Bridezilla

After having a lunch date with my high school friend, Amy, we began to talk about my wedding and what it meant to be a bridezilla. Hence, the inspiration to write my next blog. I guess when I got engaged, a good amount of people imagined that I would become a bridezilla because of my tendencies to have everything "perfect".

For anyone who knows me, I'm very hands on; I know what I want and what to stay away from! For someone who's indecisive, I'm the complete opposite when it comes to planning large gatherings and events, such as my wedding. From what I've seen from the TLC show, those brides are beyond extreme! They throw cake around, have tantrums, seem ungrateful, and are completely rude to everyone they surround. I believe that planning a wedding should be fun, challenging, and rewarding at the end. I've done everything possible to mitigate any "freak outs" by just taking it one day at a time.

AVOID BEING A BRIDEZILLA
A few steps that I've followed to help avoid being a crazy bride:
1. Budget
2. Time line
3. Organization


1. Three simple steps, BUT they go a long way! Regardless of how small or how large your budget is, understand it and don't go over it [especially, if you don't have the means]. Once you've discussed the budget/finances with your fiance, put money aside each month into the "wedding account." Always give yourself cushion[10% should be sufficient] just in case you run into some unforeseen issues down the road. If you're planning a $50,000 wedding, have at least $5,000 of cushion. Regardless of how much thought and planning you've done, things happen, be prepared!

2. From the time you get engaged, you'll plan what season, month, and even week you want to get married. Whether you plan to wed 6 months from when you get engaged to a couple years down the road, understand time. Once you figure out how many months you have before the big day, set yourself a deadline for each vendor. Since I've had a year and a half to plan [engaged in November 2010, getting married May 2012], I've been able to book vendors when it's been convenient for me and Mark. By next April, the only things I'll be working on is finalizing seating arrangements, making the place cards, and counting the number of attendees.

3. Organization is key for your sanity. I also carry one of the two notebooks[one is more compact] everywhere I go. Phone calls can happen at any time of the day; you can meet a potential vendor or reference, etc and will need to write down important information. Also, in my notebook I keep my monthly deadlines.

for example: September
1. Pay deposit for Brunch
2. Pay deposit for DJ
3. Schedule first pre-cana with the priest
4. Schedule first pre-marital counseling with the pastor
5. Touch base with the florist


Once I've completed everything on the list, I don't do anything for the rest of the month. Even though I might finish early, I don't want to burn myself out with planning. I move onto the next month with what I want completed, and etc.


CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:
Wedding planning should be as pleasant as possible. You know yourself better than anyone else, stay away from things that will drive you insane! Determine a budget: Set a certain amount of money aside and put it into a separate savings account dedicated to the wedding alone. This should be a joint effort between you and your fiance. Plan a time line: What vendors will you take care of each month, what do you want accomplished? [you can divide it by every 3 months or monthly] then see where you are in relation to the larger picture. Set realistic deadlines! Stay organized: you'll know where everything is and what needs to be done. Don't get ahead of yourself or get burned out through the process.

Following these simple guidelines are ways to stay away from being the next bridezilla.