He got down on one knee, looked deep into your eyes, and asked you to spend the rest of your life with him.  You didn’t hear the rest because you were blinded by the dazzling brilliance of the bling he put on your finger.  It’s soooo pretty!

Artist: Anne Taintor

“So what’s your answer?”

Huh?  What?  Blinking the tears away (your eyes hurt – the rock is sparkly! ), you find your voice and shout “YES!”

After calling everyone in both of your address books, uploading pics of the big moment to your Flickr account and posting your new status to Facebook and Twitter,  you realize you’re going to have a wedding!  Yay!

So….where do you start?  Do you pick a date first?  Or do you decide on a venue?  Definitely at the church you went to growing up, right?  Or maybe on the beach in North Carolina, or better yet – a tropical destination wedding on a secluded island.  Planning a wedding is a HUGE thing – there are a zillion moving parts to coordinate, and at times, it can be overwhelming.  I’m not married, but I’ve agonized over choosing colors, flowers, putting together invitations, etc. – it’s exhausting!

To spare your sanity and ensure you don’t turn into the dreaded “Bridezilla,” organization is key.  If you’ve been the bride, chances are you have a binder, folder, or some other sort of system you used to keep track of everything.  You can buy pre-made kits, but like anything remotely related to a wedding, there’s that mysterious 20% extra charge.  Save yourself some money – all you really need is to create a spreadsheet in Excel and to purchase a binder and tab dividers  from an office supply store.   Me?  I would also make sure to color code everything (I have this thing with sorting by color, I can’t help it) and visit an art supply store for a few extra goodies to make my planner pretty.  If that means sparkly stickers and ribbon, then so be it.

Credit: Zela (www.sxc.hu)

After you get yourself organized and color coded, make sure to check the interwebz for advice.  Best place to start?  Why, right here, at BigFatCake.com!

Remember – you’re planning  a wedding, but even more importantly, you’re getting married.  Don’t let the little details overwhelm you!

So ladies and gentlemen, veterans of The Big Day, share your wisdom.  Where did you start when planning your wedding – date, venue, flowers, etc.?  Who did most of the planning (there are some guys who are quite involved!)  What would you have done differently?