Hello March!! So nice to see you even though you came like a thief in the night. Welcome to the last month of the first quarter of 2017. As you know, I recently got engaged to the love of my life (I feel like everyone says that!) and I am completely stoked! My fiancé and I’ve have been spending every piece of free time planning and our wedding. Check out the first few things we wanted to establish first before we started the fun stuff.

1: Make a Budget/Wedding Planner

The most important part right? I’ve always dreamed of a high five figure wedding, but common sense hit me at a great time. Benjamin and I wanted to make sure that we pick a number that is doable to us and for our families in case they wanted to help. We also love a bargain and any specials that may come around! We also decided to choose a wedding planner, and thank God my sister in law was right there! Her name is Kaycie and her firm is called A’Rae of Events! She’s very detail oriented and she keeps things smooth. She’s one of the reasons why planning is fun.

2: Draft a Guest List

This gets tricky for us because we have big families and friends. When we first drafted a list, it was around 200. Then we started looking at names to see if these people are the type to celebrate with us. Then, it started dropping. I told Benjamin when we write names, to make sure that we want them there and that they would generally care. The thing is, we’re dishing a lot of money so we want to be sure. I also learned to not invite people who don’t have our best interest at heart, even if it comes down to family. If we haven’t talked with these people, they don’t get a free seat on our special day.

3: Decided location and wedding season/theme

Benjamin has horrible allergies. Say goodbye to Spring wedding! No matter where we would have been, pollen literally hurts him. I’m not about to have my husband sneezing in everyone’s face. We decided on a winter theme because we’d rather bundle up than melt in the snow, lol. We also picked the midpoint city for everyone to meet, which is in Columbia, SC.

4: Picked a Venue

This venue is beyond beautiful! When I first saw this place online, I was immediately attracted to how this place starts with a clean slate. There’s so much design potential with the rustic walls to the concrete floor. Benjamin and I along with our parents took a tour of the place and thought of the idea to have both ceremony and reception here. I will talk more detail in a separate post soon.

Stay tuned for the fun parts!