We’re officially in wedding year! I can’t believe that 2020 and 2021 have flown by and we’re finally less than five months out from our wedding date! While we spent a good chunk of December visiting friends and family, we also got a hefty portion of wedding planning done, so I thought I’d combine December and January’s planning.  

Timeline – 6 and 5 Months in Advance

Meet with Hair Stylists and Makeup Artists: I booked my Hair Stylist in October and she came highly recommended to me by one of my bridesmaids! I absolutely can’t wait to see her work her magic on my bridesmaids and I on the big day. On the other end of the spectrum, I searched high and low and received countless quotes for Makeup Artists until I found the one and I can’t wait to feel confident and beautiful, while still looking like myself on my wedding day. 

Shop for Wedding Rings: While we’ve locked in (I think) my wedding band, we’re using The Ring Bear and their Try On at Home option to find one for Garrett. I can’t wait for our kit to be in and actually give G the opportunity to find one that he loves…and wants to wear for the rest of his life haha. 

List Reception Extras to Buy: I wasn’t entirely sure what extras I needed to buy, but I just decided to list out signage, chargers and centerpieces for this task on the to-do list. 

Save Welcome Bag Photos: We’re not doing a room block for the wedding so the welcome bags will be just for the wedding party, but I’ve been locked in on Betches Brides and their suggestions and merging them with the great, wide world of Pinterest to make sure our welcome bags are relatable to us and where we’re choosing to get married. So far, a lot of the contents of the bag are from Etsy and Nordstrom…and of course…champagne! 

Order Invitations: I am so excited about our invitations! We’re using Papier and they’ve been incredible to work with from the proofing period to the designs that they offer. I am so excited to send them out and hear peoples’ reactions to them!

Book Officiant: This is a really sweet surprise for our wedding day, but my advice would be to be super intentional about who you’re going to have speaking on behalf of you and your significant other in front of your friends and family. 

Now onto the Tips: 

When Ordering Invitations: We are doing an online RSVP option and having a kids-free wedding; we found it super important to highlight (and bold) that RSVPs were online with an extra little inserted card and for those that we know have young children or babies, both family and friends, we added another separate card to let them know that we weren’t allowing kids and understood and respected that it might affect their RSVP.

Culling the Guest List: When it came to narrowing down our guest list, we asked a few important questions…when did we see this person last/when did we speak to them last? Are they a stranger to either one of us? Have we ever hung out with this person outside of work? The work question was a big one and an ultimate decider in a lot of our guest list, so I recommend finding questions that fit your desired attendance number as well as where you’re drawing the line at invites.