event planning for dummies

It’s FRIDAY!!  Do the happy dance. 

Did you look awkward?  I think you did. 

But who cares because it’s FRIDAY!

Which also means that there is only ONE WEEK left before one of the biggest things that has happened to me (yes, I’m sheltered!).  Planning BLEND has been stressful, exciting, amazing and a wonderful learning experience!  My guest blogger for today can relate! 

Claire is a devoted LL reader and when she offered to GP, I was so thankful!  The fact that she wrote about event planning during a time when that very activity takes up HOURS of my week, is just icing on the cake!

Enjoy Claire!  And come back tomorrow for a sweet video of our car trip out to Colorado!

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Hi Lindsay’s List readers! My name is Claire and I blog at Live and Love to Eat. I’m a registered dietitian (RD) and try to keep 99% of my content food & fitness related, but I just got married this past September and had my dream wedding. Unfortunately, the planning was not always fun! Here are the tips that I would want to share with anyone who is in the planning phase:

 

• Not everyone has “that moment” trying on wedding dresses. I tried on at least 50 dresses at each of 6 different places. There were components of each that I liked or didn’t like. When I finally tried on a dress that made my mother cry, I decided it must be the right one.
• Get used to unwanted advice. My least favorite phrase before the wedding became “You should…”
• Get the guest list done early, and stick to it. We got engaged in December and made our first list drafts early in January. We gave both of our parents a chance to voice their opinions, and we should have declared the list “closed” at this point. Ten days from the wedding my future in-laws were still asking to invite more people. TEN DAYS!
• Choose bridesmaids who are close by and eager to help. I picked some of my best friends from college, but they were out of state and unable to help when I needed hands-on assistance.
• If you want an adult only reception, spell it out. People don’t understand hints like “Mr. Joe and Ms. Sally Smith”. People will add to their RSVP cards. Decide now how you’ll handle it.
• Be “in the know” about the post office policies. I was told to “hand cancel” my invitations because they would tear if run through the automatic sorting machine (due to the crystal embellishments). After the highly impatient postal worker handed me the stamp to cancel them myself (she wasn’t doing it), I assumed my work was done. They ran them through the machine anyway and they didn’t look perfect when the guests got them.
• When people offer to help, take them up on it. My neighbors and extended family came in handy so much on the days before the wedding, helping with random tasks that would have been stressful for me to take on but they were more than happy to help with.

• Don’t let the stress get the best of you. I cried everyday two weeks before the wedding. Everything that could go wrong (during the planning stage), did. Finally a friend told me I had to let go and just decide to be happy. Once I was in that mindset (with the post-it on my computer screen), I would refocus on the reason for the stress – I wanted to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. That always put things into perspective.

Best wishes to any brides-to-be! I hope this was helpful! Planning a wedding and need to vent? Anything you’d add to my list? Stop by my blog and let me know!

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Claire is a registered dietitian and newlywed in Pittsburgh, PA.

She’s been blogging for about a year and loves to lighten up recipes, take spin classes, and check out new restaurants.

QUESTION:  What is the last event that you planned?  Did it go as well as you’d hoped?