by a lot of people on other boards FYI), but these ideas are just.... no. Haha.

sew0159 · December 2011

You know..my mom recently started saying that whole "You do what YOU want" but before she would always give her input. I don't know what changed. I went to pick up my dress at DB in Richfield last Monday and when I was there, I decided to purchase a black sash. I am strongly considering placing an elegant ornament of some type on the black sash. I think it looks fantastic, but when I showed my mom, she actually told me it reminded her of a wrestling match!! That INSTANTLY made me second guess it!! I'll show pictures later and you lot can let me know what you think.

sew0159 · December 2011

Also! Anorton1204~ The FI works in the SOS department near Reading, PA. He was #1 in his department last quarter (the most recent quarter just ended on 11/30 and we're still waiting for the numbers on that)!! SO proud of him! He's looking for a shop job or really anything he qualifies for out here. Julie (not sure exactly who that is, but is supposedly a higher up manager at corporate?) told him that if he can't find a position before April, she'll transfer him out here as a home agent.

jladig ~ I don't know what custom is around these parts of the forum, but I'd be up for it if you or anyone else planning a wedding around here wanted to get together somewhere and just talk wedding! It feels complicated planning a wedding in my family because no one seems excited about it (even my sister who is engaged herself!!). Well that's not true - my other sister, the prof.photographer is super excited, but she's in California. Since I just moved up here, I don't really know anyone. If anyone does want to get together, great! Send me a PM! If not, that's okay, too!

jennipea382 ~ I totally understand about the whole bar thing. I had a meeting with the owner at one of the local restaurants that sits on the lake to discuss ceremony/reception options, and we started talking about the bar. He suggested handing out one free drink vouchers and then anything else they want they pay for. I don't really like the idea of them paying for their own beverages, even if it is alcoholic, but we've got such a tight budget that I don't know if we can do it any other way. Non-alcoholic would be completely covered by us, of course! BTW, what is "PEC"? I wanna say "Parsimonious Engaged Couples" but something tells me that is NOT it!!

jennipea382 · December 2011

Haha sorry, I should mention "PEC" is "Profile Event Center" which is a reception venue in Minneapolis. I actually had never heard of it until I started posting here, and now it's where we are having our reception! There are quite a few people on this board who have used the PEC and I've heard nothing but great things!

I agree that it sucks to have people buying drinks at weddings, but every wedding I've ever been to (other than one really nice one out in Baltimore) has had a partially hosted bar or all cash. The most common thing I've seen is providing a certain amount of beer and wine, and everything else (after the set amount and any liquor) is cash bar. I've never had a problem with it, but there are definitely some people on other boards that will go insane at the mention of a cash bar!

I'd be going with the partially hosted bar but since PEC doesn't allow cash bars, we have to provide everything. I'm leaning towards just beer and wine because I don't know if I want to be left with half empty liquor bottles, especially if it's not something I'd drink. It's something I'm still thinking about though.

Anyways, I'm rambling now.. haha.

Hi! Newbie here!

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