Thought I was ahead of the game, did I?

(source)

Today I decided to get organized with the wedding planning. We had previously used The Ultimate Wedding Workbook & Organizer to keep everything in one place, but it was an imperfect system: it wasn't divided into the specific categories that would have been most helpful to me (I didn't need separate categories for "ceremony" and "caterer," for example, but I could have used them for "venue" and "officiant"), and I couldn't see the papers that easily without pulling out everything and going through every page. I think the workbook is great for collecting information from vendors you are considering and inspiration pictures from magazines, but in the later stages of planning, it's not so great.

So to satisfy my inner organization-freak, I headed over to Staples and picked up, among other things, a three-ring binder and eight-tab dividers, and in a fancy script labeled them "[Venue]," "[DOC]," "Photo & Video," "Entertainment," "Flowers," "Bakery," "Attire," and "Miscellaneous." I could probably have used about four more tabs to really get all the categories I wanted, but I think this works. In each section, I included the vendor's contract and any substantive emails exchanged, and then I created a page on top for each that included the address and phone number of the vendor, the name of my contact, and any balances due and when (and in what form) they are payable. I now feel much more organized and prepared, and this reminded me that I need to get a fire permit for my candle centerpieces, event insurance, and to make another payment on my dress which is on layaway (I'm two weeks late—oops!).

A simple black binder and an opaque silver Sharpie is a great way to practice your non-existent calligraphy skills... better stick to printing those addresses!		Tabs and cover pages
(personal images)

I also was able to get some crafty-like supplies, for much cheaper than if I'd bought them online! I purchased 250 sheets of cream card stock and 500 sheets of cream printer paper, from which I will make menus, programs and thank you cards, as well as any extra invitations that may be needed (currently estimated at six). This should leave me with enough card stock to also hand-make any envelopes (for the invitations) needed as well, so I don't need to buy 50 envelopes when I only need a few. I also picked up some smaller ivory envelopes for the thank you cards—they didn't have any 4-Bar size, so I will actually be making larger thank you cards than I originally planned because it is easier and cheaper to change my design than to buy more expensive envelopes online in the correct size! :)

I also managed to pick up a nifty paper cutter (up to 12" sheets), so now the only materials I still need to create the rest of my paper items is black card stock and place cards (Staples didn't have dark card stock, apparently, so I'll get these from CardsandPockets.com because they have the best prices I've found), an eyelet puncher and eyelets, ribbon for the programs, a bone folder, and an opaque metallic gold pen (I've only found silver so far). I will also need a poster frame for the seating chart (I think I'll get it from Target), which I'll probably print online unless Kinko's is cheaper, and I'll need to figure out something for the table numbers (as yet to be decided). I'm also still hoping I can get some patterned paper to line all the envelopes with that will match or complement the invitations!

Planning the details (like the paper!) is definitely the most enjoyable part of this process for me so far. What did you get a big kick out of doing?