Things I Plan With

With wedding planning comes lots and lots of things to keep track of. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it all without the necessary tools. The weekend after the proposal, I went to Borders and Walmart to purchase fun wedding planning things, and have accumulated items over the months that have come in handy.

Literature:

On my trip to Borders I looked through several wedding planning books that offered different advise and toll kits to help the future bride. Of all the books on the shelf, the one I chose seemed to combine all the good parts of the other books, and none of the random things I knew I wouldn't ever need. "The Wedding Book: The Big Book For Your Big Day" by Mindy Weiss has great advice, helpful questions from real brides answered by Mindy, and quizzes and worksheets.

I've also collected a random assortment of wedding magazines I've gotten inspiration from. Since I've already bought my dress, much of the advertisements are useless to me, but I've found several pictures and articles that I've cut out for my binder.

Supplies:

Being a teacher I love love love school supplies. During a trip to Target I purchased a cheap pencil case and a few new things that I knew would be useful in my organization.

In my pencil case are a few essentials:

• scissors
• scotch tape
• 3 colors of gel pens
• 2 highlighters
• small stapler and staples
• mechanical pencils
• mini post-it notes in 4 colors

My binder also came with a 3-hole punch that comes in handy. I had a plastic folder laying around that I use to hold blank paper and clear paper protectors which are great for holding small catalogs I get from different vendors.

Organizers:

The first is my wedding binder. I found it in the clearance section at Walmart. It's from the Martha Stewart wedding collection and is in an adorable shade of robin's egg blue. It came with check lists, business card holders, divider tabs in different categories, and many other helpful little things. I added 5 more tabs to the end of the binder in categories like ceremony, reception, attendants, and beauty. It's already pretty full, so I hope I won't have to buy a second binder in the future.

The second organizer is my Macbook Pro! I cannot express how much I heart this computer. I have a wedding document folder that holds any pictures I find inspiring as well as the guest list and other important docs. Plus, it's where I access this planning blog and other blogs I follow that are wedding related... I listed them in the right-hand column of this blog for easy access.

I can't imagine trying to plan a wedding without internet access or a computer. It makes life soooo much easier!

I carry all these things around with me on trips, to Jimmy's house, and around my house in a Disney reusable tote. It's getting pretty heavy, but it's sooo adorable! Adorable is key!!

I'm sure every bride-to-be has some sort of organizational system, and this is what works for me!!