Featured Bride, Anne M. | Wedding Location: Ramsey, MN | Wedding Date: August 4, 2012 We have loved being engaged, and since our wedding date is quite a ways out, we have had plenty of time to simply take in the joys of being an engaged couple! While I look at wedding things, and think about wedding things, I have yet to pull the trigger on any of the details.  Having things planned out in my head isn’t quite going to cut it, but even so, this is what I envision thus far:

Wedding planning and inspiration boards.

I feel like I am in a very strange place with our wedding timeline; we have well over a year to go so I feel I have lots of time to be "lazy." However, I have a lot of friends and family asking questions about the specifics, which makes me feel very overwhelmed! So instead of just winging it, we sat down the other night and gave ourselves deadlines of when we would like to have certain things planned out.

This shouldn't be difficult...right?

Making the list put a lot into perspective. We started out thinking it would be fairly simple, and as we got going, we thought off more and more things that needed to be on the list. Before we knew it, our list was rather lengthy and we needed a longer piece of paper for our timeline! It was great to sit down together and talk about the things that will need to go into not just the wedding day, but all the things surrounding the wedding day, like showers, the rehearsal, registering for gifts, etc. Our planning adventure is pretty nontraditional in the sense that we are so far away from our wedding venue (2,000 miles to be exact). Luckily, we are headed back to Minneapolis for Kevin’s brother’s wedding in July (and our timeline that week is jam packed!). It will be the perfect time to try on dresses and visit some rehearsal dinner venues, because we will be with our families, which makes it much more special.

Here is what is coming up on our wedding timeline:

• Finalize wedding budget

• Start wedding guest list (I figure the earlier the better, that way our mothers can make their additions as well!)

• Start wedding website

• Research vendors for the decorations we have envisioned and narrow down to three options to visit when in Minneapolis

These steps definitely aren’t the exciting details that you think of when planning a wedding, but it all must get done for the show to go on! Starting early and small will help us stay excited and keep us focused on the big picture!

From one bride to another...

I have learned two important things in these few months being engaged: Take the time to make a list of what needs to get done. There are some great planning resources out there that will help you schedule what should be done by when. This has really put our plans into the works because it holds us accountable for crossing things off. I definitely don't want to be stressed out a few months before the wedding because nothing is done! My second bit of advice is to enjoy being engaged! It is a really special time, and while there is a lot to think about and plan, there is a lot of growing and togetherness that is formed during the engagement period. I see too many friends/acquaintances get stressed out over the to-do list of wedding planning. Having an appropriate timeline and remembering that planning the wedding is supposed to be fun will keep everything running smoothly.

Until next month, Happy Planning!

Follow Anne M. and her wedding planning journey here on My Wedding Chat all the way from Portland, Oregon.  If you are interested in becoming a My Wedding Chat Featured Bride and sharing your wedding story with brides and wedding-lovers alike, email bmadsen@weddingshoppeinc.com for more information! Other Featured Bride Posts You’ll Love: Who, What, When, Where… Wedding Flowers – DIY? Clinging to What Matters – 11 Days to Go

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