Done done and done

I received an email from one of the wedding websites I stalk/read, and it kind of made me laugh. Apparently we're REALLY far head of schedule....

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!!! This month you need to:

Announce your engagement with a wedding website and use Wedding Mapper to let guests know your key locations. Already done...check out http://www.adamandgayle.com/

Map out your budget. Determine who is contributing financially.
We have. And we're screwed.

Create the guest list to get an approximate headcount.
80 people fit in the restaurant, so that's our headcount. I think more than a handful of cousins and friends are going to be peeved to not be on the list, but sorry folks, that's the way it is.

Determine your wedding style.
We're going with "simple elegance". No huge bridal party, no matching monogrammed key chains as favors. No favors at all actually. And a bevy of Do It Myself projects.

Hire a wedding planner, if desired.
Which one would that be? The lady who charged $900 for 7 hours of Day of Coordination? Or the company that we should have called the second Adam proposed to me to help us at every step - charging $18,000 TO START. Thta'd be a no. We're doing this with the help of great vendors and good friends. Wedding planner my ass, what do you call ME???

Introduce your two sets of parents (if they haven't already met).
Mrs. BrideMomma and Mrs. GroomMomma have met....imagine that the first time everyone will get together will be at the rehearsal dinner.

Throw an engagement party.
Why? So we can invite people to give us more gifts than they were already planning? Wait, that makes it sound bad, okay maybe we should do this. Not. The reality is we won't have one because most of the people we would want to invite either a) aren't in town so can't come or b) the people who could come aren't included on our 80 headcount so that would just be all sorts of awkward.

Browse wedding dresses.
Done done and DONE! I LOVE my dress! Besides, if I have to look at one more wedding gown I think I might scream.

Tour local ceremony and reception sites.
There was no question where our ceremony be so that was easy (oh, and we paid off the site fee a YEAR IN ADVANCE!) Reception was a little more complicated but we picked that too. Sadly we are no where near paying that off. But cross this off the list cuz it's done too!

Interview local caterers.
Don't need to do this since the restaurant is a, well, a restaurant.

Talk to local photographers and/or videographers.
We picked our photo maven last year too. After much research and interviewing, this was probably the most fun decision and one of the most important. Can't wait to work with Heather!

Have your engagement portrait taken.
We're going to schedule this for the spring, hopefully after yours trully feels a little less self conscious about being photographed.

Set the date.
OCTOBER 10, 2009!!!!

So what's next?