As the spring approaches and wedding planning moves into high gear, I thought it may be fun to incorporate some insight from a Bride-To-Be as she nears her wedding day.

Follow Amanda as she nears her wedding day and discovers how much fun planning your own wedding can be! You can ask some questions, comment and even make some suggestions to our soon-to-be-married girl, while International Wedding & Event Planner, Stephen Scott Passarelli, chimes in and provides some guidance along the way!

MEET Amanda!

Getting Engaged

Getting engaged was the most exciting day I have ever experienced! With a beachside picnic, tear worthy proposal, and even a surprise engagement party following the big question, I had the night of my life surrounded by my closest friends and family. The morning after getting engaged I woke up next to a smiling fiancé. While we sipped mimosas and enjoyed some fancy chocolates (the real breakfast of champions!) We discussed our plans for the day. Making trips to both of our parents houses sounded fun…until we got there. Who knew that after the tears and smiles had passed the craziness would ensue?

When we went to meet with my fiancé’s mom she was eager to shut down all of our ideas. “No one likes night weddings. You want to do morning!”  Or, “Sit down dinner is not the way to go. Do a buffet or family style instead.” In my mind I was thinking, “So I have to get up at 5 am to get my hair done and share my dinner with 200 other people? Seriously? No thank you!” With a bit of laughter and an exchange of ideas we were off to meet my parents, who were more than eager to discuss numbers. I must preface this with the fact that I have been raised to be a bargain shopper. If someone were selling a shirt for ten dollars, I am pretty sure I could convince them to sell it to me for five. Large amounts of money truly scare me. When we were looking into buying a house I had many panic stricken nights going through numbers, and could not handle such a large price tag.  So, you can imagine my stress when my parents began going through average “price tags” and what they thought we should spend.

They started by bringing out a pad of paper and a calculator. A few calculator punches later my parents had discovered our budget, and were intent on sticking to it. We instantly began looking online for different venues, dresses, flowers, everything. My head was starting to explode and I could tell this was not going to be the easiest process. We decided then and there that we needed a plan to make this the cleanest process, and of course, the most fun!

So as I sit here with my sparkly ring finger, I am ready to tackle this list. Stop number 1 – Reception Venues! We have a very specific date in mind, July 17, 2010, which will be our 7 year anniversary, so this should be tricky. But it’s only June, I have plenty of time, right?

* Stephen’s NOTE – Remember, once you get engaged, choosing and RESERVING (Yes… Book it too!) a venue is one of the first decisions you should make. THIS decision will dictate a lot of what’s to come, such as the stlye of the wedding, how formal it is, the number of guests you may invite, etc. Be sure to do some research and look around!  Many venues will offer different variations of sililar wedding ideas, so find one that fits not only your “theme”, but also your budget and personal style as well.

Stephen Scott Passarelli

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Stephen Scott Passarelli

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