Something Blue...and well organized.

Do you know what today is? Yes, it's Friday, September 2. It's also the Friday before the long holiday weekend (hooray!), the second day of the September Creative Challenge and 10 months until our wedding!!

It feels like just yesterday we had over a year until our wedding; amazing how quickly time flies by! Details for the big day are well underway. Several of the important pieces are already taken care of so I'm excited and not feeling stressed. However, the 10 month marker is definitely a good kick in the bustle to get organized. As 7.2.12 gets closer there will be many more details to keep track of.

My first step in operation organization was to start a wedding binder. In addition to spreadsheets, this binder will be my other best friend in planning the big day. It's a place to keep signed contracts, receipts and of course ideas torn from magazines.

I bought this blue [IN]PLACE binder earlier this summer. I chose this particular brand of binder because it has pockets in the front cover and the corners have elastic loops to help keep all the good stuff safely tucked inside.

My first order of business was to brand this blue binder with our wedding date! Using metallic silver paper and my beloved cricut, I cut the numbers and two small starburst periods. They are now glued on the front cover.

Next I created the tabs for the sections. I chose the Avery Note Tabs (20 pack) because of their color and they are easy to stick and remove, just in case I change my mind (which neeevvveeerrr happens!).

Thanks to the recent bride, Mrs Cotton, for sharing with me the sections of her wedding binder. I used her list as a starting place for my wedding binder sections. Here is what I came up with:

Timeline/To-Do ~ Budget ~ Guest List ~ Vendor Contracts ~ Venue ~ Photography~ Ceremony ~ Reception ~ Paper Products ~ Flowers ~ Cake/Dessert ~ Bride & Groom ~ Bridal Party ~ Bridal Shower ~ Rehearsal Dinner ~ Hair/Make-up/Accessories ~Registry ~ Honeymoon

And now for the fun part: putting all the ideas, contracts and receipts I've had tucked in the front pocket into their individual plastic sleeves. Now when I pull ideas from magazines, I can put them in their section. I also went through all of the paper products from our friends weddings that I've held on to over the years. It was fun to look back at all the beautiful paper and now use them for inspiration (thank you, ladies!).

I will admit, I am a nerd about organizing; it makes me happy. Regardless of your nerdiness, being organized for your wedding is essential to staying stress free. So here's to the next 10 months of organized planning with my trusty blue binder!

This post is part of my September Creative Challenge. Follow along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month!