This is a post about wedding planning.
The initial decisions to make about the wedding were few and big: whether to say yes (of course!), when to have the event, where to have the event. The intermediate phase has seen decisions increase in number and decrease in relative importance. Each decision made then opened another flow-chart-worthy path of evaluation, comparison, and selection.
For example: do we want professional photography for the wedding. Answer: Yes. From there, I evaluated websites/reviews for 8 photographers in the area where I'm getting married, then arranged face to face meetings with 3 and selected one to work with. Then, more decisions like: many hours of photography, how early to start on the wedding day, do a first-look session or not, which posed photos are must-haves and many other small decisions.
The current project on my mind is that of invitations. To give you a sense, here are the range of moving parts that impact how and when I can send them. We had professional photos taken locally (thanks Groupon!) and we are using those to create a photo-postcard. The first set of decisions is around selecting how many photos to include, selecting which images and obtaining them from the photographer. Then, I found a graphic designer I liked and she's going to create the design and font. Next, we have to determine the language for the invitation text. This involves feedback and discussion with both of our parents. Traditionally, wedding invitations are written from the perspective of the bride's parents as "Mr. and Mrs. (Bride's family) invite you to join as their daughter marries xx, son of Mr and Mrs. xx". We're doing something a bit different. Once we have the photo selected and the text finalized, then we give that to the designer who will make a few versions for us. We'll select our favorite and it goes to be printed. Then, the completed photo postcard invitations come back to us and we add mailing addresses and stamps and send them off. This postcard route is far more simple and affordable than the full-on elaborate stationary and envelopes typically used for wedding invitations. Many people spend an average of $8 per invitation.
And all that is just to invite guests! I see the appeal of Paperless Post!
If you're interested in more glimpses behind the curtain of wedding planning, let me know in the comments.
