Planning a Wedding: My Sanity Will Survive Pt 1

My current fiance proposed on Thanksgiving day in 2011 and we are getting married on October 6, 2012.  At the time of our wedding we will have been together for 3 years, been raising a teenager for a year, and been homeowners for a year and a half.  No one can say we are "starting our life together" in a "normal" fashion.

Valentine's Day 2010

I started my wedding planning early .... in January.  The first step I took in planning my big day (not including those bridal magazines) was to buy my dress.  I knew that my dress would set the tone of the day and it had to be perfect!  I think I tried on 50 different dresses at 3 different shops before I found the one!

Michael and I knew from the outset that we wanted our wedding to be outside.  Neither of us feel like the inside of a church is ever "pretty" and we felt that a garden wedding was more suitable to our personalities.  I  live in Arkansas, which is full of beautiful parks and nature and we live near Hot Springs, AR which is full of beautiful historic homes.  I never thought it would be hard to find a venue, but boy were our options limited!  Most of the outdoor venues in our area either did not have a backup location in case of rain or limited us to less than 20 guests!  Finally we found it, the Old Mill Wedding Chapel. The Old Mill had a beautiful garden area, an indoor chapel, and a great indoor reception hall that was pre-decorated and gorgeous!

Next: Vendor Options for the Big Day