Day Three! We are just starting the planning process. Enjoy it!

Ok, did you do it?  Did you and your loved one sit down and talk about the big bad budget?  Look people if you don’t set a budget you cannot plan smart.   Without a budget you’re like a boat without an oar, “Our thoughts create our reality — where we put our focus is the direction we tend to go. Peter McWilliams,” “One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular. Anthony Robbins”

What other little saying can I come up with to help you see how important this is?  SET ONE, that’s it.  Here is a site where you can download a free excel spreadsheet to keep track of all you expenses!  I love this thing.  I am so glad I found it.  It is one of the first things I send to all our brides http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/wedding-budget.html  Yes I am giving away our secrets.  Use this tool!  Ok Our pretend couple has set a budget of $30,000 for 300 guests.

Start thinking about the overall style and theme of your reception. Again I will say you need a focal point to help you in the sea of ideas.  Your colors, your font of your invitations, the flowers you like (make sure you can afford them Oh yeah the concept of budget again!,) traditional, non traditional….   If you were one of our Brides this is the time you would meet with our Decor Designers, Julie and Miranda

Senior Decor Designers They can make a cardboard box look good!

Miranda and Julie will talk with you about Designing the perfect day and how to do it.  Watch for their advice!  You don’t want to miss that.

Set the date and locations Here is some advice I love from Al’s Formal Wear

Dates Available

• If your heart is set on a specific location such as a church or reception site, you’ll need to check right away. Popular venues book far in advance, and I am talking far. Some are up to 2 or more years in advance, so call them as soon as possible to get a sense of dates they have available.
• Keep in mind that when you have the ceremony at one location and the reception at another, you’ll need to coordinate availability at both sites.
• Pull your work calendar and your fiancé’s so you can schedule time for the wedding and honeymoon. Many people have jobs in which there is a “busy season” so you’ll want to avoid work conflicts.

Holidays

• Many venues host more than just weddings, so they’ll book up for holiday parties as well.  CAUTION, some venues may charge extra during holidays make sure you check with your venue for any added costs
• You may elect to hold your wedding during a holiday, such as Labor Day, because you and your family will have additional time off work in order to travel and visit.
• During holidays, such as Christmas, many venues put up additional decorations and floral arrangements, so you can take advantage of this and save money in your budget.

Special Dates

• Keep in mind special dates of your parents and not so special dates – lots of parents do not want their children getting married on the date of marriages that didn’t last – and believe me, you want to keep the folks happy so they’ll pick up the tab!

Vacation Time

• Plan around vacation time available for your and your soon-to-be spouse because you want a nice long honeymoon and you don’t want to have to rush! Trust me, you’ll need the rest after the wedding planning!

Relatives’ Birthdays

• If someone in your family or your fiancé’s family is having an important birthday, such as their 50th, you’ll want to select another date so that you don’t compete with their celebration.

Reserve the ceremony site Reserve this first before the reception, why?  Well reception sites can do several weddings at a time, Churches and Synogogues cannot.  So, before you put money down on a reception site make sure the Church you went to as a little girl, where your Grandparents and your parents were married is available.

Reserve reception site  This is a biggy!  This will play into your budget big time.  So with our budget set out we can begin our search! 

STAY TUNED AS WE GET QUOTES ON 2011 PRICES FOR POPULAR BLOOMINGTON NORMAL RECEPTION SITES

Our couple wants something different so we are going to look at

The Bloomington Center for Performing Arts  http://www.cityblm.org/bcd/

Davis Lodge at Lake Bloomington http://www.cityblm.org/page.asp?show=section&id=2811

Here is an interesting pdf you might look into http://www.cityblm.org/parks/Parks-Facilities/pdfs/RentalBrochure.pdf

Station 220 (Central Station)   http://www.centralstation.cc/  Love Stephan by the way does a fantastic job could not say enough!

Crestwicke Country Club  http://www.crestwicke.com/  Sally is terrific.

We will also check out the more traditional

Eastland Suites  http://www.eastlandsuites.com/index.cfm/id:2  Kim is FANTASTIC!

The Marriott Hotel http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bmimc-bloomington-normal-marriott-hotel-and-conference-center/  Gorgeous

The Doubletree Hotel  http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/hotel/BMIDTDT-Doubletree-Hotel-Bloomington-Illinois/index.do  AJ is a great guy!

The Parke Hotel  http://www.parkehotel.com/  Tell Tammy we said Hi when you check them out!

The Holiday Inn Airport http://www.holidayinn.com/hotels/us/en/bloomington/bmiil/hoteldetail  Jamie and Kayla are so sweet and helpful!

Block Hotel accommodations for out–of–town guests.  We like to book hotels near things like food, shopping.  Keep that in mind when blocking rooms.  Note:  The rooms will only be held until thirty days BEFORE the wedding.  Make sure your guests know that so when they call the week of the wedding and the rate is higher or there are no rooms they will not yell at the desk clerk. 

 

Book your hotel room for your wedding night and pre wedding night.  It is wise to book a room at a different hotel than the one your guests are staying at, unless you don’t mind eating breakfast with them the next day.

 

Select your wedding party attendants.  This can be tricky.  You cannot have everyone in your wedding!  Be selective.  I thought the Knot had some great advice on Bridesmaid and their duties  check it out when considering who you pick.  Will they be helpful or problematic?

 

Send your engagement notice to your local newspaper. Be sure to get multiple copies of the newspaper in order to send to grandparents and family members.  DO NOT INCLUDE THE DATE OF YOUR WEDDING  it is sad but often homes are broken into when the names of the families and the wedding dates are put in the paper.  Yes they can look up the address and of course no one will be home because they will be at their daughter’s wedding!  CAUTION!!!

 

Wow that is alot of  information!  See you Tomorrow!

2010 Margaret Moore, www.simpleeleganceeventsandweddings.com
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Event Planning entrepreneur Margaret Moore with Simple Elegance Events and Wedding Designs publishes this weekly e-zine. Get your FREE  “My Dream Wedding without the Nightmare”  at www.simpleeleganceventsandweddings.com