It’s crazy to believe we are nineteen weeks out from our wedding! NINETEEN. That feels like it’s basically tomorrow and I couldn’t be more excited. To be real with you, wedding planning is HARD. You spend lots of money. Have lots of not fun conversations with each other and family members alike. BUT… I have loved every second of the process. It has 100% brought Kyle and I closer together (I didn’t even know that was possible) and has taught us a lot about our own and our family dynamics. I’ve been super lucky to have a fiancé who wants to be involved in the planning process; I don’t know how I went from dating a guy who didn’t like his picture taken to having a man who will let me boomerang him putting our Save the Dates into the mailbox, but here we are (#BLESSED).

Ever since I started this series, I can’t believe the feedback I’ve gotten. You all are loving the wedding vibes and honestly, that’s great for me because it’s on my mind so much anyway, why not write about it? This is part five of our series – fitting for five months out, I know. I promise I didn’t plan that. In this series I want to talk about some big milestones and life hacks on getting the most out of your planning and your budget. I also want to talk about the things you do that will literally feel like 200 pounds lifted off of your shoulders. The parts of wedding planning you might not even feel like are stressing you out until they’re done.

1. Don’t give it all away for your getaway: your honeymoon is the biggest trip you’ll take (in my opinion). It marks a new chapter and a closing of one prior. It’s a chance for you to reset and settle into the fact that you are in fact husband & wife. When booking your post-nuptial getaway there are a lot of factors to consider; first and foremost, where do you want to go? I think all too often people are steered away from trusting in travel agents or agencies, but let me tell you… it is THE way to go! Now, you should work to find the perfect agent for your needs; for instance someone or a company who has great reviews and specializes in where you want to go. Going through a travel agent is basically like holding a huge coupon book when locking in your vaca. They get cuts of things they book from the transportation and hospitality options all at a discounted rate for you. We did this a lot for ours and also booked everything once it was finalized on our own online. Using an app like HONEY allowed us to apply coupon codes and save big time!
2. Til bands do us part: I’m lucky enough to have a lot of things from my Grandmom. She was my best friend and we shared everything. A lot of those things were jewelry and some of which I have a hard time wearing anymore. I looked into repurposing some of that for a wedding band to have her with me all of the time and also cut costs on a band because the cuter they get the more out of range they are. I’m going to have a full blog post on this coming soon and will be diving into the whole process because I think it’s super special and it’s been one of my favorite parts of planning so far!
3. Invites she wrote: FIND YOU A CALLIGRAPHER AND NEVER LET HER GO. When we first started planning our wedding we were shocked at the cost of paper goods. I mean… SHOOK. Even websites like Shutterfly were priced out of this world once we added everything we needed to a cart – not to mention we were getting the most basic of all basic by that point. Calligraphers love what they do and they want to help you and just because their name sounds fancy, doesn’t mean they’re priced that way! I used to think calligraphers could only be used for addressing envelopes but our girl does it all. When you sit down and start to think about the signage needs you have for your big day and have a great calligrapher on your side, the sky is the limit. I have had an absolute blast with our girl and it’s been our favorite part of the whole process. She brought our vision to life time after time with things we originally started out with no direction on. I’m also going to do a full post on her once I have things to show, but do yourself a favor and research some. Set up consultations, get pricing and let your addressing worries melt away!
4. Little white dress: I have never needed more white clothes in my life. Every other week seems like a new occasion for a white dress, romper, bathing suit, etc… Not to mention you just feel more like a bride in white. Two words: prime wardrobe. It’s a game changer. Ordering without having to pay and sending back the things you don’t like has been the biggest hack for me. I’ve gone through over $1,000 of clothes while spending about $40… also honey (that I linked above) is the absolute best and if I don’t find what I want on Amazon, honey helps me knock $15-$20 off of every order; especially on popular sites like Target, LuLus and Old Navy.
5. Bach squad goals: getting closer to the wedding means getting closer to the bachelorette party and I’m all about finding fun ways my girls and I can look awesome while making memories that weekend! Let me tell you about the bachelorette wonderland that is; La La Confetti!! Not only does La La have the cutest shirts, hats and gear; they have the tools to help you bring a whole theme to life on a budget. They sent me the cutest Combo Cooler 3 in 1 Tumblers by SWIG that can be used as koozies, or for up to 12 hours hot and cold. This is going to be perfect for my bachelorette while we’re exploring the city and it’s small enough where I can rinse it out and throw it in my oversized bag when I’m on the go. Doing a little bit at a time has helped me so much throughout the wedding planning process so being about 3 months out from the bachelorette, getting things as I see them is key. La La’s Instagram has been perfect for that; follow them here so you don’t miss a beat.