Things To Do When You Get Engaged

One of my favorite engagement pictures! by Gray Photography

I remember our engagement like it was yesterday! Being the Type A girl that I am, I'd been looking at wedding blogs and magazines for awhile. However, there's nothing to compare with that "We're engaged-- now where to start?!?" confusion. Here's a great list I saw on Pinterest this morning, and couldn't help but share with you all.  Do you have any must do tips following your engagement?


As you know, I work as a wedding coordinator. So of course the last "to do" was a delight for me to see!

Get A Manicure

You’re hand is about to be the subject of a lot of photos and constant attention (“Ooh, let me see that ring!”), so don’t embarrass yourself with some chipped, unpolished hot mess of a hand. Get a mani, professional or at-home, as soon as possible.

Settle On A Budget

Whoever is bankrolling your wedding — whether it’s you, your fiance, his parents or yours — needs to sit down and have that uber-awkward, but essential conversation about the wedding budget, including a specific number. Keep all familial relationships in tact by minding this budget down to the last red cent.

Sign Up For Sale Alerts

The gown will be your major purchase, and in my opinion is worth splurging on, but the accessories are not. Even designers like Jimmy Choo and Louboutin go on sale, so set sale alerts by designer name or specific product. 

Insure Your Ring

If your fiance hasn’t done it already, you need to insure your engagement ring immediately. The jeweler where he purchased it should refer you to certified insurers. Don’t forget to ask the jeweler for an appraisal slip which will be used to determine its value.

Sign Up For Pinterest

Holy motherload of inspiration — I honestly don’t know what brides did before Pinterest. It is hands-down the most intuitive and vast resource for inspiration; search and save photos of everything from your dream dress, to DIY favors, mouth-watering cakes and more.

Have ‘The Money Talk’ With Your Fiance

Not only will you have to have that uncomfortable conversation about the wedding budget, you’ll also need to suss out the logistics that come along with merging your bank accounts. What’s yours is mine! isn’t as simple as it sounds.

Sign Up For Trunk Show Alerts

Follow your local bridal boutique on Facebook and refer to your regional bridal magazine for a list of designer trunk shows in your area. At these shows you’ll be able to see and touch the most recent designer gowns — straight off the runway.

Choose A Diet Plan & Start It

If you plan to loose weight for your wedding, the worst thing you can do is wait until the last minute and crash diet. If you plan to loose more than 5 lb., you should give yourself 9-12 months to do it. Choose a proven plan, like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig, and sign up immediately.

Pick A Location

The location — city and venue — is the most significant decision you’ll make for the wedding, so its better to get this discussion started as soon as possible. All parties involved, ie. his family and yours, will have an opinion about where you should be married, so hear all sides.

Hire A Planner

Girl, I don’t care how Type-A, organized, rockstar you are — you’re going to need a wedding planner. At the very, very least for the day-of, but I highly recommend hiring someone to help you for the long haul.

From Bride Finds




A note from Mrs SE--- ENSURE YOUR RING!

Welcome Back

{my thinkpad isn't lonely now that the internet is back}

Oh, hello there friends! The SE's are now back in the 21st century. Luckily I had a half day at work, and I was able to meet my knight in shining armor between 3-5pm. Who's that, you ask? The Comcast internet installer of course. We've been living in the dark ages for almost a month now, and I'm sure I came incredible close to losing it several times.

Recently I realized that we're a hash over 90 (92 to be exact) days from the wedding, and I'm beginning to panic. There was so much time spent enjoying our "fiance" glow, and relishing in all that is wedding idea gathering (or researching as I like to call it). But guess what? It's time to buckle down and make some decisions. Ahem- Mr. SE if you're reading this...that means you marching your fanny down to Men's Wearhouse and picking out some tuxes!

Luckily Mama SE is making another trip to Nashville this weekend, sans my dad, and we'll be doing a lot of lists, charts, and timelines. My favorite! Mom and I are going to make a game-plan of how to get different diy projects done, and delegate tasks for everyone to handle. If you are close to me- look out- I might have a task for you too!

So that was a random word vomit of what's been on my mind the past couple days. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some laundry to put in the dryer and a dog that needs to go out.

Planning Sarah Elizabeth Gets A Planner

I get lots of questions regarding the web address of my blog. No, I'm not a wedding planner and I'm 80% sure that's not in my future. However, I love planning ahead and I've been researching/planning this wedding for a solid 2 years BEFORE we got engaged. Hence the name Planning Sarah Elizabeth. I feel as though "Sarah Elizabeth" is pretty self explanatory, but since we're on the topic I'll clear up some confusion on that as well. I grew up in the DC area, not SEC country. That being said, my name is simply Sarah, not Sarah Elizabeth. I responded to the later while being scolded in my youth, and it does in fact sound more professional. However, I am not a user of the ever common southern "double name".

Onto the topic of this post...I referenced earlier the amount of planning that's already been put into this wedding. After I nailed down the big players (dress, photographer, church, venue, etc), I knew I needed to leave the details up to a professional. There's only so much my little type-A brain can handle, before I start going into a state of nighttime tooth grinding wedding planning meltdown. As Mr. SE and I started choosing the big aspects of our wedding, be both decided that having a "day-of plus a little more" would be well worth the financial commitment. It's important for me (and my mom, aunts, & bridesmaids) to enjoy our wedding day and not stress over the little details. We met with our planner last Saturday, and I can honestly say I felt a weight lifted already!

She's pretty much fantastic. Not only does she have some great weddings under her belt, but she just planned her own Nashville wedding (don't worry- she hired a planner for the big day too). Please meet Kristin of Simply Stunning Events. She's all that and a bag of Garden Salsa Sun Chips. Yeah, I said it. Mr. SE was even excited. Hello? Mr. SE doesn't normally get excited about wedding-related issues.

What was one thing that really lifted your wedding stress? Perhaps a cocktail, girls' night, etc? I could use both of those...

{as we begin booking our big players, I'll be sure to give each of them a shout-out. Also- I'll be providing links to their sites on the left sidebar of my blog}

Changes

***I would like to thank the following wonderful ladies for providing advice and kind words in my time of intense WPM: Little Miss Southern (I heart our gchats), Future Mrs. Smith (I got my hair cut by Kristen and I loved it), The Thirty Something Bride (Don't even know where to begin- you're probably the coolest person I know), The Answer is You (thanks for the lunch date. Can we have another please?)***

I thought about starting this post with some Tupac lyrics, but it turns out those were a little too intense for this G-Rated blog! Mr. SE and I have been undergoing some changes on the wedding front. To make a long story short- I had a total WPM two weeks ago. Don't know what a WPM is? A Wedding Planning Meltdown. To help aid in the confusion and mass pandemonium that will likely ensue, I've created a chart of sorts.

Things that are staying the same: still marrying Mr. SE @ the Cathedral on August 14, 2010
Things that are changing: reception venue, COMPLETE theme of wedding, budget

We're much like T30SB & The Candyman, in that this wedding symbolizes not only our love for one another, but we also want to spend time with close family and friends who we are blessed to have in our lives. Intimate, and personal- that's our goal for the big day.

That being said, our guest list right now is at 180. We've looked at all the normal RSVP rates, but ours is a little different. Yes, it's a destination for 90% of our guests. No, it's not too far (ie Caribbean). We have NO CLUE how many people are going to come. The majority of our guests are within a 4 hour car ride or a 2 hour plane trip. That's a whole different issue that I'll save for another post.

Miss SE's rule on budgets: just because you have it, doesn't mean you have to spend it. Can I also add another one of my favorite sayings regarding money? Yes, it's my blog. You can spend a lot of money and still look trashy (Kendra and Hank. Hello?). There it is- I said it.

Mr. SE and I have decided that while my parents are footing the bill for this fabulous wedding, we're not going to lose sight of the real reason this is all happening (we love each other). Because of this, I will here and now take a vow (to you, my faithful readers), that I will keep the important things (Mr. SE and our promises to each other) at the forefront of my planning. Thank you Liza for that one.

So now Mr. SE and I are embarking on a 359 day wedding planning adventure. We are (I am) going to keep an open mind about ideas, and we're going to stay focused on the prize (Mr and Mrs). I can't wait to be his wife, he makes me the happiest lady in the world! Keep reading as we'll start to reveal our new inspiration boards and style ideas (omigosh I know you can't wait. And I can't believe you're still reading at this point). Okay I'll add a picture because blog posts suck without them.

{sufficiently awkward. i love us}