Mr. Brooch and I only planned to have a one-year engagement. He proposed in October of 2009, and we thought we’d get married the following October. The problem was that right away, we were faced with a laundry list of tasks to execute to make our dream wedding come to life, and that meant we had a lot of decisions to make and a lot of money to spend.

We also had a lot of people to please. Our parents in particular needed to be pleased because we are their first children in our families to get married. Well, my dad and my stepmom in particular were both very—how shall I say?—hesitant to sign up for a one-year engagement. They kept asking, “What’s the rush?”

It was really important to me to have my parents fully on board. I didn’t want there to be any hesitation from anyone on my wedding day. It was a really tough thing, though, because Mr. Brooch and I wanted to be the ones to chose our wedding day (duh!) and do what’s best for us (he’s not a people pleaser like me). But in the end, I think it was more important for us to submit to our parents and give it a few more months.

I’m not going lie and say I’ve never felt sad thinking about how far off our wedding day was (like last spring, for instance, it was a total downer having been engaged six months and knowing there was another 12 months to go), but it’s par for the course. I think it’s a testament to the nature of the beast of weddings, isn’t it? We have to take into account other people and especially our families—whether that be by honoring traditions or submitting to their suggestions and wishes.

Would it have been easy for me to get upset that I wasn’t getting my way?

Definitely. But there’s a silver lining. A few, as a matter of fact, and today we’re actually glad we went with their advice because we’ve had more time to save and plan.

I also have no doubt that when our wedding day finally does roll around, we’re going to have that feeling like, “Wow! It’s finally here!” That’s going to be a wonderful thing!

It’s also kind of cool that our engagement was in the fall and our wedding will be in the spring! Every year when it starts to get cooler, we’ll be thinking back on the day Mr. Brooch proposed, and when it starts to get warmer, we’ll be thinking back on our wedding! Yay for celebrations of our relationship all year long!

Did I mention how much I love spring/garden details?

Check out some of this awesome spring inspiration:

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Here’s are some cool bits of advice from The Knot on picking a wedding date:

• consider marrying on the day your grandparents did (go with sentimental if you can)
• consider your wedding personality (for flip flops, pick summer; for cider, pick fall)

Here’s what Elizabeth Anne Designs has to say on the subject:

• be flexible and don’t pick a date until you have to
• give yourself a big window, such as two to three months
• consider the discounts that apply to weekday or Sunday weddings

Oh, I love this bit of advice:

• remember the one cardinal rule of wedding planning: you will never please everyone

Project Wedding says “Don’t get married on these days”:

• 9/11 and April Fool’s Day
• during big sporting events…hmm! Hadn’t thought of that!

How did you pick your wedding date? How long is your engagement?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

We will have about 120 guests at our wedding. It’s not huge, but not tiny. For us, this is just the right size. We’ve been able to include all the people that we would love to have celebrate with us, and we can legitimately use the “we’re having a relatively small affair” excuse when people who THINK they should be invited aren’t on the short list. And by the way, if I haven’t seen or talked to you in four years… why would you think you would be invited to our wedding???!?? Facebook does not count. But I digress…

The hard part for me wasn’t the guest list so much as the bridal party. With only 120 guests, it’s just not feasible to have a ton of bridesmaids. And since we are minding the budget, limiting the number of bridesmaids just makes financial sense. More bridesmaids = more bouquets + bridal party gifts = more money. The hard part is that I have a lot of really close girlfriends, not to mention that I have been a bridesmaid six times myself. What is a girl to do???!?

Enter the House Party.

I think the concept of a house party may have begun in the South, but basically it’s a way to honor the women who WOULD have been bridesmaids if you were (a) having a larger affair or (b) weren’t concerned about budget so much. The house party does not stand up during the ceremony with the other bridesmaids or wear matching dresses (although I suppose they could wear something coordinating), but they are included in just about everything else and are listed in the wedding program. I also want the house party hanging out with me the day of the wedding when the getting ready stuff is happening. I can’t imagine NOT having these people behind the scenes, even though they aren’t officially bridesmaids. I’ve been in the house party for a friend and felt every bit as special as I would have if I had been a bridesmaid. And frankly, it’s a lot less work!

So, I’ve decided to have four bridemaids – Sister Hippo will be my MOH, and then three other bridesmaids. I have an additional five women that will be in the house party, bringing the total group to nine. I’m still tossing around the ideas in my head about how to handle the house party during the procession and where they should be seated (in a row of their own? with their spouses?) but I have plenty of time to figure it out.

Anyone else having a house party in addition to your bridesmaids?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.