60 days before your wedding, don’t panic!

Hey Sunshine!

Are you a new fiancé trying to plan out your perfect wedding day? Or even a fiancé whose getting married like super soon? Don’t panic! I got you. Because guess what I’ve literally been there! In a little more than 60 days my fiancé and I will be walking down the aisle saying our own “I Do’s.” I know at this point in my planning process my Trello board is looking a little manic. My Cricut machine is begging for a vacation AND my fiancé is just ready for our honeymoon.

Here’s something you may not know about me as a person (not a photographer) I am a control freak. I like to have everything in order and prepare for what I need to do next. So I am definitely that Type A bride who has an excel sheet. If you are too.. Guess what? That’s okay! That does not make you a bridezilla. Let’s be honest you’ve probably tried to google search EVERYTHING for your wedding. Found adorable ideas on Pinterest until you realize it cost a tiny fortune to execute and now you’re trying to get everything done. The one thing I can tell you with utmost certainty, lean on your village. Whether that’s your MOH, bridesmaids, Fiancé, family.. ANYONE. It is okay to ask for help during this very busy season of your life! I needed to plan my bachelorette party and was at a complete lost so I leaned on my sister to help me! It can be very overwhelming trying to do it all yourself and you don’t need to.

A few tools I have found that have helped me keep organized during this crazy time are Trello, Google Sheets (keep track of your budget, who you’ve paid, what you owe them etc), Google Forms(cookie table sign ups), Group Texts (listen your bridal party will understand it’s just easier to send one text vs copy paste a million times over), Social Media is a great way for you to get inspired! Instagram and Pinterest really helped me narrow down the color schemes I wanted. If you have a venue you love, look them up on IG and see what other vendors have worked there. You may find a photographer whose taken stunning photos there! Or even a DJ who kept the party going! Betches Bride is another outlet that offers an app where you can communicate with other brides all over the place to see what they’re doing and even ask each other for guidance!

Let’s talk Cookie Table.. If you are from NE Ohio, PA and even Northern Parts of WV you know what a cookie table is. For those who don’t let me explain. It is a time honored tradition where your family and friends come together and make cookies to bring to your wedding. And I mean hundreds of cookies. This originated during the Great Depression when couples could not afford wedding cakes, so their friends and family would bring cookies as the sweet treat. This is still something very much carried on today. I STRONGLY recommend asking your village for help with the cookie table. Trust me. My mom and I are making 1800 by ourselves and have gone through 2 fridge freezers, a standing freezer and had to buy ANOTHER standing freezer. Using google forms helped me keep who volunteered for what organized and it allowed me to see where cookies were coming from. My mom has a gluten allergy so I can even keep track of what is safe for her and what’s not.

In these next 60 days I feel like I have so much to do, but honestly the biggest stuff is already done. It’s the little things that feel like giant things that start to add up. Right now I am working on ceremony music, honeymoon outfits, bachelorette trip (WOOH!), Exits, Timelines, Details like cake topper and jewelry. This is when everything really starts to come together. My wedding invites just went out so within the next month it’ll really be crunch time! I was one of those brides who hired her vendors within a month of getting engaged. As a wedding photographer myself I knew how quickly vendors booked up and knew Sept, Oct dates around here would be out at least the next 2 years. So we chose our venue THEN checked what Saturdays they had available to pick the best date for us. From there I recommend hiring your vendors. Do the big ones first, photo & video (you don’t have to use the same person most photo and video will work around each other), catering (if not provided), cake, hair and makeup. If you are planning on staying at a hotel the night before and night of book that as soon as you know the dates. That way you don’t have to worry about it being booked up! There will probably be a lull during your planning process. And that’s okay. Embrace the calm, because then it’s about to get hectic.

If you start to stress write down what you need to get done so you can visualize it. Not sure about timelines? Ask your venue and photog/video they will help you! If you’re not sure how much cake you need, talk to your baker about guest list and if you’re doing a cookie table (that will decrease the art of cake you will need.)

I wasn’t planning on giving you all the tips, but here are a few help you on your way! If you want more content like this comment below!

^^ Matt and I at our Engagement Session on my family farm. Taken by Lindsey Ramdin (LAR Weddings)

Xoxo

Kaitlyn