Timing is a funny thing, isn’t it? Sometimes you need more of it, while at other times you can’t make the clock hands move fast enough. The same goes for wedding planning. One minute, you’re mesmerized by that new shiny ring as your Facebook page blows up with congratulatory notes. The very next? You’re sitting in a puddle of tulle on your living room floor three days prior to the wedding trying to figure out how exactly you got there.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again — the standard wedding timelines you’ll run across during your planning are just that — generic. They don’t speak to your big day specifically, which means they won’t cover some of the pertinent to-do’s. We guarantee that if you make that timeline your mantra, you’ll find yourself drowning under a pile of Post-it notes in no time.
So what’s a bride to do? Here are a few Wedology 101 time tips to keep you on your toes and on track as the countdown begins:
1. Location is everything, and they go quickly, so this should be first on the list. You do, of course, need a roof over your fabulous shindig, so set a day aside and line up those tours.
2. Don’t let the dress deadlines sneak up on you, as it can very easily take six to eight months to get that gown of your dreams ordered, not to mention altered to perfection. Don’t forget about the ’maids, as some of those fabulous shantung numbers can take up to six months to tailor as well.
What about the guys, you say? As our friend Phyllis Mullens from Bella Rosa gently reminded us, the gentlemen need to place their tuxedo rentals at least six to eight weeks prior to the event.
“They may also want to order even earlier to assure they get the styles and colors they want,” explained Mullens. “When the bride chooses the bridesmaid gowns, it would be a good time to select the tuxedos and colors as well.”
3. Have a hankering for custom wedding stationery that will dazzle your guests? Forget the usual advice to have invitations on the brain just a few months prior to the wedding. Swoon-worthy designs take time, so get the stationer on the phone when the six-month deadline approaches.
“Ready-to-order stationery,” said PaperFreckles’ owner Coleen Akers, “can take as little as one to two weeks to turn around. Fully custom stationery, on the other hand, usually takes as little as two months and upwards of six depending on what you’d like.”
Then, with the help from our customized checklist, pick what’s most important to you and book it. Have to have a three-tiered confectionary concoction from your favorite baker, but you haven’t booked anyone else? Go ahead and give your “must have” a call and start finding ways to burn off those cake sample calories.
Time waits for no one, especially the bride with a list of to-do’s as long as that aisle she’ll soon be rocking. So grab a calendar, a pad of paper and ample caffeine, and start planning the wedding of your dreams.
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