Countdown Checklist: 1 month (!!!)

Holy moly, are things ramping up or what? Check out the length on my to-do list for this month!

Now would be the perfect time for me to remember: stay calm, stay cool, and carry myself like a lady. This only happens once, this wedding thing. And so I must enjoy these final fleeting moments of my engagement, before they get away from me!

[Image via Found in Mom's Basement: the Google image result of a calm, cool, collected bride.]

As a side note, someone should totally offer lamaze classes for brides-to-be. Pretty sure I could use some professional breathing exercises right about now!

• Enter RSVP's into your guest list database. Check! And it's been fun watching them pour in! So far 54 people have confirmed that they will be in attendance. 54 - I'm just glad someone wants to come besides me and Clay!
  

• Get your marriage license. Not yet, but it's in the master plan. I found out all you need to wed in the state of Texas is a couple of driver's licenses and $71 cash. Sort of surprising, actually, that there's not much more to it.
  

• Mail the rehearsal dinner invitations. This hasn't yet been completed, but my wonderful future mother-in-law has got it under control!
  

• Visit the dressmaker for your last dress fitting. My dress still fits pretty perfectly, and so I won't visit the tailor until about a week and a half out.
  

• Stock the bar. Waiting until the guest list is secured. But trust me, I will have no problem shopping for wine by the caseload.
  

• Send out as many final payments as you can. But of course. I've got my checkbook all set!
  

• Confirm times for hair and makeup and all vendors. This will definitely be happening over the course of the next month with the help of our fabulous day-of coordinator, Dorrie. (Coordinator? I TOLD you a lot has happened lately with the wedding!)
  

• Email and print directions for drivers of transport vehicles. What if my driver is either myself or my fiancee? Or more likely, both? Green light on this one, as it's totally unnecessary for our purposes.
  

• Assign seating. Expected to happen after October 15, the deadline I've given my guests for submitting their RSVP's. Assigned seating... this is the fun part for me!
  

• Purchase bridesmaids' gifts. Check! (And yes, they're private and personal, and so that's all you get!)
  

• Write vows, if necessary. Whoa, hello original vows. You hadn't really occurred to me until just now. I'll have to think on this one and talk it over with Clay. You know I love to write, but there's something about those traditional wedding vows that get me every time.
  

• Get your hair cut and colored, if desired. Hey! Good idea!
  

And as for the previously outstanding to-do list items...

• Meet with the photographer. Check! (Sort of.) We've filled out our photography questionnaire and are a little more set with our wedding photography plan. Totally helps that our photographer is an absolute bad-ass!

• Send out the invitations. Check! Blog post to follow. (P.S. I invited the Obama's; is that cool?)
  

• Finalize the menu and flowers. Still no. (And still won't be happening for another week or two.)
  

• Make a list of the people giving toasts. Still no. (And I almost can't believe that I'm slacking on making a list. That's like my favorite hobby!)
  

• Purchase your undergarments. Still no.
  

• Finalize the order of the ceremony and the reception. Still super close. But also still a no.
  

• Print menu cards, if you like, as well as programs. Still no.
  

• Purchase the rings. Check! They're so pretty!

• Send your event schedule to the vendors. Still tweaking. (And still no.)
  

• Meet with the officiant. Check! We have plans to meet with a wedding counselor this Saturday morning at Mozart's. (... since our wedding officiant resides in Georgia)
  

• Purchase wedding shoes and start dress fittings. Still no. (Am I not impossible with the shoe thing?)
  

• Schedule hair and makeup artists. Check! I've even got a trial run scheduled for this weekend. Uber detailed blog post to follow, you know it!
  

[List Source: Real Simple Wedding's 1 month checklist.]

Countdown Checklist: 2 months

So, I've decided this month that, despite all the loose ends on my planning to-do list, I could totally put this wedding together in a matter of days. Just in time for Labor Day weekend, in fact. What do you think? Just call all the invitees, round up as many as possible, and tell 'em that plans have changed, hop on a plane or in your car, Clay and I are getting hitched... like, NOW! Let's do this thing!

Yeah, right. In my dreams.

But having daydreams of a spontaneous wedding like this has honestly made me realize that I've come a long way over the past 8 months. I started out as overwhelmed, slightly anxious, and just a teeny bit scared. And now that the wedding day is for real knocking at my door, I'm all but embracing it with open arms. Oh, how I wish we could get this wedding show on the road! October 30th, you couldn't get here fast enough.

But I suppose good things come to those who wait, or so the old idiom goes. And so if we must follow protocol, here are my wedding checklist items for the month:

• Touch base again with all the vendors. This is sort of a vague checklist item... so I'll go with Yes!
  

• Meet with the photographer. No. But we're filling out a detailed questionnaire this week that should get us up to speed on photography logistics & expectations.
  

• Review the playlist with the band or deejay. Yep! All set!
  

• Send out the invitations. Not quite... but getting close. Design is finalized; I've just got a few last minute tweaks, some file clean-up, and then off to the presses!
  

• Submit a newspaper wedding announcement. Do people even do this anymore? I don't think we care enough about having our names in newsprint, so I'll cross it off the list.
  

• Enjoy a bachelorette party. In the works! The gals and I have decided on a couple fun events to take place around mid-September. First, a "naughty/ nice" lingerie shower to kick-off the weekend, followed by a limo wine tour through the Texas Hill Country and a night's stay at a Fredericksburg B&B. Only 2 weeks away... can't wait for the fun!

And as for the previously outstanding to-do list items...

• Finalize the menu and flowers. No. But this won't be happening until the month of October, according to my vendors. We're in a pretty good place as it is...
  

• Order favors, if desired. Yes! Hint: Mason jar mayhem has officially made its breakthrough to the Fain wedding.
  

• Make a list of the people giving toasts. No. Would anyone like to volunteer? (Let me re-phrase that. Would anyone like to volunteer who will promise to withhold any incriminating stories?)
  

• Finalize the readings. Yes! Click here for a preview.
  

• Purchase your undergarments. No. But as mentioned before, I've got a game plan for this.
  

• Finalize the order of the ceremony and the reception. No. But we're super close!
  

• Print menu cards, if you like, as well as programs. No. And actually, no menu cards for us. But as for programs... this goes hand in hand with finalizing the ceremony order, and so I'm ready to roll once we've got that figured out. I even made a mock-up. :)
  

• Purchase the rings. No. But we have them picked! Just a matter of finding the best deal, is all.
  

• Send your event schedule to the vendors. No. Again, to do that, I'd have to finalize the event... (Are you noticing a pattern by now?)
  

• Select and purchase invitations, and hire a calligrapher, if desired. Yes! My dad has designed them, and yours truly will again do the addressing. Pretty stoked. If you ask me, I think they're gonna turn out pretty great!
  

• Meet with the officiant. No.
  

• Book a florist. Yes! And I'm so confident the flowers will turn out absolutely beautiful, thanks to Pollen Floral Art.
  

• Purchase wedding shoes and start dress fittings. No. Still fighting the shoe battle, to my dismay.
  

• Schedule hair and makeup artists. No. But I've reached out to a few prospects. Suggestions & reviews are most certainly welcome.
  

[List Source: Real Simple Wedding's 2 month checklist. Image Source: iTunes Store.]

Countdown Checklist: 3 months

Making lists usually always makes me feel a little better, but not after completing this month's countdown checklist. I think I've got the wedding blues. Hmmph.

• Finalize the menu and flowers. No.

• Order favors, if desired. No.
  

• Make a list of the people giving toasts. No.
  

• Finalize the readings. No.
  

• Purchase your undergarments. No.
  

• Finalize the order of the ceremony and the reception. No.
  

• Print menu cards, if you like, as well as programs. No.
  

• Purchase the rings. No.
  

• Send your event schedule to the vendors. No.
  

Status on old, unfinished checklist items:

• Select and purchase invitations, and hire a calligrapher, if desired. No.
  

• Meet with the officiant. No.
  

• Book a florist. No.
  

• Select and order the cake. YES!!! Oh sweet Jesus, Hallelujah, can I get a YES, man! (Click here for more details.)
  

• Purchase wedding shoes and start dress fittings. No.
  

• Schedule hair and makeup artists. No.

Umm.... FAIL. Looks like August will be spent with my head buried in the white wedding sand. All I can say is, there'd better be a fruity frozen slushy drink with a cute little umbrella in it waiting for me come September when I finally surface. Any takers?

[List Source: Real Simple Wedding's 3 month checklist]

Countdown Checklist: 4-5 months

Not feeling the chattiness much lately, so this will be a quick post. Less than 4 months until I am officially Mrs. F and no longer Miss B. Wait, did I just write that?

• Book the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner venues. Yessirree, check! Fabi + Rosi is our place, as gushed over here.
  

• Check on the wedding invitations. Wedding invitations? What wedding invitations?
  

• Select and order the cake. Eh, pretty close. This is one of those items that's pretty low on the totem pole, but I've scheduled another appointment (read here for the first unfortunate encounter) for this Saturday morning at a place that I *think* will be The One. The Only. (Pray for me.)
  

• Send your guest list to the host of your shower. 1 out of 2, does that count? (Let's go with YES.)
  

• Purchase wedding shoes and start dress fittings. Nope. And nope. But my dress fits to a "T" as of now, so I don't anticipate any fittings until the month of the wedding. (Cross your fingers I don't gain 10 lbs.)
  

• Schedule hair and makeup artists. Can I be my own?
  

• Choose your music. This is another one of Clay's tasks, which is still a work in progress. But... I'm excited to say... we officially have a band! An awesome one, too! And with Clay the Music Man in charge, no promises that we'll keep it at just one.
  

And here's an update on all my previously unfinished checklist items. (Not bad, not bad at all.)

• Set up a wedding website. Check! As mentioned here.
  

• Select and purchase invitations, and hire a calligrapher, if desired. Still no. But I'm not worried. (Yet.)
  

• Start planning a honeymoon. Yes, we've started! You're looking at the proud owners of two international plane tickets. Don't we look nice? And once we've finalized the accommodations, just brace yourself... you'll get to hear all about it! (Calm yourselves, please.)
  

• Shop for bridesmaids' dresses. You betcha! J. Crew, silk tricotine, in Violet Stone and Light Pewter. For more trivially girlish details, click here.
  

• Meet with the officiant. Dangit. Still a no!
  

• Send Save the Date cards, if desired. Boo-ya! As if you don't remember my complete and utter elation over the Save the Date mailing.
  

• Reserve structural and electrical necessities. Rain plan tent? Check! Though I'm still considering a side gig in the tent rental business. Those people must make a fortune! As for the electrics... I'll leave those up to my gadget-friendly fiancee :) Love you!
  

• Book a florist. Still a work in progress. But some good candidates in the queue! Including Austin Flower Co. (for DIY) and Firefly Floral (for turn-key). But right now, what I'm really digging is this Texas Wildflower Farm as a cool, inexpensive option, unique to Texas and all her natural beauty. Thanks to Clay's mom for all the awesome help and support!
  

[List Source: Real Simple Wedding's 4-5 month checklist]

Countdown Checklist: 6-7 months

Wow, I can hardly believe it. 6 short months from today, I'll be getting married. No longer single. (Not ever). Party of 2, please. Farewell Miss B indeed. Good God, can that be right?

Don't get me wrong, I'm truly excited to be getting married, especially to be solidifying my already firm relationship with Clay. It's just a whole lot of new stuff to think about... Like finances, the nest egg, buying a house, future children. Life-plan sort of stuff.

Exciting, right? But just, well, a lot. Like you're staring at the whole world right before you, which is pretty amazing to be at your fingertips, but also kind of intimidating. I mean, it's the world. What do I do with it? Am I thinking responsibly? How do I make sure I don't screw it up? And am I setting the strongest foundation possible to carry me (us) through the years?

Clay says I worry too much. What, me? Nah.

Anyway. Let's get us married first. And before we can get married, we've got to have a wedding that passes through all of my checklists (I'm so Type A), so let's see where I am with all of this planning hoo-ha:

• Select and purchase invitations, and hire a calligrapher, if desired. Ha! No!
  

• Start planning a honeymoon. I've put Clay in charge of this one. Some things you've just got to pass off. However, I don't think he's made any progress... Hmm... Better check on that.
  

• Shop for bridesmaids' dresses. Totally going the J. Crew route, I'm not afraid to say it. They have adorable dresses! I'm down to 2 color swatches, both slightly different shades of gray. Will have to decide soon so my beautiful ladies can place their orders!
  

• Meet with the officiant. Hmm. No.
  

• Send Save the Date cards, if desired. Working on these, but they're harder than I thought! Especially since I'm trying to make them tie in to the actual invitations. Hoping to send these out in the next couple weeks, at least before school is out for the summer. Wish me luck...
  

• Reserve structural and electrical necessities. Nope. Not this either. But lucky for me, I don't have too many of these; my venue provides a lot of the extras. Just need to make my rain plan and I'll be good to go.
  

• Book a florist. Uhh... no. This is one of those areas where I'm trying to save money, and so I may end up contacting the floral departments of either Whole Foods or Central Market. Still on the fence. Who knew flowers could be so expensive?

• Arrange transportation. Ah! My first yes! Clay's dad has already taken care of this, and I totally wish I could reveal our pimp ride, but it's a secret! It'll be better anyway to see it in person. Definitely a wow factor. Can't wait!
  

• Start composing a day-of timeline. Start? Why, yes! Finalize? Far from it. Tinkering with this, but I do have a pretty good starting point, so I'll go ahead and check this one off (if anything, just to boost my self-esteem over my pitiful progress).
  

Whoa. Not a lot of green answers up there; how depressing. Not my most productive month (er, 2 months). But wait! I did manage to clean up some past-due checklist items:

• Pick your wedding party. Now for this one, I'm digressing. I prematurely checked it off the list here, but we never actually notified anyone. Clay is still finalizing his boys, but my bridesmaids are locked in as of this week. Hurray! A more detailed, gushy-girly post to follow.
  

• Purchase a dress. YES! yes :) Oh yeah. Yuppers. You got that right, uh-huh, boo-ya!
  

• Set up a wedding website. Sooo close. Days away. I've got one up, just not perfected yet ;) I'm such a tinkerer (and if that isn't a word, then it should be made one, just for me).
  

• Book the officiant. Uncle Claude is our man, as mentioned here.
  

• Settle on a head count. While I don't have an *official* number, I think we are settling in the ballpark of 150. (Gulp.) When I started planning this thing, I was shooting for 75. Whoops.

Ah, that's better. Much more green in the picture, which sadly makes me feel better about myself and my wedding planning skills. Hey, I'll take what I can get. Good thing the next two months are pretty tame in terms of planning. I'll use that time to finish up the top part of this list.

So. Many. Details. But alas, onward! Unsolicited gifts of ice cream pints and bubbly wine will be accepted unconditionally for the next 6 months. Don't be shy.

[List Source: Real Simple Wedding's 6-7 month checklist]

Countdown Checklist: 8 months

Time for my monthly wedding planning check in to see how I'm coming along with the details, according to Real Simple Weddings magazine. For the record, I would like to point out that I got gypped by 2 days this month because of stupid February having only 28 days. Messing up my stats. The nerve.

And now for the "8 Months Before" checklist:

• Book the photographer/ videographer. Check! For photographer anyway: Cory Ryan is our gal. Video is something we've contemplated cutting out of the budget, but now I'm having second thoughts. It'd be pretty cool to watch our wedding video 30 years from now and comment on how good looking and skinny and young we were. TBD on that.

• Book the entertainment. Check! Well, halfway. Again. Clay's in charge of this one and has made initial contact with a talented friend of ours to play ceremony music. For the reception, we'll probably go iPod, with maybe a short live music set in there somewhere to keep things interesting. Still need to solidify all of this, but we definitely have a plan. I give myself credit for vision (sort of like when your mom used to give you an E for Effort).

• Book the caterer this month or early next. Check! Salt Lick BBQ. Oh yeah.
  

• Purchase a dress. Nope. Not yet. I have a couple things up my sleeve, though, so I'm pretty sure I'll have this done by the end of this month. It can't come soon enough, believe me. I think I might have to buy myself a pint-sized serving of Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream in personal celebration after checking this one off the ol' list. What? Don't judge.

• Book a block of hotel rooms for out-of-town guests. Check! This wasn't too bad considering that, both Clay and I having grown up in Austin, most of our guests are local or have local connections via family and/or friends. Although who knew that it'd be mildly difficult to secure courtesy blocks with downtown Austin hotels during the month of October? Two words: football season. Most places I called wanted some sort of payment up front, or an 80% commitment, or some other ridiculous demand. Long story short, I got a low rate and a higher rate with the Wyndham Garden Inn and the Embassy Suites downtown, respectively. Hopefully that should cover it.

• Register. Check! ... Although we're still fine tuning the third registry. Crate & Barrel and Williams-Sonoma are solid after Clay and I spent an entire Sunday up close and personal with a merch gun. I'm afraid I can't tell you about the third registry site in fear that you'll look it up and see all the crazy/ fake things we registered for, all in good fun of course. Again, I feel like being nice to myself today, so I'll let me have this one, too: the little Check! exclamation and subsequent green explanatory paragraph. All yours (mine).

• Set up a wedding website. Working on it. I actually have 2 in the works right now. And if you count this blog, 3. I'd say this wedding is pretty viral so far, but no, still no *official* wedding website as of yet. That will have to be its own exciting blog post.

And if you will recall from this posting over a month ago, I still had some unfinished business to attend to from the last Countdown Checklist. In the spirit of being thorough, here are last month's incomplete items and their current status:

• Book the officiant. Ugh, so close. Gimme like 2 days, I'm on it, I swear.

• Settle on a head count. Nope. Still unsettled. And I have to admit, I'm gonna drag this one out until April 28-29 when Save the Dates are dropped in the mail, because yes, it is that hard.

• Determine the bridal party. Yes! Still need to tell a few people, though, which we're trying to do in person as much as possible. That too will be an exciting blog post to look forward to, once all our peeps have been notified.

So there you have it. Ahh. That's nice. I don't know about you, but lists make me feel better. Out of my head and onto my computer screen. Even an old receipt or my hard-back journal will do. Better out that in, is what a friend of mine's mom always used to say. Although I think she was referring to it in grosser terms, considering we were about 8 years old when she first said it and I'm pretty sure we had just gotten sick after gorging ourselves on movie theater candy, but it works here just as well. Sometimes wedding planning can make you feel gross and icky and semi-nautious. Especially when you haven't made much progress in a while and have started to let big things pile up (dress! officiant! help!).

What I'm saying is that it makes me feel better inside knowing that I can vomit all of my syrupy junk onto my blog and then feel an immediate sense of relief afterward. Better out than in. It's weird the things you keep with you after all these years.

Countdown Checklist: 9 months

Today marks my first important landmark in the world of wedding planning: the 9-month mark. Woohoo, getting closer! This means I have precisely less time to finish planning my wedding than it takes to make a baby. Yeah, that's right. I said it. Well bring it on, baby. Bring it!

One of the more helpful checklists I've encountered amongst the barrage of wedding checklists out there comes from one of my favorite magazines, Real Simple Weddings. These people have a way of laying it all out there without feeling too busy, overwhelming, and scary, which is probably exactly why I keep referencing their books so often.


So since 10/30/10 is 9 months away as of today, here's a peek at how I'm faring so far with the planning according to Real Simple's "Sixteen to Nine Months Before" checklist:

• Start a wedding folder or binder. Tear out pages that inspire you... Oh, you know I'm all over this organizational shizz, for real. Check!
  

• Work out your budget. Determine how much you have to spend and how much your families are kicking in. This was definitely one of the more uncomfortable to-do's, and it's one that you have to deal with very first in order for everything else to fall into place. Merging two families' values and expenses can be a trip, but we managed to pull through. Check, for this one too.
  

• Build your wedding party. Darn. Wish I could say we have this down, too, but when it comes to Clay's friends, there's no logical division; he's close with everyone! It took some time to convince him that 10 groomsmen and 10 bridesmaids is not exactly kosher. We're getting close, though, and I think will eventually settle on the traditional 2-6 number for each side.
  

• Settle on a head count. Ah, after the money, the hardest part of the planning. Especially when the bride is a champion for small and the groom knows no limits. I wish we could invite everyone we know! But rule of thumb for saving money on a wedding is to keep your numbers down. This may take a few more weeks for us.
  

• Hire a planner, if desired. Do I count as my own? Let's go with yes. Check.
  

• Book your date and venues. Yes! 10.30.2010 at Allan House in Austin, TX. Check, check!
  

• Book your officiant. We have an idea of who we want: Clay's Uncle Claude, who also officiated Clay's sister Courtney's beautiful wedding in the Bahamas last spring. We both like the idea of having a family member unite us. Just need to make that official phone call. :: Fingers crossed that he's in! ::
  

• Research photographers, bands, florists, and caterers. See answer to #1. Research + organization = my cup of tea. Check!
  

• Insert the name of vendors and their contact information into a master contact list. Rinse and repeat. Check!
  

• Throw an engagement party, if you like. Eh, I'm not too concerned about this one. There will be so many bridal showers, couples showers, bachelor/bachelorette parties, etc. that what's one more to the mix? We will do plenty of partying this year, I promise.
  

How did I do? 6 out of 10. Hey, I'll take it! Some of these I'll probably have nailed down in the next week or so, anyway, so I'm a little better off than the numbers suggest.

Every time I check something off the ol' list, I always get a certain rush, because it means I'm that much closer to the big day. I'm getting married!! (Sorry. Sudden outbursts like that happen sometimes.) I have a feeling the next 9 months are going to fly by.