This will be my last WTW post before I get hitched next Saturday. I have guest posts lined up from Angela, Holly and Amber for the Wednesay, Thursday and Friday before my big day on the 4th. Thanks again ladies!

I thought I’d take the time in this post to reflect.

Our engagement was short: Nearly seven months. To be exact, it was 205 days/29 weeks/4920 hours/295,200 minutes/17,712,000 seconds. Never in a million years would I ever think I could plan a wedding in that period of time, let alone my own. It’s been exciting, stressful, nerve-wracking and everything in between.

There were many, MANY times when I wanted to throw in the towel and let someone else do all the work. But – I’m a very “in control” person and while I’m indeed a very lazy person, I’m very driven when I need/want to be. Thus why I didn’t hire a planner. I wanted to be involved of every detail and be in control. Because I don’t work in the mornings, it was easy for me to plan, book and scheme. And – by hiring a planner, it would only cost us more in the end.

A few people have also asked me, “Well, why get married so soon?” Why not? Friends of Kyle and I put a wedding together in 4 months (but I’ll note that they were married in the winter, so not “prime wedding time”). We’ve been together for nearly nine years now, so it wasn’t like we needed time to make sure we were sure.

Another popular question? “Why not elope?” Simple: There’s too many people we want to share our marriage with and the majority of them wouldn’t be able to attend. Also, because of conflicting family members, having them on some island somewhere all together wouldn’t be a good idea.

I think the most important thing I learned about wedding planning is nailing down your venue and vendors right off the bat. My favourite local DJ? Already booked for my wedding day the first week of December. My first pick of wedding photographer? Gone. But – After a little digging, I found some AMAZING people to help pull my big day together and they’ve all been more than helpful.

And the most important thing about the wedding itself? The day is about YOU and your husband to be, and no one else. This was Kyle and I’s motto for everything. It’s our day, with our family and friends. It was important to remind our families to put their differences behind them for at least 8 hours and just be happy for us.

So, in 10 days from now, I’ll be a wife. I still can’t believe it, but I couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s the next chapter of our lives, and I can’t wait.

Last week Amber tweeted me and requested a post on the little wedding details that you often may not think about until the last minute. You know, the ones that make you go, “Holy shirts and pants, I forgot about that!” And believe me, I’ve had a lot of “Holy Shirt” moments. And so, I present to you a list of the little things (Even though I think I said a couple weeks ago that I’d have no more lists. I also said I’m flaky though).

Chair covers/sashes

When I had first started figuring out all my linen rentals, chair covers and sashes had completely slipped my mind. My mom had asked me if I was renting them, and I said “No”. I guess that was the wrong answer. Anyway, if you don’t want chair covers, check out the state of the chairs wherever you may be having your reception/dinner. If they’re old and wooden, they may snag your dress. If they’re just old, they may clash with the rest of your decor. The chairs where we’re having our rehearsal are old and plastic. At least the chair covers will add a little padding.

Centerpieces

These may not seem like something you’d have to think over a million times, but I certainly have. For one, flowers are EXPENSIVE. My cost-saving solution? Renting the vases (only $2 each compared to buying them at $6 each) and buying the flowers wholesale from Costco.

Guestbook

At first I was reluctant to have a guestbook. Then I thought, “Well, what if I want to remember who was at my wedding?” Then I thought, “But all the guestbooks you buy have at least 100 lined pages in them, and I don’t have that many people coming and don’t want a bunch of blank pages!” Then I searched around Etsy and found the perfect custom guestbook. It matches our invitations and it’s so much better than the lame ones you find in stores around town. Plus – It only has 50 unlined pages, so guests can sign where they like as write as much as they like! If there’s any leftover pages, I’ll plan on turning the remainder of the book into a little keepsake album.

The Garter

There’s just something awkward about having your man remove something from under your dress with his teeth in front of all your family and friends and then tossing it to single men. That being said, I avoided the whole garter issue until my mom bought me one. (Almost as awkward as the previous sentence) Just think of it as being your something blue, and don’t spend a lot of money on it.

Tossing bouquet

My aunt who’s designing my bouquet had actually asked me if I wanted a tossing bouquet and at first I thought it was a silly idea. But then I thought, “Well, maybe I want to keep my bouquet around for a few days?” So a tossing bouquet it is. Another reason why I went with a different bouquet to toss is because my flowers will have little gems throughout the bouquet and they might go flying or hurt someone. (I’ve noticed that women get crazy for that bouquet!)

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That’s all the “little things” I can think of! If there’s anything else you can think of, add them to the comments.

What are your Wedding Day “Little Things?”

How the stinkin’ hell did my wedding date end up being less than six weeks away? Whoa there Bessy, let’s slow that train down just a second here!

I’m in that special place in wedding planning right now where I’m both nervous and excited. Let’s add stressed out in the mix too because well, who wouldn’t be when planning their wedding?

There’s a LOT of stuff I’ve happily accomplished all. by. myself. GO ME! (Seriously, as a procrastinator, that’s HUGE.) Who would’ve thought I wouldn’t break down into tears while trying to glue together my invitations or printing and tearing my favour tags? I no longer want to bang my head off a table every other day, now it’s just a once-a-week feeling.

But – There’s still quiet a bit that needs to get done. Hence the title of this post. I present to you one final pre-wedding list. Or at least I think it will be the final one. No promises though, I’m flaky like that.

• I’ve yet to find vases for my centerpieces. Hopefully I’ll be able to hit up the local dollar stores sometimes soon and find what I need. No sense in going to the craft store and getting them. $6 is a ridiculous amount to spend on a bunch of vases I’ll use once.
• Apparently I need bridal jewelery? I’ve already had arguments with my mom over what to wear in my ears on my wedding day. She doesn’t want my big ol’ ½” holes showing and wants me to wear plugs. I’d be happy with tunnels because they’re who I am. Kyle wants me to just stick with the stainless steel ones I always wear. Decisions, decisions!
• I am terrified for my Bachelorette/Bridal Shower. Everyone keeps telling me it will be fun and I’ll love it, but I’m SCURRED.
• Tomorrow I’m going to be checking out the hall for the reception and hopefully finding packaging for the favours. Woo!
• We still don’t know where to have our gift opening shing-dig. I was just hoping no one would buy us actual presents. Apparently this isn’t going to happen, so we need to think of something.
• We *may* have found a place for the rehearsal dinner. Kyle’s uncle knows the owner of one of the “better” restaurants in town and may be able to get us a deal on a buffet or something like that. Fingers crossed!
• We’ve yet to go get our marriage license. I’m thinking we’ll do that next week. Then we’ll have to meet with the Marriage Commissioner to decide what kind of ceremony we want to have. I’m aiming for simple, not too romantic but to too casual. And absolutely no saying the words, “Speak now or forever hold your peace …” Ugh.
• I’m also pretty sure I have to meet with the photographer again.
• I’m also ALSO pretty sure there’s more to this list than what I can think of.