TOP 10 Wedding Planning Sites

Mr. Hess and I have had A LOT of things we've been working on for the wedding lately, but to be honest they are all things that I didn't really want to share my blogpage because it would give tooooo much away about our BIG DAY.  A lot of what we are doing especially for our reception, we want to be a surprise for our guests. Since a lot of them frequent our site, I have to hold off on some things that are KILLING ME not to share...but don't worry - the wedding is almost 2 months away!  :)

One huge thing we have both been working hard on is getting our Bridal Party presents done...and this hasn't been an easy task by any means.  We both have known what we want to get our guys and girls, but knowing and actually picking out and purchasing things are different stories! I'm happy to say that after quite some time we are well on our way to finishing those and I can't wait to share with all of you...(Of course, you probably won't find out until after the wedding day, since that's when they will all see them...oops, sorry for the teaser there).

Other things we've been working on include decor for the ceremony & the reception, and that's something I definitely want to leave more on the private side.  I've given you the color scheme, Wedding Hints, location & the themes we're going with, so hopefully that will hold you all over for a little bit.... 

This is a pretty good picture of what it looks like when Mr. Hess and I plan online!

Okay, since I'm not being a very good at sharing all of those details, I am going to share with you my:

 TOP 10 WEDDING PLANNING Sites!  

  

Each one of these listed below has helped me come up with cool ideas, get organized, or even get me through a hard place.  I have either heard about these sites from friends, read about them on blogs, or stumbled upon them in my planning adventures.   

So, in no particular order...here they are:

1. www.weddingchicks.com/: I found this site through a friend &  have gotten TONS of ideas, inspirations and links to sister sites off of here.  I am pretty much in love with every real wedding that's featured here and I have even found a vendor or two through this one.
2. http://weddinggawker.com/: another one of my friend's shared this one with me & suggested that I submit my blog to this site, and I will hopefully figure out how to do that!  Here you can find (again) TONS of ideas, pictures & blogsites that can help make your big day truly unique! I could seriously spend a day doing nothing but looking at stuff on here....lol.
3. www.etsy.com/: my absolute hands down favorite website to order anything handmade from.  This one has definitely helped me pick out some adorable additions to my day, as well as gifts for my other friends who are getting married!
4. http://my-wedding-concierge.com/: this is actually an iPhone app, but a full computer version is available and is absolutely amazing.  This site makes it soooo easy to find great vendors in your city & I LOVE how they feature blogs about every category right next to any search, from real brides.  TONS of great info and pictures to inspire you!
5. www.weddingwindow.com: the website we used to create our very own wedding website!  This one is also helpful for planning, budgeting, and keeping your RSVP list straight.
6. www.theknot.com: a great tool to use for keeping a budget, planning, vendor info & even creating your wedding website.  Here you can also find apps to download on your phone & endless tips to help you along the way!
7. www.zazzle.com/: HERE is where we ordered our fabulous customized HBSH wedding stamps from.  They have tons of other accessories, labels, t-shirts, and more you can customize and order for your big day.
8. www.weddingwire.com/: I found A LOT of helpful reviews on my vendors here.  I spent a good amount of time researching what others had to say about their companies before we hired anyone!  Also, this one is great for wedding planning, budgeting, and you can even chat with other brides.
9. www.ourweddingday.com/: I've found a lot of helpful articles on this one topics like Wedding Day do's & don'ts, how to keep wedding costs down, and planning tips.
10. www.savethedatemagnet.com/: HERE is where we got our Save the Date Magnets from!  I thought they were pretty cool, reasonally priced & if you click on the top left corner it navigates you to newandblue.com, a great blog site with lots of wedding related Q&A, pics and articles.

AND THERE YOU HAVE THEM!  I'm sure there are a lot more great websites out there dedicated to help brides & grooms plan their day, but those are the ones that I've personally enjoyed using the most.  On top of those, I frequent bride-to-be blogpages whenever I can and I've truly enjoyed sharing what I've learned with others as well.

So, I hope that ties you over for a few more days...Mr. Hess and I are still spending most of our time right now finishing up a lot of the "secret" details & will have much more to share with you verrrrrrry soon! And, I'll try to share some of those gifts I was talking about when they are revealed to their rightful owners... ;)

Until then, 73 days to go!

Presh

Finding the perfect Tux!

TUXES have been something Mr. Hess and I have been trying to get done for a looooong time.  You would think that it doesn't take that long to go into a tux store, get the groom measured and pick out what the guys in the bridal party will be wearing for your wedding....but lo and behold here we were trying to make something simple more difficult than it has to be...for months!   
Big surprise, right?!

After months of searching online, going into tux stores and finally making some decisions - we found the tuxes the guys will be wearing! (Can I take a second to say a Hallelujah?!)...YAY! 

Closing the notebooks because the decision is MADE!

The search began a few months ago when Mr. Hess and I decided we wanted the guys to be in gray.  Although we have used some black and white in our decor, we thought the gray would be a better summery look, as well as more contemporary and casual which is what our wedding is alllll about.  So, the search began online and we searched high and low under the "contemporary gray suit" category.  You wouldn't believe what kind of crazy stuff showed up, but finally we found a picture we both LOVED and went off of it for inspiration to dress our guys.

The first stop was Men's Warehouse.  This is a great place to rent or buy a tux, and the service was very good, but they just didn't have the selection we were looking for.  Bummed, Mr. Hess and I went back home to look online again at what stores would have the kind of tux we were looking for.  We loved this picture we found SO much, Mr. Hess actually contacted the photographer who took it and it turns out the wedding was from a few years back and the guys actually bought half of it from Target online and rented the rest from a tux store.  How crazy is that?!  Sounds very practical, if you ask me...I'm all about being able to find stuff for everyone that they can re-use, but at the same time that also sounds like a unnecessary headache.  Locating 9 (10 including the Groom, & 11 including the Ring Bearer) pants and jackets in the same style, all in the right sizes and altering them just didn't sound like something we wanted to deal with...so the search continued...

Searching and searching for THE ONE!

FINALLY, shortly after we decided to give up on the finding pieces for everyone adventure, we decided to hop back on the computer and pray to find something in a store close by similar to what we wanted.  What's this? Jos. A BANK contemporary gray tuxes?  AHHH! HERE YOU ARE!  I can't believe it was right in front of us the entire time!  I guess the reason I didn't think to use this store was because my friend Britt used them for her wedding back in November, and said some of the tuxes ended up coming in in the wrong sizes and that's just something nobody has time to deal with.  BUT, Jos A. BANK was the store that had THE TUX we were looking for....so what do you do right?  We decided to risk it, and went to the closest Jos. A BANK store next to us, which happened to be RIGHT NEXT TO the shop I got my bridal gown at - DUH!!! I seriously can't believe it was literally right under our noses this entire time, but the important thing is we found it! :)

Once we got there, we instantly found the tux we were looking at and signed that baby up under our names.  DONE!  Or so you might think...? Of course, Mr. Hess and I were not content with the idea of just picking out a tie from their store, and the reason for this is because they just didn't have the color we were looking for. 

Bow ties?! Probably not...but I wanted a picture of them! Where's OUR color combo?

You know our colors by now: Pink & Lime Green!  That color combo is not something you see everyday, especially in the shades we're working with, and especially not at a traditional tux store!  SO....after the tux store we made a trip to the good 'ol outlet malls.  We had already been looking at the Millenia Mall as well as online, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything we were missing out on at the outlets for design ideas, or for price.  And I am happy to report we found some great options, in fact, too many options!  Mr. Hess ended up buying one tie, but we still love 2 others from the same store and it's going to take trying to find enough of these guys online to make the decision for us of which one to go with.  But...I think I've given you enough details and Mr. Hess is probably going to say I've given away TOO many...so I'll just leave the rest up to your imaginations!

Happy Camper...lol.  Just imagine what the inseem measurement was like! ;)

So there you have it - the saga of finding our perfect tuxes!  It seemed to be a long, kind of confusing, and somewhat frustrating road, but we HAVE THEM!  And I have to say, seeing Mr. Hess try a similar jacket on to what we picked instantly gave me goosebumps.  I pictured what it would be like to see him in THE tux on THE wedding day, and I got a little teary eyed.  I really, really, really can't wait.

Now if we could just get him to shave that beard!!! ;)

78 days until it's TUX TIME!

Presh

Wedding Hint #7

Starting out May with a Wedding Hint!

I chose to do this one in a video format & you'll see why when you watch it:

I thought the cutout was pretty neat - so kudo's on that, Dad!

Ready, Set, Summer!

It's been a wonderful and magical year so far, and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my job - but I can officially say I will have my nights and weekends FREE of work for at least a few months and it couldn't have come at a better time! Mr. Hess and I both work hard all year long, and it's finally that time of year when we get some down time, or in this case some much needed wedding planning time.  For the last 3 days I have actually gotten a full night's sleep, naps, AND checked things off of our ongoing, evergrowing Wedding "TO DO" List. 

First thing to get checked off?!
Purchasing my WEDDING BAND!!!!!
We FINALLY found exactly what we were looking for, and to my surprise it is actually opposite of what I initially was looking for.  It in no way "matches" my Engagement Ring, but instead has a completely different look and I am IN LOVE!!!! In just 6-8 weeks, she will be home in our possession ready for the BIG DAY! :) As for Mr. Hess's? Eh...we are still going back and forth between 2.  You think picking out a wedding band can't be THAT difficult, but believe me...it can be.  We're almost there and I have confidence we will be purchasing his very shortly as well.

What else have we been up to in these past few "summer" days? EVERYTHING! It sounds so funny, but seriously the DAY my break started from my night job I was on the computer like white on rice.  I answered e-mails, scheduled appointments, e-mailed my bridal party, researched more accessories, and really started the ball rolling on tieing up some loose ends.  And the best part is...Mr. Hess is right there with me!  He doesn't really know this (until now, if he's reading) but it really melts my heart when he initiates doing something for the wedding.  I got butterflies today when he posted this song he heard onto his personal page and said it got him really excited about the summer & the wedding:

He can be an absolute sweetheart when he wants to be! ;) For the first time in A LONG time we are finally really excited about planning again.  You can say we've had a lot on our plates, especially in the last few months, so I am VERY EXCITED to take some deep breaths and really enjoy the process of putting our wedding day together again. YAYYYYYYYY!

Goodbye busy, busy April, May: I have a feeling I'm going to love you...

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on the following:

• Tuxes (SO close...)
• Videography (how important IS this to the budget?)
• Honeymoon (Just a few clicks away from being booked!)
• Invitations (Our part is almost done!)
• Decor (finally starting to see the whole picture)
• Wedding Hint pictures

And I'm sure there will be plenty more along the way...

82 days and counting,

Presh