Happy Friday, lovelies!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas yesterday and are still laughing and enjoying time with loved ones while soaking in the gifts we have received! Today, we are going to chat about the fun stuff that you have worked so hard to get to in the wedding planning process! If you are just joining us, you can catch up on my recommended planning steps here:

Part 1: Getting Started

Part 2: Vendors, Venue and Style

Part 3: Interviewing and Hiring Vendors

You have spent so much time laying the foundation for the rest of your journey to your wedding day to unfold so smoothly. I’m proud of you! Now, we get to go dress shopping, pick colors and start selecting the meaningful details that will share your unique and beautiful love story with your guests!

Shop for your dress

Phew, still with me? Now it is time to start trying on dresses! Make as many appointments as you like. Try as many styles as you can to find the right one. After all, this is the only chance you get to try on wedding dresses and you never know what will surprise you! Since you know your wedding style and venue by now, you’ll want to make sure your dress aligns with them. Most of all, make sure you feel more beautiful and glamorous than you ever have. This is your red carpet moment and you absolutely deserve it!

Design and details

Now that you have all of the big stuff decided and booked, it is time to put the finishing touches on everything – accessorize, if you will! Between blogs, magazines, television and Pinterest, you will have plenty of ideas and inspiration.

I cannot stress the following enough. While Pinterest and inspiration are great tools, please focus on your personalities shining, not someone else’s. I find a great many things beautiful, fun and unique, but that doesn’t mean that I would have had a live rock band or modern details at my wedding. I like those things, and would adore attending a wedding where that is a reflection of the couple. However, they don’t speak to my husband’s personality or mine. Have fun with it and remember, when your guests leave your wedding, you want them to say “What a great wedding, it was so Allie and Jack”!

{ photo via Katharyne Dunn Photography }

Now, it is no secret that I am a wedding planner giving advice, so I would be remiss to not mention planners. If you are someone who feels overwhelmed, feels too busy to take on everything or just would like some extra guidance, you might want to consider hiring a planner. If you choose, all of this can be done with the help of a wedding planner to guide you through the planning journey, from “I will” to “I do”. Also, we can be pretty awesome friends! Either way, I know that your wedding will be gorgeous and at the end of the day, you’ll be the luckiest person on Earth to marry your best friend!

Happy planning lovelies and cheers to a lifetime full of love, laughter and adventures! Next month (next year, whoa!), we will be breaking these steps down into more manageable detail for you in each phase of planning. Don’t forget to send us your questions and feedback!!

xoxo, Jenn