Adventures of a Bride-to-Be

Adventures of a (Second Time) Bride-to-Be
March 29, 2011

I’m starting off today’s entry with a rant and then will show more photo goodies in storyboard fashion…

I have come to realize that planning YOUR wedding is YOUR priority, but the people you have hired to help (or even friends who you’ve roped into it!) don’t have it as THEIR priority.

I have come to the part of the planning that is no longer “novel”; the newness has worn off & now the work has to get done. And I have hired everyone under the sun and more to help, yet I cannot seem to get them all to work together, even if I hired a planner to coordinate just that!

UGH, I am so very frustrated at this point. I am usually very “in charge” of what’s going on and am not a good delegator… I know this, I don’t ask people for help for that very reason. I am particular about what I do & do not want, so I don’t impose all of that on anyone else that I am not paying to do as I ask them to (as part of a contract). My friends know this, they know I’m picky, they make fun of me for it. It’s OK! But, when I’ve hired someone to do things for me, yet I have to do the work (or actually CONVINCE them to supplement their work if only to make the work get done quickly!).

YOUR priorities are not THEIR priorities. Just keep that in mind and you won’t be disappointed or anxious about things getting done. My advice for the week, make sure each vendor has your wishes known IN WRITING along the way. Due dates, status updates, and an understanding of what would be paid for & when.

PAYMENTS. That’s another rant this week. Make sure you AGREE to the payment schedule set forth in your contract. If you haven’t built a house before or done work with “milestone payments”, ask friends & make sure you don’t pay for everything before goods or services are delivered. Once completely paid, there is no incentive for any vendor to stay in touch and I cannot tell you how many I have chased down myself (WHERE is that planner I hired?).

Before I end with “all vendors are on the take”, know that MANY are reputable, live up to their word & contracts, and are very easy to work with. It is the few, though, that take up time you do not have. Make sure you know which ones these are and keep them on your communications list so that you are on the same page on a regular basis… You will be happier for it later.

And now, with my rants for the week over (there will be more), here are some more photos of my masterpiece wedding design process.

Inline, beginning from the uppermost left corner:
WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENTS: Laura Hooper Calligraphy
RECEPTION PLACE SETTING: Kehoe Designs & Laura Hooper Calligraphy
VENUE MAP: Laura Hooper Calligraphy
WEDDING STORAGE CLOSET: Alycia’s Personal Mess
WEDDING MAP: Laura Hooper Calligraphy
WEDDING INVITATION WORKROOM: Alycia’s Pooltable (to the chagrin of her fiancé)
WEDDING ORCHID DESIGN: Laura Hooper Calligraphy
WEDDING INVITATION: Laura Hooper Calligraphy
MONOGRAM: Laura Hooper Calligraphy
MEMORIAL CARD: Laura Hooper Calligraphy
WEDDING INVITATION WORKROOM #2: More of Alycia’s Basement (again, fiancé’s chagrin)

Until next time,

“Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.”

~Bear Bryant

xoxo,
Alycia