Wedding Planning Update

It's been a little over 4 months since we got engaged, and we have a little under 4 months until the big day! Overall, the wedding planning process has been pretty smooth and steady thanks to already knowing what venue we wanted and knocking out a lot of the bigger tasks at the beginning. I remember sitting at the pool the day after we got engaged and getting a phone call from Sarah with all of the dates available for the church and club 😂. Although it seemed a little quick, I am so thankful I did not have to start from scratch with location options and tour a bunch of venues. Here is a glimpse into our wedding planning process: 

June/July

1. Set a date: Both the club and church were available on January 20, 2024, so that helped us narrow down a date. I have always liked the idea of a winter wedding but since things are always so busy in December, this would give us something to look forward to after the holidays! Also, we figured January was a safe month for Marshall with college football and would help avoid the heat, bugs, etc. However, despite all of my positive reasonings, if someone asked Charles, he would say "It's in January because that was the soonest date Ali could find." 😜

2. Book vendors: The first vendors we booked were photographer, a band and bagpiper, florist, and stationery girl. I also went ahead and reserved my hair and makeup artists to knock that out of the way. Thanks to my mom and sister, booking vendors was pretty easy... because of their eagerness to help, research, and find recommendations, these were all booked within the first few weeks of being engaged! I also think having a wedding date during an "off-season" was very helpful as most everyone we reached out to was available. 😉

3. Find a Wedding Dress: Knowing that wedding dresses can take a while to be made and also require an alteration period, my mom and I went shopping the first Saturday we were both available. We made 3 appointments, and I chose places in Atlanta that were recommended by friends due to a large selection of dresses, a reasonable range of price points, and a laid-back vibe. We landed on White Magnolia, Kelly's Closet, and The Sentimentalist. This was such a fun day and each place was a little different. White Magnolia was our first visit, and I loved how they grouped their dresses by style instead of designer (this helped me not get overwhelmed!). The girl who helped us was super nice and actually pulled the dress I chose off the rack thinking it fit my vision. However, I didn't want to commit in the moment since it was only our first place. Next, we headed to Kelly's Closet. I appreciated the chill vibe here, and the girl there was super helpful too. Our last appointment at The Sentimentalist was a great way to round out the day. It was fun hearing how customizable their dresses were, but it felt like too many options for my indecisive brain. However, we loved the mimosas they served and feeling like the whole store was rented out for us! 

4. Ask the Bridal Party: I wanted to avoid the cliché bridesmaid boxes of things they already have/don't need, especially since that can get expensive for 9 girls. So, I decided to pick out a different book that reminded me of each friend and gift it to them. I had to get creative with some, but I love to read and enjoyed brainstorming different options! I then wrote a note inside the front cover explaining why I picked it for them, ending the note saying "turn to page 120 for a spoiler!" I chose that page since it is our wedding date and added a personalized bookmark asking them to be in my bridal party. This was such a huge success, and I loved debriefing each book with them after they finished! For the ring bearers and flower girl, I found these adorable activity books (again, couldn't go too crazy since 2 of them had to be shipped to Oregon!).

5. Miscellaneous: Other tasks we knocked out early on were setting up our wedding website and registry, picking shower dates, reserving our hotel room blocks, starting on our guest list, picking out bridesmaid dresses, and taking engagement photos. 

August/September

The past two months I felt a little bit of a "planning lull..." most all of the big stuff was out of the way but it was too early to start on details (seating charts, welcome bags, etc). However, I figured I should enjoy it and take advantage of the time since things are bound to get crazy the closer we get, especially with the holidays sandwiched in between!

1. Plan Bachelorette: I knew my bachelorette was going to be a joint effort since I am a Type-A planner and my sister is not haha. As we brainstormed locations, I mainly wanted something new and different that not many of us had been to before. I also thought it would be nice to go somewhere warm since the wedding would be cold. As we started looking at flights, we also realized we preferred to splurge on our accommodations instead of travel. So, with all factors considered, we landed on The Ritz Carlton at Key Biscayne, FL! All of my requirements were met since no one has been there before, we have the convenience of flying into Miami, and we will have luxurious pools and beaches! The best part of all, we found a weekend that works for the entire bridal party!

2. Ceremony Details: While all of the details are fun and exciting, the most important part of all is our actual wedding! Charles and I were so excited once we secured a priest and got to review the structure of the ceremony. We drove up to Athens one Friday afternoon to talk through the details with Father Clayton. Afterward, we stopped by The Lark Winespace to celebrate.

3. Food Tasting: Our tasting got us so excited and made it all feel real! My mom and sister joined Charles and me for the fun. We started off tasting a variety of appetizers, narrowing it down to our top 3 selections. Then, we moved into salads and ended up creating our own version of the things we tasted. Next, we moved into the main course. Charles and Sarah got double portions since my mom and I only sampled the vegetarian options, and we were all so full since it was all amazing! Lastly, we got to taste different cakes and icing. It was so fun learning the difference between buttercreams and mixing and matching the flavors. We landed on American buttercream with a mix of vanilla and red velvet cakes. This was such a fun experience and I loved how we could literally customize our entire menu! 

October/November

I know these next few months will fly by and be filled with planning. The top items on the list include finalizing my wedding day look (starting with alterations since I already got to pick up my dress!), picking out our wedding bands, figuring out our paper needs such as menus, programs, place cards, etc., and planning our honeymoon! I can't believe that we will be sending out invitations in a little over a month too.

108 days to go!!