We are officially getting married in less than a year! It’s totally crazy to think that we will be husband and wife before I know it. This January, we will celebrating being together for half a decade….5 whole crazy years. Every day I am grateful to have found Brian so young. But, enough of that mushy stuff.
Since it is less than a year now, we are (attempting) to take wedding planning seriously. Most days, I would like to pull my hair out, mainly because of sticker shock (whyyy does it cost so much??). However, I am having fun thinking about all of the possibilities. We have about 10 months until we say “I do!” and here is what we have planned so far:
Our Venue
We booked our venue in July. We had decided on on a different venue originally because it was a good price and fit the theme that we wanted. However, the venue we decided on really comes to about the same cost even though it seems like more. The venue we ultimately chose provides a great deal more value too. My advice: don’t pick a venue because it’s cheap. Pick a venue because the cost provides you with everything you want and then some.
We chose a barn that is about 40 minutes from Pittsburgh. I know, barns are all the rage right now, when is going to stop? I went with a barn because that was an affordable way to have more of hang out gathering with a bonfire, than having a fancy wedding. Fancy isn’t our thing.
Our Photographer
Oh man…this was a difficult one. I had a certain style I wanted (because, hello…photographer here!) and have a limited budget. I found a photographer through a Facebook group. We are super happy that we found her! We had our engagement photos taken by her at the beginning of October and we love them. I can’t wait to have her photograph our wedding day. If you’re interested in checking out her work, go to her website: http://www.samanthataylorphoto.com/
Want to see more engagement photos? I added more to the bottom of this post ;).
Our Caterer
Catering was a big deal for us too. We specifically knew that we wanted BBQ. To be honest, it’s difficult to find good BBQ in Pittsburgh. We decided to book The Flame BBQ. Their pulled pork is great! I highly recommend giving them a try if you’re in the Pittsburgh area. We specifically go to the Cranberry Township location.
The Dress
On September 23, I said yes to the dress! I invited my mom, my grandma, my step mom, my step mom’s mom, my fiance’s mom, and my best friend (matron of honor) to my first dress appointment at an off-the-rack shop This Magic Moment Bridal Studio. I mainly chose this shop because I wanted to keep within my budget for buying a dress, but it ended up being so much more than that. It was an absolutely amazing experience that I wish I could do all over again. Each of my guests got to pick a dress and the two owners picked a few also. I ended up picking the first dress that I tried on and it was my best friend’s choice!
Other things I’m working on…
- Centerpieces – I’ve narrowed it down, but nothing official yet
- Bridesmaid dresses – Work in progress
- DJ – this has been nightmare that I’m hoping to be finished with at the end of this week
- Groom and groomsmen attire – I still have no clue. Brian votes speedo…I say no
- Save the Dates and Invites – Save the Dates will only be going to certain people, not everyone. I have a design in mind and will be sending them out in January. Invites will be mailed at the beginning of summer probably and RSVP’s will be done online.
- Anything else I’m not mentioning – work in progress…aka, overwhelmed 🙂
A few more engagement photos:
All photos in this post were taken by Samantha Taylor Photography. All photos will take you to her website if you click on them.