Wedding Series!

So post wedding I got a lot of requests to write about our wedding, the engagement process, etc. so I thought it would be great to do a wedding series of posts for you guys! I know on the appearance it doesn't appear like a "fit girl" topic, but truthfully I believe it is. I still stand by the notion that fit isn't just merely a physical appearance. Fit is an overall healthy mindset that involves all areas of your life. That being said, how to handle one of the most stressful times in many peoples lives (aka planning a wedding) definitely falls in that category. Plus, it's a fun topic :)

Some of the topics I will be discussing are:
Budgeting for a Wedding
How to Pick a Wedding Venue
Hidden Costs of a Wedding
What I Did Right (and Wrong!)
Tips for Brides/Bridesmaids

 So without further ado, let's get into it!

YOU'RE ENGAGED!

It's awesome!

It's exciting!

Your mind starts to go a million different directions with details, dates, food choices, dress styles and you lose hours upon hours of your day surfing Pinterest. At first its fun but then I remember I started to feel totally overwhelmed with all of these seemingly perfect Pinterest wedding details that made me feel inferior and overwhelmed. How could I pull something like that off? I'm not that creative and I don't have a million dollar wedding budget! BUT remember, although its a very important day and you do want it to be beautiful and memorable it should not be a day that puts you thousands of dollars into debt!


MY THREE TIPS FOR STARTING TO WEDDING PLAN:

1. So my advice, before you commit to anything else it pick a wedding budget and stick to it. Keep this decision between you and your future husband and keep it realistic. Track your expenses closely and keep your budget as up to date as possible. The last thing you want to do is not have some type of accountability.  Eric and I used a simple Excel sheet to track how much we had spent/committed to spending vs how much we allocated in each category.

2. After you pick your budget, start deciding how/where you want to allocate those funds. Break things down into categories like:

• Venue
• Food
• Photographer
• Videographer
• Cake/Desserts
• Gifts
• Honeymoon 
• Dress/Accessories
• Flowers
• Invitations
• Postage
• Etc...

3. ACCEPT HELP! Many times there are super creative family members who can help you as part of your wedding gift. Accept all of the help you can - seriously. I know its hard to let control go sometimes but trust me, it will save you a ton of stress if you have people helping you out. For example, if you know someone who is super crafty with flowers why not discuss with them ideas for creating center pieces. Maybe you know someone who is great with Photoshop and can design your wedding invitations for you. Generally people really do want to help, so let them!

Soon I'll go over more specifics but remember at the end of the day to enjoy this process. It's an exciting time and it goes by quickly so try not to get hung up on the little things :)