****2016 Brides**** 326 brides (and 3 grooms!) so far!

Hello everyone,

I've posted on Hitched a few times but haven't introduced myself in this thread yet. I'll be getting married on September 24, 2016 at a lakeside campground in Vermont. OH and I are a transatlantic couple and I also live about a 14 hour drive from where the wedding will take place so I'm planning from afar. We've booked our venue but only my parents have seen it. He will be coming to the US in September and we are going to fly up to see it for the first time

So far the venue is the only thing we've booked. We're just starting to think about save the dates and have decided magnets. We won't have time for an engagement photo shoot so we're not going to be able to use our photos on the Save the Dates

I've also started thinking about bridesmaid dresses and color schemes. I'm not that into having all my maids in the same dress/color so I think we'll be going for the mismatched look. Half of my bridesmaids are in the UK and half are in the US so rather than try to coordinate it and find a brand that is available in both countries in the right color, style and price range I'm going to let them pick their own dresses. I've picked up some paint swatches and am thinking of having them each pick a color from the swatch so that all the dresses will still look good together even though they are different colors. Right now I'm leaning towards the colors on the left. What do you think?

That's a great idea for picking shades of a colour! I would agree, I prefer the ones on the left but in general I always prefer cooler tones.

If I'm being completely honest, those strips of colour look pretty much the same to me... That said, they're all lovely, so either one you go with will look beautiful

12 months. Eep

Am 99% sure I've found my dress. Am so excited. Went to try on the other dress I had in mind today and glad I did. I have always loved the pergola from pronovias but when putting it on realised that off white doesn't suit me and lace neither. Tried on satins and made up my mind that I want satin. Loved one in pronovias flagship store called Dalamo and that's going to be my dress. Just have to have a sample sent to my local bridal shop to try it on again to make sure but everytime I look at it I love it more and more. It's been months, 7 bridal shops, 4 cities and about 100 dresses but I finally got there haha.

Congratulations, RachD90! When will the sample be in?

Talking about dresses, I wonder if anyone else gets the same thoughts I do: when I see another dress (particularly big, princess, poofy ones) I get vague hints of jealousy and wobblyness about mine. The problem is that I tried on the big, princess, poofy style and it looked absolute sh1tebags on me - why do I wobble when I know it doesn't look good on me and I love the dress I chose?!

Also, does anyone have any hints on how to get their OH excited about looking at suits?! We've pretty much determined that he wants a dark suit. No waistcoat. We're buying it, so it needs to be something he can wear going forward. Yet he can't get the enthusiasm together to go look for something (even online). Any tips gratefully received!

I wouldn't say excited was a word I would use. My h2b has to wear suits a lot so I suppose it was just second nature to go buy a new suit and shirt. Just the tie to get.

I guess that's one of the issues - while my OH tends to wear smartish clothes for work (black trousers, smart, collared t-shirts), he wears a full suit once in a blue moon. He hates shopping at the best of times as well, so I'm fighting all different fires.

Hopefully one weekend we'll have absolutely miserable weather, we won't be able to do anything but go to a shopping centre and get the dirty deed done!

My OH got his from JAEGGER at the Freeport outlet. Suit and shirt. Good without the hefty price ticket. Mind you it cost him more than he expected as I saw a coat I liked while there lol.

Speaking of suites, when does the groom normally go to look for his?

Bubblerawk we only needed him a normal black suit, nothing out of the ordinary and nothing hired so we waited for the sales then hit the Freeport outlet at JAEGGER.

@bubblerawk I think it depends if he is buying or hiring. I don't know how early you need to order hire suits because we plan on buying and are aiming for the January sales. The summer sales will be too close to the mark!

Even though I'm semi-pushing my OH to start looking now, I think that's more to allay my fears that he's actually doing something! I reckon we'll be getting his suit, plus the others in January, ready for our April wedding.

Yeah my groom isn't particularly interested in suit shopping. He wants to look nice for the day that's about as far as it goes. Doesn't care what colour or style he wears he leaving it up to me. Suppose men can be very practical and think it's just a suit as long as I look ok and smart it's fine. Like others we are getting his suit in the January sale. Hope to buy a really good designer for half the price. Also buying the best mans suit as well same day. Thinking of taken them to chester oaks. God help me bet all they do is moan or want to pick the first one they try on. Groom is wearing somerthing different than best man and groomsmen. Sounds odd but it's a light grey suit with grey waistcoat and then hiring a morning jacket in navy/blue. And his best man just wearing all navy. Seen it on Pinterest and looks amazing.

My friend said when her partner was best man for his brother they literally went 2 days before and got their suits for hire and picked the first ones in the shop haha. Wouldn't recommend that as she said her partners trousers didn't even fit him and kept falling down all day. But goes to show you can hire suits very close to the day if need be.

Does anyone else feel like every wedding choice they make is being nitpicked? If someone close to me absolutely hates one of my ideas and thinks it's the wrong way to go, I do want them to tell me. But if you like 98% of it and there's just one little aspect that isn't exactly how you would do it, just keep it to yourself and be supportive. Every time I talk about my wedding someone always has to pipe up and critique it. It would be nice if someone was excited with me for once. It makes me want to just keep all my planning to myself

My mum is like that. Always. Always. Always.

I've planned the whole wedding in secret. Then you still don't have people excited for you so I'm not sure there is an easy option.

Thanks guys, i think we are hiring ours but i think i will get OH to go after xmas to have a look lol

For the most part people tend to be excited about all of our wedding stuff. It's hard when you want people to be excited and they pick on one slight issue and make it all about 'what they would do' and 'have you thought about this or that?'

I say tell people your plans, but as soon as they suggest other things, smile sweetly and change the subject. Or tell them it's all been paid for and nothing can be amended now.

Might get round to telling people in September that we are getting married in January.

Finally got around to booking our hotel last night, this is the room. The bed looks amazing

Bubblerawk love the hotel. It looks amazing. We've booked ours too. Time seems to be flying by now, don't you think. Glad we're all so organised ?

Ohh i know, im getting my wedding dress ordered in sept then followed by a trip to the venue.

looking for bridesmaid dresses in october too

I need to get a hotel booked. We need one for about a week so we want something really nice but also can't afford anything too expensive.

what about renting a self catered place? I needed somewhere to stay the night before and get ready at and then we need somewhere to stay on the wedding night. We've booked a luxury apartment in the city centre less than 5 mins walk from our ceremony venue and it's worked out cheaper than a hotel and you get more space, a kitchen etc.

we used holidaylettings.co.uk but airbnb are good too x

Have a look on booking.com, we booked ours through there and it means we dont have anything to pay until the day we check in and you can find some good deals on there xx

I need to get a hotel booked. We need one for about a week so we want something really nice but also can't afford anything too expensive.

Don't know why that posted again just now? Internet connection is a bit hit and miss at the moment. .

Thanks for the advice, I'll have a look online. Not thought about self catering but would def be an option I think!

Beautiful room bubblerawk!!

As for us, we had our bridesmaid fitting yesterday and it was mostly a success! Two are strapped and two are strapless, and the strapless ones seemed to come up big. But they don't have them online any more, so we're hoping to get them taken in. They all liked them though and they look good so I'm pleased Also asked our final usher who's been really busy and we haven't seen.

So a little bit of progress for us! Still need to get a little start on invitation design so we have something to start from. Hope everyone else's planning is going well. Time is starting to fly!

So this is a bit of a PP, but we had OH's parents, sister and grandparents staying with us this weekend and met up with my family for a massive catch up over dinner. It went really well and then all weekend I kept having 'squee' moments where I was really happy that our families get along and that I can't wait to be a proper part of his family.

It's stupid, I know, but with wedding things ALWAYS going on in my head, it was so nice just to look at my OH and remember/acknowledge that I do really love him and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him.

Urgh, PDA over. Sorry!

PS. your room looks beautiful, bubblerawk! And well done on getting so much organised this weekend, laurafish.

9th January 2016 for me! So excited!

We're at the 1 year mark! So exciting!!!