At the beginning of the planning process, we decided not to hire a wedding planner since there are so many excellent sources of information between the internet, books and our married friends. And one of the first lessons I learned from these sources was to be organized. Being a classic Type A personality, I at least had that covered.
My system begins with a 3-ring binder. I added a pencil case (calculator, pens, pencils, measuring tape, notepad) and clear sheet protectors to store receipts, paint chips or fabric swatches. The binder is divided into categories:
- inspiration
- budget and receipts
- venue
- ceremony
- guests and favours
- decoration
- clothing
- photography
- flowers
- stationery
- music
- transportation
- food and cake
- additional vendors
This is a great system for me because everything is all in one place and easy to transport to vendor meetings. I store business cards, notes from interviews and meetings, and contracts in the section for each vendor and I also print out all of the email correspondence to store in the binder too.
At the front of the binder I have a contact list for all of our vendors and the bridal party. My very large timeline/checklist lives here too. I started planning with a visit to The Knot website and ended up hyperventilating, wondering how I could possibly complete my 185 to-dos and keep a full time job! Then I realized that The Knot checklist is for a stereotypical wedding, fed by the
Wedding Industrial Complex. It's great if you're following this list, but I just couldn't do it, so I customized the whole thing based on our priorities and just took a deep breath. Do I really have to plan the rehearsal dinner 6-8 months in advance? Nope! :) As we book vendors, I include timelines for menu confirmations, deposit due dates and any other important deadlines.
Once I got hooked on reading blogs and googling every little wedding idea that entered my head, I just had to get this baby! And it doesn't count towards the wedding budget because I can use it after too :)
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