DIY: Wedding Bible

Yea! The first DIY project of many (hopefully!) I am sure all of you brides-to-be have looked at those wedding planning books, they can range in price from $20 to $100. But when you are planning a wedding on a budget (while trying to decorate a house, landscape, care for pets, etc) $20 can be better spent elsewhere. While these books are cute and contain timelines, pockets for documents and tips, most of the information can be accessed on the internet and, if cuteness is a factor, a little elbow grease and it can be cuter and far more unique than anything on the store shelf

I started with a plain white binder. Sadly, this is as far as I have gotten on the cute factor. (Maybe after the 4th of July...)

I found a timeline that contained the basics of what when and what I need to book, the list I chose was from Real Simple, but there are lots and lots of timelines as well as budgets and miscellaneous planning tools available for free. 

I use the pockets on the front and back of the binder to store things that I haven't had a chance to 3-hole punch and enter. 

The best part of having a binder as your wedding bible? Customize the tabs to what you need! Having a band, give them their own tab. Photographer? Own tab. Organize it the way that works the best for you. I highly recommend 3-hole punching everything you need to keep track of and putting them under the proper tabs. Contracts, correspondence (emails, letters, call logs, etc.) copies of sent checks, notes, pictures - everything.

One thing to keep in mind as you are planning is that even though you are in a state of bliss and nothing can seem to go wrong, things do go wrong and people do take advantage of you. Keep detailed records of EVERYTHING. Chances are everything will go off without a hitch, but it might not. You will want to have documentation for that 1% chance it does not.

Finally, when your big day is all over, the binder will be fun to look back on and remember how fun it was planning such a great event. Who knows, maybe a friend will want to borrow it or maybe your daughter will think it is fun to look at when she gets a little older.