I have to admit, once the excitement sets in that you’re actually engaged and planning a wedding, it gets a bit overwhelming. There is so much to do, and so many different options. It was high stress for me in the beginning. Since we’re paying for our wedding, we seriously considered eloping to either Greece or Puerto Rico. Trying to decide on this, or having a wedding with all of our friends and family was a source of tears for a couple of weeks. Finally, the fiance sat me down and told me that this was supposed to be a happy time in our lives and to quit getting upset and just focus on all of the positive things in our life. That’s all I needed, and then the fun aspect of wedding planning kicked in!

Now, I can’t say that the overwhelmed feeling exactly went away just like that. There were some things I absolutely knew: photography was extremely important to me, the venue had to be awesome, I wanted a nighttime ceremony with candlelight, and I would not stop until I found the perfect dress, even if that meant I bought two dresses in the process. Speaking of, are any of you brides-to-be looking for a wedding dress? I have a brand new dress with the tags on it ;)

Here comes the part of wedding planning that makes your head spin, or it did mine anyway. The details. What color scheme should I use? Short or long bridesmaid dresses? What type of centerpieces should I have? Should we go with a theme? How should we structure the ceremony? What type of flowers do I want to use? What should we dance to? And the list goes on… The good news is that there are an endless amount of options out there for wedding inspiration, such as Elizabeth Anne Designs, Style Me Pretty, and Rock n’ Roll Bride, to name a few of my favorites during my brainstorming sessions. The bad news is, if you’re indecisive, yet very picky like me, it might take you awhile to come up with the perfect option that’s just right for you. I feel as though I have browsed almost every wedding website and magazine out there. Although, I know that isn’t entirely the truth. I’m finally content with my choices, and I have found ways to fit my wants into my budget. Of course, there are things that I’ve had to give up on along the way. Goodbye, my beautiful chiavari chairs! The fiance didn’t look like he wanted to budge on that cost, considering part of our venue charge is chair rental.

{image by Heather Luebke via the Fab Blog}

My next few posts are going to be dedicated to unique ways to find inspiration, especially for those of us brides that don’t have an unlimited budget at our fingertips. Follow me on my adventure as I found inspiration for engagement photos, color choices, save-the-dates, bridesmaid dresses, centerpieces and decorations, invitations, cakes, and much more.

{Cyd’s bookmark save the dates}