TRY THAT MILK and Other Pre-Wedding Tips

This is the first in a series of “what I learned so far” wedding posts.  Honestly only now with the wedding planning at a semi-lull (at that awkward not a lot to do until closer to the wedding stage) have I had the time to reflect on what I’ve learned!  As well as, trying to help my maid of honor who is recently engaged plan her wedding in 7 months, helps rehash the memories.  O. The horror.

So You Are Engaged?:

This may not work for everyone but I suggest to begin putting yourself into a “fake marriage” if you haven’t already.  What does this mean?

  • Plan the Wedding Together: Or as much as possible! And when I mean planning, I mean not just the woman stereotypically ordering the man around, but both making all decisions together. Throughout the rest of your life you’ll be planning (hopefully) together, so start now.  Planning a wedding can be an ordeal and is a BIG learning experience.  Heck, for most people its the first and only 100-200 person two day event they’ll ever plan!  Wedding planning can bring to surface a lot of family, personal and otherwise ticks.  You’ll want to do this together and use it as a bonding experience and not just a hassle. Sure, if the woman relinquishes some of the control she might get a WOW cake BUT not only will she be less stressed (if you guys work well together) but he’ll feel he owns the day as well.  It also means learning each others strengths.  Maybe one is a better designer, they’ll take more of a lead there, but in the end both need to be happy and in agreement.
  • Move In: If you haven’t already moved in together. It doesn’t ruin the magic in fact it doubles it! Austin and I moved in together after a year… which may have been quick but we never regretted it. Comes down to this, it is the TRUE test of if you guys can work as a team and cohabitate. When you get married the least amount of surprises the better. What about this doubling the fun? Here’s my road plan for those with trepidations about ruining the magic.
    1. Imagine moving in together in your first apartment, you’re saving money, learning about each other & giggling every night because you are having a sleepover with your bestbud. Better yet move into a place with roommates and each have your own room. Sleep in the same room but still have your haven (this is probably good after marriage as well). Roommates are good because they help you save money (we are planning a wedding after all) and they are a bit of social fun that doesn’t make you feel SO all alone with one person and that nothing will ever change before it even started to change.
    2. Now a year later you get married and move into a new house/apt! Better yet, no roommates! You will be sick of them by now. This has all the newness you need plus you are prepared with “living with your hubby” skills. You still need all that fun stuff from your registry and you feel more married with just the two of you!
  • Start Merging Assets:  There is no better test to see what you are getting yourself into then to see how your partner manages money and the responsibility of dispersing it to bill collectors.  We weren’t sure how to go about it so I asked for advice from friends/family and finally decided to have one joint bank account and two personal ones.  90% of our paychecks go into our joint account and 10% go into our own personal accounts.  I can’t even see his personal account and that is OKAY!  This way we don’t feel guilty or have to explain to each other (and our budget) when splurging on ourselves, as well we can surprise each other with gifts!
  • Now Make Budget: Aside from the wedding budget which anyone could tell you should be your FIRST action when starting to plan (more on this later), you need a life budget!  Austin and I use Mint.com and a spreadsheet that we share through Google Docs to keep us on track.  Not only do we have a regular budget but a savings budget.  This savings budget shows over the year how much we are saving and any big expenditures we are going to pay out from savings (vacations, loan lump-sums, foreseen medical expenses, etc).  Budgets aren’t perfect so after we pay rent each month, Austin and I try to sit down & categorize our expenditures in Mint and tweak our budget if need be (or our drinking habits).

This post basically espouses knowing what you are getting yourself into it. Trying the milk first is not bad because when you buy the cow there’s a whole buncha new stuff and places to go with said cow. Playing house!  So that when you do get married its not like getting dumped into a desert island with you and that person on the marriage license.

What now?

Next wedding themed post shall be about the nitty gritty start of wedding planning and some money saving tips I’ve realized a long the way.

nitty & gritty -S

201 thoughts on “TRY THAT MILK and Other Pre-Wedding Tips”

  1. My partner and I stumbled over here by a different web address and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to exploring your web page for a second time.|

  2. This is very fascinating, You are an overly professional blogger.
    I have joined your feed and stay up for searching for more
    of your fantastic post. Additionally, I have shared your web site in my social networks

  3. Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few
    of the pictures aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but
    I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same outcome.

  4. Hello there I am so happy I found your site, I really found you by accident, while I was looking
    on Yahoo for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thanks for a fantastic post and a all round interesting blog (I also love
    the theme/design), I don’t have time to browse it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do
    keep up the fantastic work.

  5. Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this board and
    I to find It really useful & it helped me out much. I am hoping to present something again and help others like you aided me.

  6. I was curious if you ever thought of changing the layout of your blog?
    Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
    But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better.

    Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two
    images. Maybe you could space it out better?

  7. Wonderful goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you are just too magnificent.
    I really like what you’ve acquired here, certainly like what you are saying and the way in which you say it.
    You make it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it sensible.
    I can not wait to read much more from you.
    This is actually a terrific website.

  8. My partner and I stumbled over here by a different website and thought I might
    check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you.

    Look forward to exploring your web page again.

  9. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your weblog.
    You have some really good articles and I feel I would be a
    good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some material for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine.
    Please send me an email if interested. Regards!

  10. Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren’t loading
    correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
    I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and
    both show the same results.

  11. Its like you learn my mind! You seem to know so much
    about this, such as you wrote the ebook in it or something.

    I think that you just can do with some % to drive the message house a little bit, but instead of that, this is fantastic blog.

    A great read. I will certainly be back.

  12. I like the helpful information you supply on your articles.
    I’ll bookmark your weblog and take a look at again here
    regularly. I’m moderately sure I will be told many new stuff
    proper here! Best of luck for the next!

  13. Nice post. I used to be checking continuously this weblog and I am inspired!
    Very useful info specifically the final part 🙂 I maintain such information much.
    I was looking for this particular info for a very long time.

    Thanks and best of luck.

  14. My brother recommended I may like this web site. He used to be totally
    right. This publish actually made my day.

    You cann’t believe just how so much time I had spent for
    this info! Thanks!

  15. Howdy! I know this is kind of off-topic however I had to ask.
    Does managing a well-established website such as yours take a
    large amount of work? I’m brand new to blogging however I do write in my
    journal on a daily basis. I’d like to start a blog so I can share my personal experience and thoughts online.
    Please let me know if you have any kind of recommendations or tips for brand new aspiring blog owners.
    Appreciate it!

  16. hey there and thank you for your information – I’ve certainly picked up something new from right here.
    I did however expertise several technical points using this
    site, since I experienced to reload the website lots of times
    previous to I could get it to load correctly. I had been wondering if your hosting is
    OK? Not that I’m complaining, but slow loading instances times will very frequently
    affect your placement in google and can damage your quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords.
    Well I’m adding this RSS to my e-mail and can look out
    for a lot more of your respective intriguing content.
    Make sure you update this again soon.

  17. Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after reading
    through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
    Anyhow, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be bookmarking
    and checking back frequently!

  18. I just like the helpful information you provide to your articles.
    I will bookmark your weblog and test once more here frequently.
    I am moderately sure I will be told many new stuff proper
    right here! Good luck for the following!

  19. Terrific post however , I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this topic?
    I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further.

    Thank you!

  20. I think that is one of the so much vital info for me.

    And i am happy studying your article. However wanna statement on few common things, The site style is wonderful, the articles is truly great : D.
    Just right job, cheers

  21. hello!,I really like your writing very much! share we keep in touch extra about
    your article on AOL? I need a specialist on this area
    to unravel my problem. Maybe that’s you! Having a look ahead to look you.

  22. Awesome blog! Do you have any helpful hints for aspiring writers?
    I’m hoping to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
    Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there
    that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any tips? Thank you!

  23. Hello! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with
    us so I came to look it over. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m bookmarking
    and will be tweeting this to my followers! Outstanding
    blog and superb style and design.

  24. Hey, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues.

    When I look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
    I just wanted to give you a quick heads up!

    Other then that, fantastic blog!

  25. Hello there! Quick question that’s completely off topic.

    Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
    My site looks weird when browsing from my iphone 4.
    I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to resolve this issue.
    If you have any recommendations, please share. Many thanks!

  26. I was very pleased to discover this web site. I wanted to thank you for your time due to this
    wonderful read!! I definitely enjoyed every part of it and I have
    you saved to fav to see new things in your blog.

  27. My brother recommended I might like this website.
    He was totally right. This post actually made my day. You cann’t imagine just how much time I
    had spent for this information! Thanks!

Leave a Reply