The Wedding Item You Cannot Live Without

Whether you are planning your own wedding, or have hired the assistance of a professional, there is one item you simply cannot live without. This is an item that starts out at a reasonable size. Then, as the wedding draws nearer, it grows and grows. It gets larger and larger, until, the week before the big day it is bursting at the seams, overflowing with magazine cutouts and fabric swatches. This precious item is the bride binder.

Bride binders, or wedding organizers, can be purchased at many jewelry stores, bridal boutiques, and stationary shops. However, a simple three ring binder with plenty of room for expansion will do.

The binder should be divided up into categories, such as guest list, invitations, accommodations, venue, seating chart, decorations, favors, flowers, ceremony, vows, bridal party attire, bridal party gifts, bride's attire, cake, menu, reception, music, registry, and honeymoon. In each of these sections, you should have a checklist of everything you must remember to do, plenty of blank space for notes and taped-on pictures, and envelopes or folders for scraps of paper and fabric.

You will find that the binder begins to come in handy right away. The first steps in planning a wedding often involve scouring dozens of bridal magazines for gowns, décor, favors, and more. My absolute favorite bridal magazine is Martha Stewart Weddings, because there are so many wonderful ideas about how to make things yourself. As you are going through these magazines, feel free to rip out every page that has something on it that strikes your fancy (provided of course that it is your magazine). Then, cut out the pictures and articles, and tape or staple them into your binder in the appropriate section. As time goes by, you will change your mind about certain things you have cut out, but you will enjoy looking back at them later anyway.

Certain parts of your planning process will have to be done on the computer, of course. Microsoft Excel is imperative for your guest list. You should list each guest's name and address, followed by columns to check off when you have sent the invitation, and to mark whether or not they will be attending, how many guests they will be bringing, what they have chosen for dinner, whether they have sent a gift, and whether you have sent them a thank you note. Spreadsheets like this will come in handy throughout the process. As you update them on the computer, be sure to print them out and staple a copy into your best friend, the bride binder.

Another thing include in your organizer is a calendar leading up to the big day. This will be a place to keep track of all your appointments and meetings. It may seem like there are only a few appointments to remember, but as the day approaches, you will suddenly find yourself booked solid with floral dates, cake-tastings, visits to hear bands play, meetings with the venue director, gown fittings, and counseling with the officiant.

As you embark on this magnificent journey that is your wedding, be absolutely sure that you have this precious item on your person at all times. You never know when you will encounter a perfect sage or have to suddenly refer to a floor diagram. Perhaps the best part of the bride binder is that after the wedding is long over and you are living in domestic bliss, you will always have a detailed memento to remember the planning stages of your marriage.