Getting Organized – Physical Tools

*Getting organized is one of those things that really varies from person to person and what works for me might not work best for you. Please do tweak and twist the advice below into something that works for your organizational style.*

When planning your wedding, you’re going to likely have two sets of tools: Online ones and physical ones. Today, let’s look at the essential physical tools.

- Your wedding box: Get a plastic storage container or sturdy cardboard box that’s big enough to hold the stuff listed below, your RSVP cards, bridal magazines and a few other odds and ends. But make sure that it’s not so big you have to store it in a garage or locker or something other out of the way location. The point of this box is for it to be an accessible, useful spot to point your wedding stuff.

- A planner or address book: There are dozens of wedding planners out there, some packed with advice, others focused more on “capturing memories” while others are just overpriced address books.

Before buying anything, think about how you’ll use this book. Will you really use it as a diary? What about all those budgeting sheets? Are you more likely to do all that sort of stuff on your computer?

What you really want in a planner is place to write down all the contact info for your vendors. Sure, you’ll have this online, likely in your inbox, but it’s also good to have all of that info in one place that you can easily grab and search through, regardless of whether or not you have access to a computer and the internet.

Again, be aware of getting something too big. For many brides, a bag-sized address book will do.

- Your look book: This is a book where you can stick all those ripped out bridal magazine pages. You can get pretty fancy with this but really, the easiest thing to do is buy a one of those big, coil-bound notebooks you used to use in high school. Get one with sturdy covers but skip on the ones with dividers. Instead, create your own custom dividers using glued in bits of coloured paper. Some suggested areas are: Décor; Flowers; Cake; Food & Drink; My Dress; Photos (for examples of wedding photos you like); Stationary; Wedding Party Outfits; Other

Also grab a glue stick. While liquid cement might seem fancier, a grade school glue stick is a lot less messy.