the year mark: where are we in planning?

Onward and upward!

It's pretty mind-boggling, but as of today, Mike and I have officially been engaged for a YEAR. We will be getting married in 264 days. I have friends who have literally met their boyfriends, got engaged and got married in less time than Mike and I will be betrothed. But hey, as I have said before, having a long engagement was one of the best choices I could have made.

So, where are we in the planning after furiously working for 365 days? Let's take a quick gander at our list:

The Biggies

Date: Confirmed! We are getting married on July 13, 2013.

Venue: The Plaza Hotel. You can read more about why we picked it here.

Bridal Party: Done and you can explore my musings on the subject here.

Vendors

Officiant: Dr. Katherine Kurs. You can read more about her here.

Photographer: Lilian Haidar. Photography musings can be found here.

Videographer: Kiss the Bride Films

Florist: Bloomers. As for what we're doing specifically for flowers, that is still to be determined.

Makeup Artist: Meredith Hayman. Read more about her here.

Hair Stylist: Working on this one. Scheduling a few trials and hope to have someone locked in within the next couple of months. But to read more on what I'd like to do with my hair, click here.

Invitations: Bella Figura, through Village Invites. Read about how we chose them here.
Registries: Completed. Read about them here.

Hotels for Guests: We chose three in the area. I'll write a post about this soon.

Parties

Engagement Party: We had an amazing event in Maryland earlier in the spring. Eventually I'll get around to posting photos. Shout out to Mama Izon for throwing a fabulous fete, of course.

Bachelorette: Yup, we're going to Vegas.

Bachelor Party: Mike seems to change his mind about this every few months. I'm hoping they'll settle for a nice night of Scrabble or something.

Bridal Shower(s): We decided on two (DC and NYC) and these will happen in the spring.
Rehearsal Dinner: Went through about four different restaurants before deciding on Park Avenue Summer. You can read more about the planning process for this and the brunch here.
Post-Wedding Brunch: The National, helmed by my chef crush Geoffrey Zakarian.

Clothing

Wedding Dress: Done! Read more about it here.

Mike's Tux: He bought a new one recently, but he may get a new tux shirt.

Bridesmaid Dresses: Done. Read about my good deal here.

Bridal Shoes: Not bought yet, but have an idea of what I want. Read more about that here.

Bridal Jewelry: No clue yet. But I made a Pinterest page!

The Reception

Band: The Eturnity Band

First Dance Song: I think we have this picked out, but we're still entertaining suggestions.

Menu: The Plaza provides catering and our menu tasting is in February. Counting down the seconds.

Cake: Haven't picked yet, but The Plaza lets you choose between Ron Ben-Israel and Sylvia Weinstock. I'd love any opinions.

Honeymoon