Sarah and Chris attend Paint Nite with family, friends and bridal party members, including bridesmaids Rebecca, Madison, Michelle and Holly, and groomsman Will.
By Sarah Kittredge
Chris and I have been doing very well with wedding planning! We apologize for being missing in action, but life became a bit busy, and we’re now suddenly eleven months away from the big day!! We can hardly believe it. We have our date, ceremony location, venue, DJ, photographer, bridal party, hair dresser and make-up artist, my bridal gown and our wedding color. Not too bad, right? Many of the vendors we’re lucky to be working with are people we already know thanks to referrals given by friends and family. I’ve been following wedding groups through Facebook for ideas and suggestions and am planning on attending more wedding expos. The prospect of discounted or free services is right up our ally! If nothing else, it will give us more options to look into.
I made the decision early on to provide as little details about our wedding plans and ideas as possible. While everyone that we have spoken to about the wedding has been enthusiastic and supportive, the conversations always ended with personal suggestions and the occasional critique here and there. The biggest hurdle, for me personally, has been standing my ground with what we want, and not what everyone else wants. I don’t take it personally, because anything said is from someone who knows us, loves us, and wants what is best for us. At the end of the day, though, this wedding is for Chris and I. We’re paying for it, and it will be what we want it to be.
We’re not looking for a big wedding. The maximum number would be about seventy-five guests, and even that’s stretching it! The easiest bit to plan so far has been our bridal party. I’ve known who I wanted to be in my bridal party for many years. Lucky for me, they all said yes! We have four bridesmaids and three groomsmen, consisting of my brother and sister and our mutual friends. My sister is my maid of honor, and my three longest girl friends are my bridesmaids. My brother has graciously accepted the role of best man, and Chris’s childhood friend and my best guy friend have accepted the roles of groomsmen. We’ve all grown up together in one way or another; From elementary school, through college and beyond, despite the good and the bad, we’ve all stuck together and have this great connection. We love them all, they’re just fabulous!
The girls and I have started the search for royal blue bridesmaid dresses, so there will be much to report soon. Chris and I have our engagement photos in two weeks, too! We’re still deciding on where to have them, depending on the weather of course. So much more to come! In the meantime, be safe and be well!