Wedding Planning Timeline | Three Month Mark

In-between six months, and three months before the wedding, there tends to not be much to do. You got all the big things- the venue, food, photographer/videographer, DJ, wedding planner/day of coordinator, florist, and dress -handled, and at the three month mark it’s time for all the little details! 

1. Start looking at wedding bands for you and your fiancé, and order them so they can be in, and sized in time. 

2. Finalize your guest list, and get your wedding invites ready to be sent out in the next couple of weeks. 

3. Schedule your cake tasting, and order your wedding cake (or another dessert if you’re not doing cake). Side note: it is normal for bakeries to charge for tastings! 

4. Set up the tasting with your venue/caterer and finalize the food, and drink selection. 

5. Book your rehearsal dinner location! The earlier the better with this if you’re getting married in “wedding season”!

6. Start your wedding registry! Go prepared with a list, and give yourself a whole day! ENJOY! This is one of the funnest parts of the planning process!

7. Decide on your hair and makeup artist, and schedule your trials. It’s normal for there to be a charge for this, too!

Check out my other posts in my wedding planning timeline series! 

xo, Val 

perfectlyplannedbyval.com

Rosey and Josh's Wedding | September 20, 2014

I met Rosey and Josh almost a year ago when they were looking for some help planning their September wedding. We went to Quail Hallow State Park in Hartville, and we all fell in love with it!  They were such an easy couple to work with!! If things didn't go exactly how they wanted, all they cared about was getting married.  What more could you ask for?!

The Ceremony.

I was a good blogger and actually brought my camera with me to this wedding! I somehow had a few seconds during the craziness to capture the brides creativity, and the happy couple! 

Because September 20th is so unpredictable when it comes to weather, we decided it would be best to rent a tent from Sullys Rental, and have the reception under there incase it rained, or was really cold.

If I would have guessed what the weather would be, 80 degrees and sunny would not be it!! Besides it being a little windy, we couldn't have asked for a better day!  Even though renting the tent was originally for rain/cold, it was a good thing we had it to keep the sun off everyone!

Rosey was one of the biggest DIY brides I've ever met, and to top it off she is EXTREMELY creative and crafty!

Toni from Dishes by Design and her team made the best wedding food I have ever had in my life, and I've had A LOT of wedding food! Rosey wanted some autumn food, so Toni suggested butternut squash ravioli with pecan cinnamon sauce!! It was my favorite part of the dinner! Everything else was a 10 out of 10, but those ravioli were a 12! I meant to take a picture of the dinner, but I ate it WAY too fast! Even the Hors d'oeuvres were superb! Toni and her staff were all extremely professional, and helpful.  

When Rosey told me that the woman making her cake was making a couple different flavors of cake and cupcakes, I didn't image such verity! It was such an adorable setup, and to top it off, everything was delicious!!

Having an outdoor wedding will ALWAYS have it's challenges, but we couldn't have asked for a better day! In my opinion it was a perfect wedding.  It was a beautiful venue, the weather was great, the food was delicious, and the guests had a great time! All those things together are what make an excellent wedding!  I was so happy with the way to day turned out, and I hope Rosey and Josh feel the same way! 

XO, Val. 

Julie and Dave's Wedding | July 19, 2014

I've known Julie for years, and helped with two weddings that she was a bridesmaid in.  I'm really happy both weddings went well, because soon after she got engaged, she called me asking to help her on her big day! She explained that she didn't want to worry about anything that day, and really wanted to enjoy it! Julie was a VERY DIY bride, and worked so hard on her wedding day! I wanted nothing more than to make the day she planned so perfectly to go as smoothy as possible.

Olivia Grace Perspective

Something VERY important to the couple was that people had a good time, and they did! The DJ was great and made sure people were out on the dance floor all night long!  Since Dave is a DJ, and does weddings all the time, I knew he'd have the best DJ for his own wedding.

Olivia Grace Perspective 

Unfortunately it rained on and off all day, but they made it outside at the right time, and got some AMAZING pictures! Olivia of Oliva Grace Perspective did SUCH a beautiful job! She's so sweet, so easy going, and such a professional photographer for being so young!    

  

The best way to explain Julie is 'Classic Beauty'.  She has beautiful pale skin, that doesn't need a drop of makeup, and then that gorgeous dark hair a la Audrey Hepburn.  I couldn't wait to see how lovely she'd look on her wedding day, and as you see, she was stunning!  Julie told me how great the day was, and how happy she was to finally be married.  Dave on the other hand didn't need to tell me.  I don't know Dave very well, but what I do know is he absolutely adores Julie. Dave couldn't keep his eyes off his new bride the whole night, there was such love and happiness in that look.  It was very special to witness their love. 

Olivia Grace Perspective 

Olivia Grace Perspective

Chris of Chris' Floral worked very hard with Julie to get the exact color of flowers she wanted.  The bright colors REALLY popped with the bridesmaids classic black Vera Wang dresses. 

Olivia Grace Perspective

Olivia Grace Perspective

The team of stylist at MC Hair did an amazing job on hair and makeup for the bride and bridesmaids! 

Olivia Grace Perspective

Olivia Grace Perspective

Julie and Dave were a pleasure to work with.  I'm so happy they chose me to help them on their special day! 

XO, Val.

Jen and Mike's Wedding | July 11, 2014

I had the pleasure of working with Jen only nine months after I helped her older sister Rachelle with her wedding. Being laid back is something that runs in the family! They both cared about getting married, and the rest of the details didn't matter much!

On the day of the wedding, Jen- who's already gorgeous- was STUNNING!! She would have loved to have her wedding outside, walk barefoot through a field, and put fresh flowers in her hair.  But being Catholic, that wasn't really an option for them.  She settled for a beautiful church wedding, a great pair of shoes, and a lovely crown of fresh flowers (and bouquet) from Chris' Floral, in her hair.  

Jen and Mike's First Look with Gra Photography, and the reception took place at St. George Fellowship Centre in Akron.  

Right after they their first look! So happy!!

I'm so happy I got a picture with the newly weds!!! 

Jen and Mike were such a pleasure to work with.  They are so in love and couldn't stop smiling the entire night!! 

XO, Val. 

The Perfect Fall Wedding!

When you think of a fall wedding, you might think rustic, and a red, orange, yellow and brown color scheme, but it can be much more than that! When I think of a fall wedding, I of course think of the beautiful changing leaves, and crisp fall air, but I also think of rich colors, and hearty food!

Fall weddings have always been a very popular time to get married.  If you’re having a fall wedding, don’t think that you have to have bales of hay, pumpkins, and burlap.  It also doesn't mean you have to have a halloween themed wedding!!

Instead of putting your bridal party in orange, try plum!  Orange, yellow, and red flowers will really pop!

Some couples think that since they are having a fall wedding, they need to have part or all of their wedding outdoors.  In Ohio the weather is VERY unpredictable! If you have your wedding in early fall- september, and early october- you could have nice weather to be outside, but the leaves probably won't change by then.  If you wait until mid-October into early November, you'll have a much better chance of beautiful fall leaves, but it could be 30 or 40 degrees and there could even be snow by then!! Everyone wants that perfect 60 degree day with the beautiful leaves, and the slight chill in the air.  The chances of getting that are, unfortunately, very rare.

You can still have the feel of a fall wedding without being outside.  Your centerpieces can have fall colors, you can have pumpkin flavored desserts, or your favors could be a delicious caramel apple.  You can even have a "candy bar" where guest fill a bag with candy!  It's like adult trick-or-treating! YUM!!

fall wedding by vebullock featuring fall home decor

As you can clearly see I LOVE fall! It's my favorite time of the year! If you can't/don't want to have your wedding in fall, it's also a great time to do engagement pictures!

Happy Planning!
Val



Red Arrow Photography

Fall home decor
etsy.com

Fall silk wedding bouquet in rust and burnt yellow, bridal bouquet
etsy.com

Unexpected Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding Day!

Today I want to talk about a couple things that could save you money on your wedding day!

Over the summer, and into the Fall, three of the couples I am working with have opted to not have a bridal party.  A bridal party is something that people just assume needs to be part of your big day.  The biggest cost to the bride and groom when it comes to a bridal party is the flowers.  If you have five bridesmaids and five groomsman in your bridal party, plus parents, grandparents, and the two of you, you could be close to $700 in just bouquets and boutonnieres.  There are many expenses the bridal party takes care of, but flowers isn't one of them.

Something else is bridal party gifts. No one says you have to give them gifts, but it is expected.  Spending at least $50 on each person is pretty standard.  With ten members of your bridal party, that's around $500 that you probably didn't budget for.

Also, if you don't have a bridal party, a rehearsal dinner isn't necessary.  It's again, a large cost, and if the two of you are paying for it yourself, it could break the bank.  If someone else has offered to pay for the rehearsal (it's traditional for the grooms parents to pay), you can still have it with family, close friends and out of town guests.  You could also explain to the person that offered to pay that since you're not having a bridal party, a rehearsal dinner isn't necessary, and maybe that money can be put to better use somewhere else in the budget.

It's becoming more and more popular to have a close friend of family member marry the couple  instead of hiring an efficient or minister for their wedding day.  I have three couples this year that have opted for this option! If you're getting married outside, or at a venue other than a church, you're going to have to hire an officiant or a minister to marry you.  It's again a cost most couples don't think about. Good officiants charge between $250-$400, and some even charge for traveling and the rehearsal!  If you have someone you know marry you, it will be much more personal. You should offer to pay the fee for them to get ordained, but that's only around $50.  Get them a nice gift to thank them, but even then you're saving so much money.


Hope this helped!!
xo, Val

outside wedding. by vebullock featuring bridal gowns

Nicole Miller bridal gown
nicolemiller.com

Home decor
paperstyle.com

Is it worth it? Real Flowers.

Hi everyone!

Today's 'Is it worth it?" is going to be talking about real flowers for your wedding day vs. fake or silk flowers.  

I'm just going to start out by saying that I would never recommend fake flowers to anyone, and in my opinion real flowers are always the way to go. I think most of the time people look at flowers for your wedding day as an unnecessary expense. Also, that they're just gong to die (true), but if you buy fake flowers what are really going to do with them after the wedding, anyway? 

When you go to a florist you could spend $1200-$1500  on your flowers (bouquets, boutonnières, centerpieces).  You might think that is an insane amount of money to spend on flowers but you have to understand that you're paying for this persons time and experience when it comes to flowers.  They know what they are doing and they do all the work for you.  

via the knot.

via the knot.

Aren't these bouquets just stunning?

If you go to your local hobby lobby and look at the prices of silk flowers, you might be surprised.  You could ultimately spend $30 for one bouquet.  You may also think they look just like real flowers, but they don't. People can tell they aren't real. 

If you think making your own bouquet is easy, buy your own real flowers, and make your own that way! You could pick up some flowers a few days before your wedding at your local grocery store, Sam's Club, or even Trader Joe's. It's no secret that anything that has to do with weddings is going to be more expensive, its annoying, but true.  So buying them at the grocery store, they are exponentially less expensive.  My advice would be figure out what is in season for your wedding month, figure out when the grocery store gets their flower delivery, and try to find out from a worker what they will be getting, and if you can request something in particular- it never hurts to ask! Just remember, you cant be too picky. 

You could also order flowers online if you're looking for particular flowers.  You would order them, and they are delivered to you a couple days before your wedding day.  The risk with this is they may not come in the condition you want, and you won't have time to order new flowers in time.  You can try fifty flowers. 

I hope this helped you!

XO, Val