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5 THINGS I’VE LEARNT IN MY FIRST YEAR AS A BRIDE TO BE
I feel in just one year of being a bride to be, I have learnt so much more about how it feels to plan a wedding. Budgeting, finding suppliers, juggling dates are all of the things I could never really relate to before but I feel like I am beginning to get an idea. Don’t get me wrong I am as equally excited about it all and I know that when we have finally ironed out the boring stuff like ‘money’, I will be in my element but until then all I can do is let you know my ‘feelings’ so far and there are oh so many ‘feels’. Here it goes…
1. Time really does fly!
I cannot believe it has been nearly one whole year since we got engaged! Seriously where has that time gone, it’s like I blinked and it went from being June 2015 to June 2016?
Surprisingly, we both said we didn’t want a long engagement, Mr T wanted to be married within a year and I tried to be a little more realistic with 18 months but it’s looking unlikely. So don’t go buying your hats just yet as it could be a 2018 wedding and even that will take some serious planning.
2. I have commitment issues
The only thing I am 100% sure on, in this whole wedding planning saga is that I want to be married to Mr T, everything else is totally up in the air. One minute I want to get married here, surrounded by family and friends, the next I want to elope. I have gone from wanting to get married in a zoo, to the beach to a field. And I have gone from never in a million years would I cater my own wedding to I definitely want to test out my own culinary skills! Yup, I think I’ve gone crazy! Why can’t I decide on just one thing!
3. Money doesn’t grow on trees
We always knew our wedding would be on a budget as neither of us could justify spending thousands and thousands when saving for our own house and paying for extra IVF treatment are the highest priorities on our list, but even on a budget, this whole wedding thing is expensive! I thought I was pretty clued up on all the costs but it turns out I had them seriously underestimated which means it’s going to take us a little longer than we expected to save up.
4. Spreadsheets are your best friend
Although we haven’t actually made any wedding related purchases yet, I have already started making spreadsheets of how to save money to be able to afford the things we want for our wedding, as well as a estimated spreadsheet of all the wedding costs. It’s been extremely useful in helping us set savings goals and prioritise the most important aspects for us.
5. There is an extraordinary number of talented wedding suppliers in this country & I want them all!
I always knew this would be a problem and have joked on numerous occasions that I would need to get married about 10 times to be able to include all the wedding vendors that I love so much! I cannot emphasize just how many amazing suppliers there are out there and when the time really does come, I am going to have a complete nightmare at trying to whittle it down to just a few. I might even have to resort to pulling names out of a hat!
So there you have it, the 5 things I have learnt in my first year as a bride to be. I want to know yours? Let me know what you have learnt in the comments below.
xxx
Emily, all of this hits home so hard! My now-husband and I just had our wedding in April, after about 18 months of engagement. During the time we were engaged, we moved to a new city, had to find a place to rent, and lived for the first several months on one modest salary (mine–we made the move for my job).
With all that going on, budgeting for the wedding was SO STRESSFUL. And of course, as you mentioned, there are a million other details to attend to: which venue? And once we choose the venue, what rentals do we have to worry about? If it’s nontraditional, do we have to bring in sources of audio, electricity, water, etc? WHEW.
I hope ironing out the boring stuff goes well (and quick!) for you two. We also made a bunch of spreadsheets, which were helpful but a bit clunky and confusing to read through. A newly-engaged friend just told me about MarryMapp the other day (https://marrymapp.com)–maybe that will help you keep your budget on track so you can focus on the fun stuff?
Best of luck in the planning! Please keep posting updates on your progress!
Hi Claire
Firstly congrats on your wedding! Secondly thanks for sharing your story, it’s good to know I’m not alone and thirdly thanks for the app recommendation, I am definitely going to have to try that out!
I will be sure to keep you updated! Hopefully my next post will be a little more exciting 😀
xxx
I loved reading this Emily, I was wondering how your wedding planning was going! I get worried about point 5 too! So many wonderful suppliers. I definitely agree with not wanting to spend thousands and thousands on a wedding when you have other things to prioritise.
Looking forward to reading more of your progress 🙂 xx
Hi Raj
Thrilled to hear that you enjoyed reading my post. Our wedding planning has kind of ground to halt right now as we are struggling with finding a venue. I’m so indecisive! Hope all is well with you?
Emily x