Venue secured, now what?

You should feel like a big weight has been lifted once you've found a venue and secured it. Its probably starting to really feel like you're getting married! Since you're on such an awesome roll of getting things accomplished for the wedding, whats next?

Finalize your guest list, look for a gown and start thinking about who should marry you.

For your guest list - you typically get a 15-20% decline, so think about this when you are putting your list together. If your goal is 100 guests at the event, invite 115 to 120 (and so on and so forth). Also, try and avoid the A list / B list way of inviting guests - people can find out and/or figure it out (I was the recipient of a B list invite a few months ago - it was obvious too - received the invitation 5 days before the wedding ...). You don't want to upset people by inviting them too late or run the risk of them finding out that they didn't get invited. People shouldn't expect to be invited, but if someone is running around town saying they can't wait for your wedding, yet they aren't actually going to be a guest that day, just tell them. Or, think about inviting them. On the A list.

Looking for a gown - its one of the best parts of getting married! Start tearing out gown pictures and hit up a few salons. Try everything on, even if you think that on the hanger its not going to work. You'll be completely surprised. I also suggest only taking 1 or 2 people with you for these first visits - you want an outside opinion, but not a jury.

For an officiant - if you have a family affiliation, look there first. If you don't, start reaching out to various officiants. You really want someone who understands you as a couple and who you think will be the best person to make your union official. Definitely interview a few officiants - and find out what will be required of you as couple to be their clients. Is there pre-marital counseling? How many times will you be required to meet? Are there workshops you need to attend? I personally loved our pre-marital talks, but for some, they may not have the time or want to delve into the nitty gritty (my favorite question was "in your opinion, what is the role of the husband" ... that really got me thinking), so when you meet with your potential officiant, make sure all of these time requirements are outlined.

Now, relax. Don't forget to spend some non-wedding related time together with your soon to be. Its the most important item on your checklist of things to do!

Happy Planning!
-Lisa