Planning Our Wedding ...

"Why is it that everything leading up to "I DO" involves a flurry of " TO DO's"? 

I can say that being engaged for a year is enough for us (Allen and I) to prepare the wedding we want.  Based from my experience as an event specialist, whether a couple plan to walk down the aisle one year or one month from now, they need to ponder the following questions

1) How much time do they have?

Aside from the fact that Allen and I will be needing couple of months to cover our wedding expenses, we really want to have a long engagement so that we can plan our wedding very well., for this is once in a life time event for us, well of course I am looking forward for our 25th and 50th wedding anniversary but of course, for sure our first wedding event will be the most memorable one.  Also, I believe if it is a long engagement like one year or more, the couple may find free time during the middle of their engagement. :)

(2) How elaborate do the couple want their occasion to be?

Every couple specially the bride would always wanted to have everything on their wedding day and some of these are only nice to have.  If the couple is very particular and very elaborate on their occasion I can say that they should think realistically about what they can accomplish in terms of their budget and time.  This is one thing I've learned not because I am into events business but I've learned this as being a bride to be....

Often times Allen and I discuss every wedding elements and rank them from most important to least.  We tackle things that we know we have the resources, we make sure that we are on the same page about the overall feel of our wedding... of course Allen and I don't want to spend the entire engagement arguing as I 'd mentioned on my previous blog we want to enjoy this phase of our lives.

3) Who's helping the couple plan and pay the bills?  

 

Allen and I are so blessed for having such a supportive family.  Our families specially our immediate family are always there to help us plan our wedding, and one thing that Allen and I are very thankful of - is that our family always respect our decision for every wedding plans we have.  They will just give recommendations or suggestions but of course the decision will be finalized by us - Allen and I.

I have encountered a lot of couples who are encountering challenges like most of their family specially their parents are taking over of their wedding plans and at the end they will find that  their wedding plans are get invaded by other people's ideas.  Always remember the fact, that this is your wedding and not your parents' wedding nor any other person's wedding.  I guess I can say, that Allen and I are blessed for we don't have any challenges like this.

One of the greatest challenge Allen and I have now is the fact that we plan and prepare our wedding separately (I'm referring to physical) since I am currently working here in US and Allen is working in the Philippines. Despite of our situation, Allen and I make sure to communicate every wedding details and wedding preparations through some technologies Allen and I are being utilized.  Since, Allen and I are both IT graduate, we are making use of the following technologies that help us plan and prepare our wedding together:

• Email - Allen and I signed up one email account (allen.raine2010@gmail.com) this is the email address that we give to all our wedding suppliers and potential suppliers, so that anyone of us can check it. 
• Smart phones -  Having a smart phone (blackberry for me, Nokia E series for Allen) make our communication very easily, we receive email with pictures attachment - so every time each one of us encountered pictures of some wedding inspiration we can easily exchange pictures and ideas thru email and receive it via mobile.  Aside from that, we can even chat (Yahoo Messenger) via our phone and through Skype mobile we can easily call each other anytime with no long distance charge :)
•  Wedding Wire (www.weddingwire.com) - this is the tool that Allen and I are using to monitor all our wedding activities online.  Wedding wire is a software that offers online search, project planning, and community tools for assisting with the wedding planning process.  This tool is not only good for couple but for vendors or suppliers as well.  It has a lot of planning tools available for the couple, some of the tools Allen and I are currently using:
• Wedding website - www.weddingwire.com/allenraine 
• Checklist - this is where Allen and I monitor our to do's and check if we are still on track.  It has a reminder notification if such activity is due. 
• Budget -  this is where Allen and I monitor and track our wedding expenses
• Vendor - this is where Allen and I manage all our vendors all suppliers
• Guests - this is where Allen and I manage all our wedding guests.  It has an online RSVP tool that we can easily track confirmed guests 
• Others (too many to mention)

Well, I can say Allen and I simplifies our wedding planning by leveraging technology good thing we are fond of using those technologies.  But what keeps our wedding plans and preparations on time despite of our distance is the fact that I have a very hands-on groom. 

I am so thankful for having such a very hands-on groom, Allen do most of the legwork of our wedding preparations such as meeting up with the suppliers,  signing of contract to our suppliers, ocular, canvass, etc.  I know it would be more fun if we do things together... but this is what we have now. We are just thankful that despite of the distance Allen and I have, not to mention the time difference... I can say both of us are having fun planning and preparing our wedding, and that is what really matter to both of us  :)

 wedding meeting with honey via skype :)

Save The Date....

A "Save The Date" is an item stating the date of a wedding so that the guests or recipients will know and will keep that date free.  It is usually in a form of a card / post card, it can be a refrigerator magnet, or any unique item.  A "Save The Date" are then usually followed by a formal wedding invitation. 

So when to have a "Save The Date" ?  If a couple is marrying during high-travel times like holiday weekend just like our wedding date "January 2, 2011" wherein new year's party and family reunion is usually being celebrated, a "save the date" is an expected courtesy. And having a "save the date" will give our guests specially our guests who are part of the entourage the heads up about our wedding plans, like we are planning to have an out of town wedding in Tagaytay.  

When do we send them?  Well, they said as a general rule, it's best to start spreading the wedding plans at around six months prior to the wedding date and eight months for out of town wedding.  This gives the guests plenty of time to book their travel, save a bit of cash, and of course, ask for the days off from work.  Any earlier is better, if it is given later it might as well be an invitation... 

Allen and I with the help of my brother already drafted and finalized our "save the date" and to follow our timeline we need to distribute it this 1st and 2nd week of May 2010.... Below is our "fairy tale save the date" made by Francis.

As per my opinion as a wedding specialist, there is no need to send "save the date" to everyone.  "Save the date" should be given first to guests who are part of the entourage and liturgical participants and guests  that you definitely want to attend.  Of course, we don't want to print 100 "save the date" that is not environmental friendly... so emailing it to our guests  will be the cheapest way to distribute "save the date", except for the guests who are part of the entourage, of course we have to meet them personally out of courtesy specially to our "ninongs" and "ninangs" to invite them. :)  Also, it is always a best idea to give them a means on how to get their response, an online RSVP is a very good tool, the way Allen and I did. 

Wedding etiquette tip - If someone receives a save-the-date and will be unable to attend, they are likely to offer regrets far in advance. You still need to send a wedding invitation as a common courtesy.