Planning Ahead And Yet Still Failing

I read a lot of advice about wedding planning when I started on this process and one of the things that was repeated over and over was: DON'T LEAVE THINGS TILL THE LAST MINUTE!
Pretty sound advice. But isn't that the nature of the beast? I convinced myself that I wasn't going to be like all those other brides scrambling around at the last minute and would instead be calm & collected since I'd steadily finished everything. And then reality hit me.

I thought I paced myself pretty well and handled all the big stuff while planning ahead with the rest. However, I couldn't escape the fact that I'm a total procrastinator by nature and as is usually the case, life got in the way. Now some of the "small" projects that I figured I could handle as they come are now looming as we close in on less than three months till our wedding. Damn it. There goes all my "thinking ahead." All that's left to do now is buck up and get going on all the rest — both big and small. I realize that if I forget something, it won't really matter anyway. But right now, all I know is there's a big, fat checklist waiting for me at home.


Image via forwardflorida.com

Weekend Retreat - Marriage Prep Style

This past weekend my fiancé and I took part in a marriage preparation retreat. The retreat was a prerequisite to get married in our church, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise. I had always planned on doing some form of premarital counseling and this ended up being a great experience. Though our retreat was faith-based, it wasn't overwhelming and really focused more on the various issues your marriage is bound to face, from day-to-day problems to serious, deep-rooted issues you have to talk through with your partner.

I can't emphasize enough how much I recommend couples do some sort of premarital counseling. It doesn't matter where you do it, just do it! As one couple at the retreat pointed out, when is the last time you devoted an entire weekend to just TALKING with your partner? If you're like most of us, probably never. With the constant buzz of everyday life it's hard to dedicate that much time to one another. However, at the retreat with no distractions of TV or internet, we were able to delve into discussion head on and give each topic the appropriate amount of time it deserved.

Even a couple who had been together for more than 10 years told us that the retreat was an eye-opening experience. Sure, if you've decided to get married hopefully you've talked about the big things like kids, jobs, etc. But what about all the finer points of that and your true feelings about them? Especially as engaged couples get wrapped up in wedding planning it's easy to gloss over these issues and hope that they work themselves out post-wedding. Alas as Kim Kardashian taught all of us, that is clearly not a good way to go.

It was really nice to spend time with couples who are going through the same things we are and hear their thoughts regarding love and marriage. Our retreat was led by a husband and wife who had 36 years of marriage under their belt, so needless to say their insights were very helpful! We discussed all sorts of issues and then had intimate one-on-one discussion with our partners. All in all, it was truly a fantastic experience and a great reminder of what the goal of marriage is, a nice thing to keep at the forefront during all this wedding planning madness. ♥


Another photo courtesy of the awesome Delbarr Moradi

Wedding Invitation Envy

Wow, is all I have to say after looking at these SELF-MADE, DIY wedding invites. That deserves all caps, I mean seriously?! And more importantly total cost was around $200. They are truly impressive. If I were having a destination wedding and was really, really, really ambitious I just might try to swing something like this. Instead, I will sit and weep. Find the exact details from the talented bride & groom that pulled this off here. And take a peek:

 

Images via weddingbee.com

Low-Cost Save the Dates

Ahh Save the Dates. The lovely little reminders you send to your guests to let them know you're planning a big bash in a few months. I learned what save the dates are, along with many other wedding-related terms when I first got engaged. I learned even more about them when researching options. Who knew that these things can cost ya a pretty penny? After finding out the average costs, I was appalled. Who would want to spend that much money on something most people will probably throw away? Well, definitely not us! Once we settled on a Bay Area wedding I decided postcards were the way to go! I found some vintage-y looking ones highlighting various San Francisco landmarks and I thought it was a pretty novel idea. Apparently I was wrong. See below:

 

 

 

Turns out postcard save the dates where all the rage. Regardless I went ahead with my idea since it was a) cheaper and b) a little more fun and c) tied into our wedding since for many guests it will be a destination wedding hence travel and postcards :)
So it may not have been super original but for 9 bucks for a pack of 20 it was the most cost-effective option I could think of. Plus postage for postcards at just 29 cents a pop also saved us a couple bucks. Now, as much as I like the personalized options with photos of the couple it just wasn't for us. I felt a bit weird thinking of our faces on peoples fridges. We did personalize by ordering a custom stamp from Etsy from this awesome seller. Check out how it turned out below (in the late hours stamping away). 

The only downside to my idea was that since it was a postcard some guests missed it in their mail. Regardless, I'd still highly recommend this low-cost yet equally fun save the date idea!
Images in order of appearance via me, Ruffled, Wedding Chicks, The Vegas Wedding Planner

Disco Polo Fridays: Girl You Know It's True

Engagement Session Sneak Peak

Our awesome photographers, Jason + Anna Photography, just posted a blog with some of our engagement photos. Eek!! My excitement is through the roof right now! Already mentally planning how to frame and put them up. Did I mention I'm excited?? :)

Polish Wedding Date Myths

When we first started planning a wedding, choosing a date turned out to be a little tricky, for various reasons. Apparently the Polish culture has some urban myths regarding days and months that you should get married on.

It's said to be bad luck to get married in a month that does not include the letter "r" in it. For example, May in Polish is spelled Maj, hence it's one of those unlucky months.
Now clearly, these are pretty much old wives tales, my own parents were married in May and recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary so take that you myth believers!

The day of the week that you get married on also supposedly has some significance. I found this interesting tidbit on a fellow Polish wedding blog:

Monday (Poniedziałek - p'ony'ej'aw'ek) - it is believed to bring to couple health.
Tuesday (Wtorek - ft'or'ek) - couples married on that day of the week will be wealthy.
Wednesday (środa - shr'od'a) - brings general luck in life.
Thursday (Czwartek - chv'art'ek) - financial trouble.
Friday (Piątek - p'eeo(n)t'ek) - worries and pain.
Saturday (Sobota - s'ob'ot'a)- general happiness with a little bit of trouble here and there.
Sunday (Niedziele - ny'ej'el'a) - happiness in marriage.

Hmm, too bad I didn't find out about this until after we'd chosen our Saturday date in June. (According to this info, we're pretty much in the clear with just a bit of trouble hehe) If all these myths were indeed true, I'd probably go with Tuesday or Wednesday, luck and wealth?! Not a bad combo jk ;)

you think you know, but you have no idea

When my fiancé and I began the wedding planning process, we were both feeling pretty confident. I mean, I'd been to a few weddings before (in one as a bridesmaid) and he runs his own business, easy peasy right? Wrong! Basically, everything you think you know gets tossed out the window.

There are so many rules, regulations, restrictions, etc., that you hear about that at first it's hard to wrap your head around it all. That said, after a few wedding-related trial runs you do learn which questions to ask, who you should talk to and this, that and the other. But until you do, it feels like this big, complicated process, instead of the fun, happy time you were naively envisioning. 

Or maybe that was just me. I can say that as a newly-minted bride-to-be, I quickly felt overwhelmed by the insane amount of information out there. So on the advice of a very good friend, I stepped back from the craziness, took a couple deep breaths and reminded myself why I was doing this in the first place: to be married to an amazing guy that's why! (cue sappy music and awww's here)