What I Learned Planning My Wedding

*Wedding planning is stressful. Men don't understand. When we first started, Aaron thought it would be pretty easy. Near the end, I wondered if he would make it, haha.

*Make a website. Let it keep track of who RSVPs for you. I used theknot.com and it worked great. 

*Beware of family. Your mom will try to take over and make all decisions which only leads to more stress on your part.. at least that's what mine did.
 

*Weddings aren't cheap. Be prepared. 
 

*I believe it is entirely possible to plan a wedding entirely online. I really do.
 

*Pinterest is frustrating. There's just way too many cute ideas. You can't do everything. I tried. 
 

*Download apps from both Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Coupons are your best friend. Sign up for 

emails too. Most of my coupons came from the emails. They can scan coupons on your phone, so 

don't worry about printing. Also remember that Hobby Lobby's website ALWAYS has a weekly "40% off one regular priced item" coupon available. Aaron and I would split up and go in separate lines, using the same coupon.
 

*You will change your mind. A lot. I thought I was going crazy I went back and forth so many times but it's stressful and I told myself that it was normal to flip flop on some things.
 

*I think a theme wedding would be easier to plan for. Maybe. We didn't have a theme and so every cute thing we saw we wanted to use. Having a theme gives you limits.  
 

*Having a few specific wedding colors was hard to plan for. Using a gradient was easier. We started with a light purple, bright blue, light pink, and white. We ordered purple cake napkins with blue letters. Yay. But the more we planned, we realized it was hard to incorporate all the colors (especially when I'm skewed toward purple so much) and it was really hard to find the right shade of purple. So we kinda dropped the other colors and eventually we were just using every shade of purple. The only thing that wasn't purple were the cake napkins we ordered at the beginning.  
 

*Don't procrastinate. 
 

*Create a master schedule. 

*Long engagements are bad. Don't have one. Trust me. Keep it at six to nine months.
 

*Match the flowers to the season. We ended up looking for sping and summer flowers right as they were putting out Christmas decorations and autumn colors. You cannot find purple flowers when places only have red, orange, and yellow.. or poinsettias.
 

*Try holding your bouquet with your dress before the day of your wedding because you may decide it doesn't look good with your dress.. like I did. We made my bouquet and it looked great until I held it in front of my dress.
 

*Fake flowers are easier to deal with. They don't wilt, you can make all the bouquets and everything way before the wedding instead of the morning of, and you can keep them! They last forever. They're also cheaper and can be reused. 
 

*Bridal showers are fun!
 

*Address thank you envelopes for the showers before the actual shower takes place. You'll be ahead of the game. If you can't do this, get them done as fast as possible.
 

*Start planning early. 
 

*Be mindful of your guest list limit. If your venue allows 100 people, invite 90. Plan for 10 extra people coming whether you know it or not. It will happen. People misunderstand your invitation and bring their kids even though they weren't invited. People invite themselves. It's ridiculous. Don't forget to account for the newlyweds, the pastor, people serving food, etc.

*Don't break any bows at showers and save them all! Apparently, you save all the bows off presents and make them into a bouquet that you carry at the rehearsal. If you break one, that's one kid in your future.
 

*There will be family drama.. It's not likely that every single person in your family will be invited so you will more than likely make someone mad or someone will invite themselves. 
 

*You will need a lot of stamps. And thank you cards. Be a thank you note machine.
 

*Once you get to about a month until the wedding you're like "screw this lets just go to the courthouse." We almost went at least five times. Seriously. We also considered eloping.
 

*Three weeks out you start to question if you can go without any sleep and food just to make sure everything gets done. I hardly slept the two months before the wedding.
 

*Fiber is your friend!
 

*Sleep becomes even more obsolete the closer you get to the wedding.
 

*This is the one time where you really need to be careful what you eat because of the dress and then you have all these showers with dessert and cake and dangerous dips! It's kind of ironic. And we celebrated two birthdays!
 

*Expect to forget something. We forgot napkins for the reception and remembered two day before the wedding. I also made a last minute mad dash to hobby lobby on Friday candles. 

*Find a wedding director.
 

*Make a spreadsheet for address and keep it updated and with you at all times (or accessible like on a phone or in an email)

And the one thing I wish I had done? HIRE A FREAKING WEDDING PLANNER.