Weddingbee Blog

Hey! I followed that rule too. Hmm…
The day after I got engaged I bought my wedding Bible, Martha Stewart Weddings.

And be discreet so the boyfriend-who-is-about-to-propose doesn’t get scared off that you are gunning for your MRS, ha ha.

love u.

Aww while Miss Corn’s advice is great, I have to disagree. I feel like I’ve been planning my wedding since I was 3 years old, but in the end…I am so very glad I waited until I got engaged. Of course, I would flip through the occassional bridal magazine to take a “peek” or so. And in doing so, it made planning my wedding so much easier because I was able to weed out the things I didn’t like (and to also get a feel of the type of bride I am - traditional, modern, etc.). HOWEVER - I have to say that I am so very glad I did not ‘plan’ my wedding dress because that experience was one of the most memorable thus far. Not only that, but sometimes we “think” we know what dress we want, and when you go to try on dresses, you most likely will end up with something a little different. My advice would be to be patient and let things happen naturally. Yes, wedding planning can be stressful at times and of course being one step ahead is a great idea…just don’t get carried away. Remember - this isn’t just your wedding…it’s your Fiance’s also. Include him in the planning - do research, but definitely do NOT make decisions until you are engaged. Regardless, I say one of the greatest things about getting engaged is planning your wedding to (your) Prince Charming and if you do that before Prince Charming has even popped the question…well, what else do you have to look forward to? Besides the honeymoon of course!

“Ok, maybe you don’t need to plan the WHOLE thing, but at least get familiar with your options.”

Oh, I’m with ‘ya girls!! I just wish I had been aware of the many options there are now since the last time anyone planned a wedding in my house was 10 years ago!

I had a vague idea what I wanted when I got engaged but didn’t start the hardcore research ’til after the engagement. I think what saved me is that I didn’t book/buy anything until almost 2 months after the engagement. This gave me time to soak up all the ideas/options before I committed to a theme/venue, etc. It’s tough advice to follow but I highly recommend taking the time to just research and be a sponge.

Thanks for the permission to plan early, Miss Corn. I’m serving in a wedding in January, so I considered it my bridesmaidly duty to scope out this site for awesome ideas…but only for the bride’s wedding. After all this time of being a bridesmaid and never a bride (10 weddings), and being the ripe age of 38, it’s looking like I’ll finally be engaged within the year. My mom was so excited just at the hint of it, she bought me the wedding planner book and presented it to me on Mother’s Day. Because I was embarrassed that my boyfriend would get cold feet if he saw it, I told her to hang on to it until I was engaged. She was sooooooo disappointed and near tears that I rejected it. I realized that I ruined a sweet moment between us that I could never get back. Trying to make up for the moment, I’ve since accepted the planning book from her and never looked back. I’m planning theme, colors, favors, dress, etc….for me! Some girls have planned their wedding their whole life. Thinking there was a chance I’d be a spinster, I never allowed myself the thrill. Maybe I shouldn’t be counting my chickens,
but…cluck cluck!

can i give you a hug miss corn? lol. i’m one of those “plan before the ring” girl, but not until i was sure i would marry the bf [we have talked about it and still do. we're not in a place when we can get engaged yet] and then everything just snowballed. i have a couple rules for myself: don’t buy any magazines or books and don’t look at dresses but i am putting together what i want. i always start big and then scale down from there and this lead as given me enough time to whittle things down to the perfect whatever.

now i have a good grasp of how much i can do with my proposed budget [plus have time to save up the money] and worked out the little details that are very important to me and still have time to experiment with new ideas. plus, when the bf interjects with his ideas i’m not stressed about trying to fit them in “at the last minute.”

but that’s the most important thing for me: my bf knows all about my planning and often refers to “the binder.” he’s been very supportive the entire time.

I say don’t plan early, don’t stress, and just pick what you like and then stop looking. It seems to at least be a good strategy for not becoming a 2-dress bride. Even with all the hoopla over wedding gowns, it’s still only a dress. Decide that something is ‘good enough’ for you and move on.

i realllllllly want to email this to my bf, but i might freak him out more. he knows i’ve been “preplanning” but i’m trying not to scare him off! at least i’m justified! i already know i’m going to run out of time planning everything, getting a second or third opinion, and comparison shopping as much as possible.