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Dear Online Diary,
It’s exactly 6 months to go before the Big Day (Tic-tac...).
Although I can hardly wait to walk down the aisle, I feel nervous thinking that our preparation might not be enough to pull the wedding of our dreams. No, let me correct myself, it’s the wedding of MY dreams since all H2B wants is a simple wedding but he sometimes can’t do anything but give in to all my whims. :)
Being a hands-on bride made me realize a couple of thing during preps but what’s more surprising is that it let me discover some things I never knew I could do.
{The Road to a Successful Wedding}
Here are the Top 10 things that I discovered (so far) while preparing for our wedding (since April of last year):
1. It is important to built a positive relationship with all of your suppliers – even when some of them are pasaway (hard-headed), diva or what-have-you. I’m not going to lie, I have difficult suppliers but I just feel I do not have a choice but to lay all my cards so as not to break a good relationship. In the end, they are the ones who can make it happen. I guess a little patience won’t hurt both parties. (This reminds me that I need to follow-up on one of our suppliers. It's been, what, two weeks since I sent an inquiry but I have yet to get her answer. Talk about testing one's patience...)
2. Suppliers who personally manage their business are easier to talk to than those who hire people to manage their business. Owner-supplier tend to value their client’s time and energy more than those who hire people to do the job for them. Say for example, HMUAs are easy to talk to about their schedules and freebies than AEs of caterers and photographers. Based on my experience, AEs tend to set aside your inquiries and never return your call or text messages (real headache!).
3. It’s not the end of the world if you will not get what you want. I do have a long list of Nice-to-Haves – fireworks display, car, cake, caterer, event styling, bridal dress, et.al. But because of a limited budget, we have to forgo some of the things that can give a major oomph to our wedding. It’s better to start saving for the real deal (house, insurance and other things needed for married and family life ahead) than splurging everything we have for a one day affair.
4. If the supplier of your choice does not fit into your budget, go with the alternative. Big time suppliers such as well-known designers, photographers, videographers and caterers offer satisfactory services but their rate can be as high as heaven. Blooming suppliers can do a job well done and can offer the same quality of service for half a price.
5. Be creative. Doing DIY projects will go a long way. Use what God gave you. Be positive and faithful. I have been creating DIY projects for some time and it let me discover the artistic side of me.
6. Being creative also means saving some moola. If you saw something that you really love (say, a wedding cord), don’t buy it just yet. Search for some inspirations online and before you know it, you’ll realize that it’s actually easy to do. You got the cord that you want, you have the bragging rights and you saved a couple of bucks. Happiness. :)
7. Attending bridal fairs will open your eyes to wedding reality. I still can remember the first bridal fair that H2B and I attended (Martha Stewart Bridal Fair on February 27-28, 2009). I felt the This-Is-It-I’m-Getting-Married feeling and it made me embrace the wonderful world of wedding, which (I later found out) is pretty much addicting!
8. In the early stages of our preps, H2B appeared like he does not care about our wedding. He seemed oblivious about my need for support resulting to some of our major fights and bad days. I later realize that it’s just the way (some) grooms are. They think the only tasks they need to accomplish are to pay for the bills and be there at the altar (which I think is pretty lame). I resolved this by giving him assignments that I think he will enjoy. I make it a point to praise him for a job well done (that’s for his ego. Sigh, M-E-N.) So far, it’s working because he had photographed most of my featured DIY projects here in my blog and he’s currently working on our caricature (using Photoshop). Win-win, right? :)
9. Involve your friends and family in your wedding preps and details. After announcing our plan, I got a couple of volunteers who wanted to sponsor some key things for our wedding (Thank you!).
10. Being a W@Wie is the best move I’ve done. I will be the first to get married in our family after my parents so I’m a total wedding noob when I started the preparation. I can still remember how clueless and scared I was thinking that our wedding will be a huge joke. Being a member of W@W built my confidence and I have this eager feeling that our wedding is going to be a blast, just like the brides who shared their wonderful experience in our e-group.
There you go. As they say, experience is the best teacher. I’ve learned a lot about myself, my H2B and the world of wedding while going through the process. So, today, I still have:
… 6 months to attend a couple of bridal fairs.
… 6 months to complete our supplier line-up.
… 6 months to put our suppliers to the test.
... 6 months to complete our wedding checklist.
… 6 months to finish all my DIY projects and knick knacks.
… 6 months, before I type my suppliers rating (a W@W tradition)
… 6 months before I walk down the historical aisle of Bamboo Organ Church.
... AND it's only 6 months to go before I marry the man I couldn’t live without. :)
{Cheers!}
It’s exactly 6 months to go before the Big Day (Tic-tac...).
Although I can hardly wait to walk down the aisle, I feel nervous thinking that our preparation might not be enough to pull the wedding of our dreams. No, let me correct myself, it’s the wedding of MY dreams since all H2B wants is a simple wedding but he sometimes can’t do anything but give in to all my whims. :)
Being a hands-on bride made me realize a couple of thing during preps but what’s more surprising is that it let me discover some things I never knew I could do.
{The Road to a Successful Wedding}Here are the Top 10 things that I discovered (so far) while preparing for our wedding (since April of last year):
1. It is important to built a positive relationship with all of your suppliers – even when some of them are pasaway (hard-headed), diva or what-have-you. I’m not going to lie, I have difficult suppliers but I just feel I do not have a choice but to lay all my cards so as not to break a good relationship. In the end, they are the ones who can make it happen. I guess a little patience won’t hurt both parties. (This reminds me that I need to follow-up on one of our suppliers. It's been, what, two weeks since I sent an inquiry but I have yet to get her answer. Talk about testing one's patience...)
2. Suppliers who personally manage their business are easier to talk to than those who hire people to manage their business. Owner-supplier tend to value their client’s time and energy more than those who hire people to do the job for them. Say for example, HMUAs are easy to talk to about their schedules and freebies than AEs of caterers and photographers. Based on my experience, AEs tend to set aside your inquiries and never return your call or text messages (real headache!).
3. It’s not the end of the world if you will not get what you want. I do have a long list of Nice-to-Haves – fireworks display, car, cake, caterer, event styling, bridal dress, et.al. But because of a limited budget, we have to forgo some of the things that can give a major oomph to our wedding. It’s better to start saving for the real deal (house, insurance and other things needed for married and family life ahead) than splurging everything we have for a one day affair.
4. If the supplier of your choice does not fit into your budget, go with the alternative. Big time suppliers such as well-known designers, photographers, videographers and caterers offer satisfactory services but their rate can be as high as heaven. Blooming suppliers can do a job well done and can offer the same quality of service for half a price.
5. Be creative. Doing DIY projects will go a long way. Use what God gave you. Be positive and faithful. I have been creating DIY projects for some time and it let me discover the artistic side of me.
6. Being creative also means saving some moola. If you saw something that you really love (say, a wedding cord), don’t buy it just yet. Search for some inspirations online and before you know it, you’ll realize that it’s actually easy to do. You got the cord that you want, you have the bragging rights and you saved a couple of bucks. Happiness. :)
7. Attending bridal fairs will open your eyes to wedding reality. I still can remember the first bridal fair that H2B and I attended (Martha Stewart Bridal Fair on February 27-28, 2009). I felt the This-Is-It-I’m-Getting-Married feeling and it made me embrace the wonderful world of wedding, which (I later found out) is pretty much addicting!
8. In the early stages of our preps, H2B appeared like he does not care about our wedding. He seemed oblivious about my need for support resulting to some of our major fights and bad days. I later realize that it’s just the way (some) grooms are. They think the only tasks they need to accomplish are to pay for the bills and be there at the altar (which I think is pretty lame). I resolved this by giving him assignments that I think he will enjoy. I make it a point to praise him for a job well done (that’s for his ego. Sigh, M-E-N.) So far, it’s working because he had photographed most of my featured DIY projects here in my blog and he’s currently working on our caricature (using Photoshop). Win-win, right? :)
9. Involve your friends and family in your wedding preps and details. After announcing our plan, I got a couple of volunteers who wanted to sponsor some key things for our wedding (Thank you!).
10. Being a W@Wie is the best move I’ve done. I will be the first to get married in our family after my parents so I’m a total wedding noob when I started the preparation. I can still remember how clueless and scared I was thinking that our wedding will be a huge joke. Being a member of W@W built my confidence and I have this eager feeling that our wedding is going to be a blast, just like the brides who shared their wonderful experience in our e-group.
There you go. As they say, experience is the best teacher. I’ve learned a lot about myself, my H2B and the world of wedding while going through the process. So, today, I still have:
… 6 months to attend a couple of bridal fairs.
… 6 months to complete our supplier line-up.
… 6 months to put our suppliers to the test.
... 6 months to complete our wedding checklist.
… 6 months to finish all my DIY projects and knick knacks.
… 6 months, before I type my suppliers rating (a W@W tradition)
… 6 months before I walk down the historical aisle of Bamboo Organ Church.
... AND it's only 6 months to go before I marry the man I couldn’t live without. :)
{Cheers!}X.O.X.O.,
You have read this article{fun facts} /
bridal fair /
DIY projects /
inspiration board /
marriage /
raves /
suppliers /
Wedding /
weddingsatwork
with the title Thoughts to Ponder: Half Way Realization Tid Bits. You can bookmark this page URL http://ssablues.blogspot.com/2010/04/thoughts-to-ponder-half-way-realization.html. Thanks!
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AN - Thursday, April 22, 2010
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