I always think about things I want to blog about, but never get around to it. Why is that?

My sister is in town for the week in an effort to help me plan my wedding. AJB and I got engaged in October 2008 and since then, we’ve done very little to plan this gala event; that is to say, the event of the year. We’ve booked the venue and have made a preliminary guest list (which at the moment nearly reaches 300). We have a few scatterbrained ideas, but nothing concrete and no vendors have been booked.

When I look at the wedding checklists I am inundated with, I become overwhelmed. People keep telling me that this is supposed to be fun, but it’s actually rather stressful. It’s not about impressing people with my management skills or decor ideas, it’s about pulling it off. Really pulling if off. It’s fun in a rather twisted, masochistic way. It’s torture, but it’s enjoyable and amusing.

The best part has been talking with my sister (my Maid of Honor). She’s so funny and smart and allows me to go into whatever zone I need to. I’d say she’s accommodating, but she’s also a great sounding board and isn’t afraid to tell me what she thinks. Ah, the perfect Maid of Honor. I am so very thankful she’s here this week. In fact, I wish she’d never leave or that she lived closer. Anyway, it would help. Alas, things are the way they are and the good news is, we have internets for the communicating.

Today we really kicked into gear. I found out about marriage licenses, posted an ad for a photographer, talked to a caterer, started data entering the guest list, and discussed other miscellaneous ideas. I also found out that the caterer will chew up at least 50% of our budget and that there are a lot of really crappy wedding photographers out there. As a photographer myself, this has been educational.

I’ve learned various things about the wedding photographer’s method:

1. No portfolio is a bad thing. You won’t get the job.
2. Link to you site. Don’t ask me to Google you.
3. If you don’t have wedding shots in your portfolio, you should probably work on that.
4. Don’t charge too much. The economy is bad.
5. If your website is ugly, I’m moving on.
6. Don’t congratulate me on my wedding. I know you don’t really care.
7. Read the ad. 80% of the responses don’t apply to my specifications.
8. Website slide-shows are inane if I can’t control how fast they move or when. Galleries are better.
9. Right. Website music is bad. You don’t have the same taste in music as your client.
10. Put your prices and options where I can find them.
11. Don’t confess that you have no experience, I can figure that out and it makes you look bad.
12. I’m the bride, give me what I want.

#12 is a little bitchy, but as far as I’m concerned, this planning a wedding thing is like running a business. I have to be in top form to get this handled and you, the wedding photographer, are my lowly employee. I pay you to capture my special moments and dammit, you better do it! Capture my special moments!

I mostly jest, but I mostly don’t. You’d be amazed how terrible some of the responses have been. It’s almost a joke. I can’t imagine HOW these photographers make money shooting weddings. I assume they shoot one or two friend’s weddings, make a slide show and then start charging.

Oh well. We’ve only just begun. I’m really trying not to stress, but it’s all so overwhelming. How do you create the most special day of your life? Think about that for a second. This day, your wedding day, is touted as one of the most important days of your life. That’s a lot of pressure. Like I said, I just want to pull this thing off. I expect hitches whilst getting hitched and I expect that not everything will go as planned. That said, I am thankful for the aid of my sister, my family, my groom-to-be, and my own self preservation instincts.