A Lovely Little Wedding Update...

Lovelies, I have some big news: It's less than 200 days until the BIG day. Remember the day I'm talking about? Well, I promised back in the day that I wouldn't overload you with wedding info, and I think I've been pretty good about it, but it's due time for an update! Most importantly: I have the dress! I can't reveal many details about it (a certain future husband occasionally reads Lovely), but I did get it here, it was made to order, and fits like a glove. We also have our amazing photographers, Hart + Sol Photo, on board. Crazy excited about that. We don't have "colors"; I love too many! The theme is Spring-into-Summer-vintage-classic. We chose a venue, on the east end of Long Island. We tried some food, it was beyond delicious. We have an officiant; we chose a family friend, and I couldn't be happier about it. The save-the-dates, designed by Ms. Jenny and our mother, are all ready to go out. We're working on concepts for the favors. Everything is coming along great...we only have, oh you
know, a gazillion things left to do! Breathe.

Okay, now onto the things that are keeping me going during the crazy-wedding-planning times. These are the things I can't live without, what couldn't you live without during your wedding planning?

Favorite Wedding Planning Books:

• My mother got me a used copy of The Wedding Book by Mindy Weiss, and it's like my bible. It answers all my questions, has lists for everything, and touches base on all the little things I would never think of asking!
• Also loving my used copy of Weddings from the Heart: Contemporary and Traditional Ceremonies for an Unforgettable Wedding. We're writing the whole ceremony, and this book was a great starting point!

• Hands down, I couldn't live without A Practical Wedding. As Meg, the founder of APW says, "I started this blog in 2008 to talk about planning our August 2009 wedding. Somewhere along the line, the blog stopped being about me, and started being a lot of grounded smart-alecky women talking intelligently about their weddings and marriages." Enough said. I'm not a fan of the The Knot (news flash: other brides are not so nice!), so when I came across APW, I felt instantly at home! And check out our gorgeous photographer's wedding on APW!
• There's a ton of beautiful wedding blogs out there, but sometimes they can get supremely overwhelming. This is why I adore the new wedding blog, Bow Ties & Bliss. Becky keeps the site classy, simple, and straight to the point. Plus, she's so accessible and sweet!
• Of course, there's a ton of wedding blogs I read out there, some of my faves are Green Wedding Shoes, Love and Lavender, Classic Bride, Offbeat Bride, Grey Likes Weddings, La Belle Bride, Hi-Fi Weddings, and Snippet & Ink.

Other things keeping me going:

• My amazing sister: She keeps the lists, keeps me sane, gets my creative juices going, and keeps me laughing the entire time. Uh, not to mention she's my handler and deals with issues/people I don't want to/can't handle dealing with. She's one helluva maid of honor!
• Ms. Mom of the Bride: My mother was the one who I first came to with my wedding ideas, and not to be corny, but with her artistic help, she's making my vision come alive! She designed the save-the-dates, the flower arrangements, picked out my dress for me (it was between two choices, and she helped me make the right decision, as I adore my dress!), she's helping us create the favors, and she always, always has my back when it comes to decision making.
• The future husband: I'm pretty lucky in the sense that Eric has been beyond wonderful with helping wedding plan (so has his family!). He's been right there with me on this journey since day one, and it makes the planning so much more fun.
• Friends and family: It's a funny thing that when you get engaged, no one tells you about the incredible stress which results not from the wedding planning, but from the dealing with people. I'd love to tell you that people will be 100% happy for you, but people are so, so odd. I'd also love to tell you some of the comments I've gotten from said odd people, but they're so odd that said people would know it was them who said it. On the flip side, however, there's a lot of people in my life who have been nothing but amazing. My dad's younger sister, my aunt, has offered to help with anything I may need. My grandmother has been there through the thick and thin of it since day one, and keeps me incredibly grounded. Of of my best girls has offered to do my makeup (and I gladly accepted!), one of my other girls messages me weekly simply to tell me she's just so excited for me and the wedding. It's moments, and friends, like that who get you pumped for the wedding, even during the stressful "I need to find the perfect favor or else...!" times.
• My Pink Binder: Yes, I have a wedding binder. Yes, it's pink. We don't have a wedding coordinator, so it's up to me (and my awesome MOH) to keep everything organized. I have these great plastic sleeves into which I put any contracts, or documents. It keeps everything so neat and clean!

(Image via Martha Stewart Weddings)