Firstimersluck dishes about her military wedding

Posted Friday, January 27, 2012 4:05 PM

Knot Name: firstimersluck

Wedding Date: September 25th 2011  

Tell me about the Knotties on your board that you post on. Have you ever joined them for a GTG?
I am a frequenter of three boards, in particular: Washington-Seattle, September 2011 Brides and Military Brides. The Military Brides board has been helpful in that I can just bond with other military spouses, whether we discuss the wedding or not. The September board, however, was the most helpful--in fact, I have made long-lasting friendships with a lot of those ladies. They are all incredible people! Also, getting to plan my wedding with others who have the same timeline as me was really helpful to keep me on track! There were plenty of times where someone would post about a project they completed and I would respond, "Oh man... I totally didn't think about that!" This November, I am planning to get together with the Seattle Knotties and can't wait! It's great to have so many people who are close to me and planning weddings as well. From fellow board members, I learned about vendors to use and stay away from and was also able to help other Knotties find their local vendors that are/were awesome! I'm even letting one Knottie borrow some of my wedding decor for her upcoming wedding. :)

Describe your wedding.
My wedding was by the water in Bellingham, WA. My husband is in the Navy, so we wanted a clean, nautical feel, but without overdoing it. The colors were white, royal blue and yellow with a very "crisp" feel.

How have the Knotties on your board helped you plan?
Yes! So many of my ideas came from the DIY board, AA board, and Budget Weddings board. The most helpful ladies, however, were the September 2011 brides! Whenever I needed help, they were eager to offer their advice and insight! For example, I wanted a sash for my wedding gown, and they spent an entire thread over the course of a week posting ones they found online. They took me, my style, my budget and my look into consideration and spent so much time and effort on such a small detail. Not to mention, I had the best sash ever! Also, the Seattle Brides came in handy for vendor picking and reviews. I was grateful to have real women, who actually used the vendors, give me their tips and reviews.

What has been the most valuable piece of advice you've gotten from another Knottie?
The most valuable piece of advice that I got was that you'll never be able to please everyone on our wedding day. This is so true! When you try so hard to make everyone else happy, the wedding becomes a party for everyone else--not for you and your groom.

Best vendor that you’ve worked with and why?
The best vendor we worked with was Kristin Harris from Kristin Harris Photography. She is a reasonably priced photographer who gave us everything we wanted. Not to mention, she is so easy-going and really cared about us as a couple. Kristin made sure that our engagement photos and wedding photos had a little bit of everything: Artsy, playful, classic, silly, romantic, etc. She was so easy to get along with, quick to respond to e-mails, and always early to arrive. She also listened to our concerns, my insecurities about photographs, our style and made everything happen the way we wanted! I cannot talk her up enough!

What made your wedding stand out to your guests, and where did you find the inspiration?
I think that our venue made our wedding stand out to our guests. It was overlooking the ocean with this big glass dome--you just can't beat that view! We also had a lot of personal touches that I DIYed, which made our wedding unique. Most of the inspiration came from the DIY board or just searching through all the pictures on The Knot! I really appreciate all the photo galleries on the website for inspiring what I wanted visually.

What did you look forward to most on your wedding day?
I looked forward to seeing it all come together after months of planning!