The Planning Process

Planning a wedding can be a daunting task; so many details that need to be planned for one day. Well, in our case, two days. Long story but we are getting married twice: a civil and a religious ceremony. Even that can't be simple, we are an interfaith couple: he's Jewish and I'm Christian. Oh yeah, and our civil ceremony will be in Florida aboard a cruise ship. So let's just say, there is a lot of planning that needs to be done to pull this off. I spent the first year of our engagement looking through the two bridal magazines my Mom ordered subscriptions for. I even went and tried on a few dresses (hated them all). That was a great year and I have a notebook full of ideas. Gone are the daydreams of the perfect wedding. Now is time for action; time to make it happen. Fortunately, we have had a long engagement for which I am grateful. It has given us time to work on our relationship and not stress on trying to plan a wedding quickly. It has even helped those family members who disapprove of our wedding plans or the marriage altogether, for whatever reasons, to soften their hearts a bit. Even a couple of stubborn old men, who shall remain nameless, are coming around. It's encouraging to see the transformations and our wedding will be a more joyous occasion because of it. Back to the planning process. What has been accomplished so far: The headache of creating a guest list is complete. My Dad's side of the family is huge and nearly all of them live in Maryland. My Mom's side of the family is small and they all live on the west coast. My fiancé’s family lives primarily in Israel, with some family in the U.S. and Canada. We wanted a small intimate affair and my Dad wants a huge family affair. So that is how we ended up having two weddings. A small affair in Florida and a large one here in Maryland. Life is about compromise and we've certainly done our share. I've designed and posted Our Wedding Website and we are very satisfied with its outcome and the reactions from family and friends. Everyone seems to love it and find it useful. It is great that we can provide everyone with the info they'll need if they are planning to attend our wedding. We have avoided the million phone calls I'm sure we would have received without it. All the information they need is on the site. It's great! I recommend creating a wedding website to anyone who is getting married. We designed, printed, and mailed save-the-date cards for the Florida wedding. That went smoother than anticipated. I did the designing and printing and Yoni and my Mom were a great help stuffing, stamping, and sealing envelopes. We reserved a block of cabins aboard the cruise ship. Booked a caterer for the Maryland reception. It feels good to write that out. Now I feel like something has been accomplished. Still left to do: EVERYTHING!!! It's okay; still have just over a year to plan everything. A wedding coordinator is handling the Miami wedding. I just have to find a dress, get the marriage license, and make travel arrangements. The Maryland wedding is where all the work is. Right now we are looking for a place. We are planning a morning ceremony with brunch to follow. We are anticipating 200+ guests. We want a space where we can have the ceremony and reception in the same building and bring in our caterer. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share! My Dad has taken on the task of finding a place so I am leaving that up to him. I'm busy with school work right now, but December 17th I'll hit the ground running. Watch out! I am sooo sorry about the rambling. I'll try not to do that again. ;0)