Brides2Be

Marlena Wojcik lives with her fiance in Eagle River, AK. Originally from Chicago, she moved to Alaska last summer to be with the love of her life and is currently making plans for her Special Day, which will take place next October just thirty minutes outside of Chicago--- it's a destination wedding, sort of. Her challenge is to balance needs, wants, aesthetics, practicality, family politics, and THE BUDGET...dah da duuuuuuuuh. So far, she and her fiance are still getting along. Got any advice for them? Planning a wedding? Just finished planning a wedding? Share your stories/suggestions/forewarnings here. This is your forum.

...Because no Bride2Be should suffer alone.


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Archive

A fairytale wedding - 10/18/2008 9:00 am

One Week Left: Maybe I Don't Want to Have the Wedding of My Dreams - 10/4/2008 11:35 pm

T minus Less Than One Month - 9/16/2008 1:57 pm

When Duty Calls - 8/29/2008 1:48 pm

Today's Poll: Calling All Opinions - 8/26/2008 1:06 pm

Tie the Knot, Renew Vows or Fall in Love Along Thompson Pass - 8/26/2008 12:42 pm

Engaged and En-Gulfed in Pre-Wedding Bliss - 8/19/2008 3:21 pm

In Other Cultures… - 8/19/2008 3:08 pm

Wedding day tradition: Saw a log? - 8/15/2008 11:15 pm

&^%# Wedding Invitations - 7/1/2008 1:26 pm

Pointers on Toasts and Toast Points - 7/1/2008 1:17 pm

Chapel Cinema: Sex & the City? Love & Los Anchorage - 7/1/2008 1:15 pm

Battle Cry for the Bachelor - 6/2/2008 11:22 am

Minor Setbacks vs. Global Catastrophes - 5/30/2008 7:30 am

Expect the Unexpected Expenses: aka Bride2Be Goes To Traffic Court - 5/30/2008 1:37 am

Happy Fishing Report Thursday - 5/29/2008 11:34 pm

Face the Music and Dance - 5/25/2008 9:18 pm

Weird, Wild Wedding Etiquette - 5/15/2008 4:50 pm

For Richer or For Poorer; In Fitness and In Flab - 5/13/2008 4:13 pm

Mothers and Daughters - 5/12/2008 8:41 am

The Power and the Glory - 5/6/2008 12:31 am

Happy Earth Day - 4/22/2008 8:42 am

full archive »

...And that is how the wedding planner profession came to be, Kids!

Posted by brideblog

Posted: April 22, 2008 - 8:31 am

As Brian and I have been planning for our Big Day, we have encountered a fair share of challenges--- such as scheduling, coordinating out-of-town arrangements for ourselves and for our families, the Budget, the whole dress thing which is thankfully taken care of... All that was BEFORE I started working full time. If I thought staying on top of logistics took effort during my part-time or job-free days, I have no idea how women who work full time do it. Without of course, hiring a wedding planner.

Fortunately, we only have a few commitments and obligations in the evenings like Tuesday night dance class and my two glasses of sauvignon blanc. In theory, we could be planning and invitation writing the rest of the evening. But by the time the next commercial break comes on, I've lost my place in the invitation list and have to recount.

Plus, because there is a three hour time difference between here and the wedding location, I can have "Plan a wedding in P.J.'s" and "Bride 2 Be Breakfasts" before work, which is what I did this morning.

But I don't know how men and women do it otherwise! ...without hiring a wedding planner.

Today's surprise of the day... booking a minister costs money! A lot more money than I expected, as much as renting the space for the chapel. I don't remember that being on the bride budget calculator. I thought they worked for the state... or were volunteers in the crusade for Love Everlasting?... my mistake.

Kinda like when I was growing up and thought that doctor appointments, socks and underwear were free because everyone needs those. That was even before I knew who Carl Marx was. If I wanted a ring pop or more tickets for Ski-Ball, that was a whole other story, and it was going to cost me.

I know the flowers, cake, hair and make-up cost money, but that's the fun part... It's not like socks.

Feel free to share your own time- or money-saving tips or any other financial surprises to expect along the way.

Maybe I should pull my own violin out and play for tips outside the chapel before the ceremony starts.


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  3     November 25, 2008 - 12:30pm | traffic101

A wedding planner is somehow

A wedding planner is somehow very important in a wedding,She's the one who set the entire occasion from gowns even to your wedding ring.

gemstone displays

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  2     August 22, 2008 - 2:53pm | tshell

Your Planners Connections more important than time...

I know my wife thought she had it all planned out..."no hun, we don't need someone to help us, I got it" ... I heard that for about 4 days...See our wedding was especially challenging considering we held in a slightly remote area outside of Phoenix.

She caved, I hired a respected planner via a referral. She had connections up the wazoo...you would think that someone with connections would cost more, for us it was less, cause she didn't have to scratch and claw trying to hire subcontractors...And the last thing we thought of...where would all of our champagne guzzling friends and family go to the bathroom... well a luxury mobile toilet trailer restroom of course (thank you pooh pumpers ;) )...another connection that made our guests day with VIP amenities...

Hire a wedding planner folks...save yourselves the heartache and grayhair...

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  1     May 2, 2008 - 8:45am | nomad1979er

Time to Plan & unexpected $$ies

Hello Marlena, my dear. Sorry I haven't logged on for quite some time - your entries are quite amusing, I must say. As for finding time to plan a wedding when you're working full time - yes it's difficult but many many many brides do it, like myself. And not all of them have a 3+ hour commute each day along with a tween-ager to take care of as well! So when you are enjoying your nightly wine, I'm enjoying my soft pretzel at Christina's baseball games ;) Just like everything else in life that you encounter - you always wonder how it's going to work...sometimes you just don't have time to think. You just do. Somehow, everything does work out and everyting always does get done. You will find a way, my dear :)

As for the unexpected expenses, I should have told you this with budgeting in general - whatever your estimated budget is, add 20% for unknowns and overages! Have you thought of tips? what about tax for all sorts of times? Tax on something that's $10 isn't a big deal, but tax on a fee that's a couple hundred our thousand is! And factor in thank-you notes and postage for those (in addition to the typical invitations of course). Unexpected expenses for us was the fans (paper & electric) and water for the hot summer day, place cards and rubber stamps, stationary for people to write well-wishes, finding a cake stand/topper, something to put the cards in, picture frames to display with our engagement/family phtoos and parent wedding photos by the cake, cake cutting fee & service fee...need I go on? Good luck babe and hope to hear all about the progress soon! Hang in there - you'll get through it and it will be just wonderful! Ellen :)

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  May 15, 2008 - 4:01pm | brideblog

The ultimate production

Ellen, you always had a knack for producing, and managing a smooth, logistical program, on time and under budget...... if what you're telling me is that even YOU had some unexpected expenses and issues, then I'm in a lot of trouble. Thanks for sharing. We'll definitely have to schedule a conference call soon. Would you consider being my freelance wedding advisor? I give you tons and tons of points. I just spoke with another good friend of mine today, and she ended up MAKING a lot of her stuff because that seemed easier at the time than coordinating orders and drop-offs... so she MADE invitations and MADE the flower arrangements, all while she was back in school for pre-nursing science credits and working at a restaurant. After the fact, I asked her if it was easier? Her reply: not so much. Y'all get major points in my book. I'm having a hard enough time coordinating everything, and that's with 100% subscription to ordering anything that can be done by someone else. Except the cake topper, which I've already decided will be constructed in gingerbread.
--mmw

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