Around Here

I'm not going to lie, my head has been spinning since the engagement.  Of course, in a good way, but there are so many decisions that need to be made right away that helps determine your wedding date.  Things that I kind of knew about, but didn't really realize how final those decisions had to be and how soon.

Thank goodness I already knew where I wanted the ceremony.  Last Wednesday we toured the church so Dakota could see it and to see what dates they still had available.  When he walked into the santuary, he said, "Woah!"  He was a little hesitant when I first told him about this particular church, but now that he has seen it, he agrees, we HAVE to get married there.

So, we already have the church picked (they have 2 dates penciled in for us as we choose a reception location).  We have 2 solid dates to choose from (they are pretty open for next fall at the moment).  We are currently looking at reception venues.  Looking for reception venues has made me realize that I'm quite picky about it.  I don't like the shape of the room of this one.  The last time I went to a reception at this place, it was dark and not in very nice condition.  I know the person who owns this building and they aren't very reliable... You get the idea.  The only downfall to my top venue is that it only holds 260 people and the rate my guest list is going, that could be a tight fit.  Depends who all actually comes and if they bring a plus one.

Which brings me to the other thing that is so stressful...guest lists!  When looking at wedding planning to-do lists, it's telling me to have my guest list like this month.  There are so many people I want to invite, but can only fit so many in the church and reception hall.  And what do you do when you invite someone from out of state and you are pretty certain they won't show?  Invite more people to make up for their absense?  What happens if they do show up?  What about those who bring a plus one and you didn't really plan on them doing so.  Do you just assume everyone will bring a plus one?  So many questions and there are so many variations on how to answer them that I'm not sure what to do.  How do people plan weddings?!

Thoughts and comments would be appreciated!