Bride-to-be Blogger Alyse: All Those Last Minute Details
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With only five weeks to go to the Big Day, a popular question I have been receiving is, “So, what else do you have to do?” The short answer is: two more dress fittings, getting a marriage license, confirming details with all of the vendors, buying bridesmaid gifts, writing shower thank-you notes, ordering programs, ordering menus, and making final decisions about hair, make up and accessories. The actual answer I give is usually a blank stare.
I guess the issue with answering that question is determining whether you should list the things you “have” to do (like the dress fittings, marriage license, confirming vendors, etc.) or whether you start getting into the things you want to do. It’s those little extras that can really add things to the to do list in the last month.
Thankfully, I have a great team of family members that are helping with the details so that I can focus on the essential tasks, like making sure that I have all of the necessary documents and that I don’t lose my mind. Most of the “extras” are being taken care of by my mom, aunt, sister and cousin. For example, they are taking care of the guestbook, memory table, hotel gift bags, bathroom baskets and breakfast on the morning of the wedding. And I know the details don’t stop at that list because every time I go to my parents’ house, I am banned from going into a certain room because there are “things Alyse can’t see.” I know one of them is some sort of slide show at the rehearsal dinner, but I am sure there are more things going on.
As for those “must-do” things, I am checking them off the master list one by one. Recently, Kevin went through the surprisingly painless (and exciting!) process of getting our marriage license. In Pennsylvania, you have to get your marriage license no less than three days and no more than 60 days before your wedding. (This is one of those things that out-of-town brides should plan for well in advance!) The three-day option would not work for us because three days before the wedding is 4th of July and the Courthouse is not open. And, we aren’t planning on getting to the area until the 4th, so the week of was not an option (plus, that’s a little last minute for my taste). So we tacked the marriage license task on to the end of a long weekend when I went to Philly for my sister’s high school graduation and my second shower. We even squeezed in our final meeting with the pastor of the church to be sure we are qualified for a Catholic wedding.
I am completely exhausted after doing all of these things, but something tells me that every weekend will have to be this productive from now on, even if I do have great help!
Did you have people helping you with the details so that you can focus on the big tasks? Or would you rather do the details yourself?
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