Bridesmaid Dress Shopping: Entry 1

So, I finally sent out an e-mail to my gorgeous wedding party with a spreadsheet of their contact information and a proposition of when our first bridesmaid dress shopping extravaganza will be.  For now, we're looking at July 15th to meet for a quick bite to eat and then start the search for what will hopefully be the perfect bridesmaid dress.  One of my bridesmaid's has taken this challenge on, as she is quite the fashionista.  She has chosen several dresses from both David's Bridal and Alfred Angelo that I think will be flattering on the entire group (as if anything could possibly look bad on them, right?!?!).  What has not yet been chosen are the colors of the dresses.  I love the idea of having several colors that they can choose from, maybe three colors so there are two of every color or two colors so there are three of each color, somewhat of this inspiration. 

I'm excited about the first event with my bridesmaids, and can't wait to see what dresses they pick out! 

To my brides, brides-to-be, and friends who've been bridesmaids, how were your "bridesmaid dress shopping" experiences?  Did you include any original and unique ideas into your bridal party attire? 

One year mark = one year meltdown?

I woke up this morning with a grin on my face from ear to ear, know why?  Because in exactly one year I'm marrying the man I fell in love with in the first grade.  That's right. I fell in love with the man I'm marrying when we were six!  (I'll have to scan and post our elementary school class pictures, they are too funny!)  Anywho, I digress.

The real point of this post (in addition to announcing our one year mark) is to see how many of my fellow brides-to-be, and those wiser ones who are already married, have had the one year meltdown.  I haven't had my meltdown yet, but I definitely feel a greater sense of pressure and need to get my butt in gear! 

So, I pose the question, did you have a one year mark meltdown? 

We're off to celebrate with dinner and drinks!  Adios! 

And so it begins....on April 18, 2009

On a crisp April night under the romantic lights of a Wawa parking lot, my future husband asked me to marry him.  We enjoyed the blissful "we just got engaged" period for about 36 hours before I started to plan for a day I've been waiting on for quite some time.....OUR WEDDING!  The first couple of weeks started with generic planning, talking about budget, looking up venues, and looking at wedding magazines and websites for countless hours. And of course, creating our very preliminary Wedding Channel wedding website.  

Fast forward almost two months and the venue is booked, the dress is purchased, and a photographer and caterer have been selected (I think).  I still have a long ways to go, but I think I've made some decent progress.  My biggest feat yet is tackling the organization of such an event.  I need to make folders for each vendor with all e-mails and contracts.  I also need to come up with a firm "To Do" list so I can see what I've accomplished and what's left to be tackled.  At this point, next on the agenda is the selection of a bridesmaid dress and in return selection of the wedding colors.  I thought this would be simple.  I wanted a midnight blue for the bridesmaid dresses and for them to have reds and purples in their flowers/accessories (this was my inspiration).  This whole idea came before purchasing my wedding gown, which is ivory.  I learned in the bridal store that navy did not look so good with ivory, so my color palette may have to change.  Luckily, this is a flexible point for me.  

I plan on taking the weekend ahead to get my organization (or lack thereof) under control and put some plans in place.  We'll see how it goes!  

How have you organized your wedding plans?  What have you found to be the most effective points of planning?