Wedding Wednesdays: Congratulations, You're Engaged! Now What?

Since I’m getting married in May (!!), I thought it would be fun to write about the wedding planning process, for any new brides out there who are looking for guidance or advice. I figured I would start at the beginning – the engagement. After I got engaged last December, my mind was spinning with things that needed to be done.

Celebrate!

Don’t forget to celebrate! Since I got engaged the first day of my vacation in Disney World, Matt and I agreed that we would enjoy the week that we had and not start diving right into wedding details. Tell your friends and family, enjoy the special attention, and pop open that bubbly!

Get your ring sized and insured

Since I don’t wear really any jewelry at all, Matt had to guess at my ring size, and was off by a few sizes, though it did still fit (loosely). It will be hard to be parted from your ring for a few days or up to a week, but it will give you piece of mind that you can wear it in the shower and not worry about it going down the drain!

Talk to your insurance agent and get your ring insured in case of theft or loss. They will need to see the appraisal, so be sure to have all the proper paperwork so everything goes smoothly.

Start talking about a wedding date

You don’t have to decide the next day when and where you are getting married, but it is a good idea to start thinking about when you would like to get married. Matt and I both knew right away that we didn’t want to get married in the winter (too cold) or in the summer (too hot – North Carolina summers are brutal!). Narrow things down first by seasons and then go from there.

Create a wedding Pinterest board

If you don’t use Pinterest, it can be a great tool for planning a wedding. Unlike most girls, I didn’t have a Pinterest board set up of my “dream wedding,” so I had fun (and still do) pinning ideas for the big day. Your board will also help you determine any recurring themes or ideas that you are naturally drawn to, which will help with planning later on.

The most important thing to remember is to enjoy your engagement, especially the beginning! There will be time to start delving into the nitty gritty wedding details! And congratulations!

My Top 10 Must Read Books

I thought one of the first posts to get my blog started off would be to recommend some of my favorite books to readers. If you know me even remotely well, you know that I am an avid reader, which is putting it mildly. I usually read three books at once, and have an ongoing goal with myself to read a book a week (this usually doesn’t happen, but hey, a girl can dream, right?).

If you go to the bookstore with me and we amble over to the fiction section, there is a 99.9 percent chance that I have read at least one book on each of the shelves – maybe two, three, four, or even five.

I complied a list of my top ten must reads, books which I have read numerous times over and never get old.

Happy Reading!

The Secret History | This is my all time favorite book, hands down. It’s about a group of Classics majors at a tiny liberal arts college in Vermont who commit a murder of one of their friends and how they deal with the guilt and grief that come as a result.

Harry Potter Series | If you haven’t read the Harry Potter series by now, seriously, what are you doing? I don’t think I need to explain the plot, but here goes: an orphaned boy with a curious lightning bolt scar on his forehead discovers he’s a wizard.

I Capture the Castle | If you are looking for a good coming of age novel, this is it. Cassandra lives with her father, stepmother, and older sister in a crumbling castle in England and dreams of love.

The Poisonwood Bible | I am a big fan of Barbara Kingsolver’s books, and I think this one is her best. It tells the story of a missionary family in the 1950’s who move from Georgia to the Congo. The five women of the family narrate the story: mother Orleanna, and her daughters Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May.

Pride and Prejudice | I am a HUGE Jane Austen nerd (I mean, we share the same birthday), but Pride and Prejudice is her best novel (Emma is a close second). If you’re going to read a romance novel, this is it. Also – Mr. Darcy. Need I say more?

To Kill a Mockingbird | If for some reason you never read this in high school, drop what you’re doing and go read it now. Atticus Finch is one of the best literary characters in history.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius | The memoir of Dave Eggers, which follows his experience as the guardian of his younger brother following the death of his parents.

The Bell Jar | I have always been a little intrigued by Sylvia Plath, which I feel is super cliché for a white, 20-something girl to say. Her poems are so beautiful, and her semi-autobiographical novel is haunting.

The Portable Dorothy Parker | Dorothy Parker was quite a character, and her short stories and writings are a must-read.

I would like to give you all some more recommendations! Leave me a comment with some books that you have enjoyed and I will compile a personalized list of some other titles for you to enjoy.