Checklist Update

Exciting news about The Checklist!  On July 9th, I wrote that I had only completed 70 items on my Knot checklist and still had a whopping 184 to go.  Well, after completing a few more items (I'm all the way to 76, now!) I realized that it still says "184 To-Dos on List."  I have realized that this is the TOTAL number of items on the checklist, rather than the remaining things I need to accomplish.

Phew!

Out of curiosity, I went through a checklist on the Martha Stewart Weddings website as well.  Martha only suggests 118 total items for the checklist (I've completed 54 of them!), which leads me to believe that either The Knot is horrendously thorough, or Martha is forgetting something.  It's just so hard to imagine Martha missing anything important, especially concerning a wedding.  Favorites from the Martha Checklist:  Book your hair and makeup vender.  Start the guest list.  Search for a band.  You see, it's very cut and dry, nothing confusing like on The Knot:  Make sure your Maid of Honor and Best Man know what's expected of them - providing a list of their duties will help.

I'm so sorry, Jennifer, if you're reading this, that I never provided you with a list of duties.  Here they are:

1.  Please look fabulous on the wedding day

2. Please have fun on the wedding day

3. Please have your hair done in a fun and different way so we can ooh and aah over it

4. Please make sure you hold my bouquet at the appropriate times during the ceremony

5. Please fluff out my train when absolutely necessary (ceremony only)

6. Please listen while I talk about all the fun wedding stuff I'm doing, and squeal with excitement when it's something really good (eeeee!)

Well, I guess that's it.  I'm so sorry I didn't do this sooner.  Oh, Checklist.

The Checklist

Every day, I go on TheKnot.com to look at my checklist.  Thanks to the fine people at The Knot (which is a fabulous wedding resource, FYI), I have an absolutely mind-boggling checklist of everything I am supposed to be completing for the wedding.  This checklist is organized in monthly increments up to my wedding date.  Each time I reach the next month (i.e., today, as the 9th to the 8th of the following month is considered my "wedding month increment"), more items on my checklist magically appear.  I find this both challenging and daunting.  

I love checking things off the list.  When I do this, they disappear.  They're gone.  According to The Knot, I have completed 70 items on my checklist.  Sadly, I still have 184 left.  The thing is...I just don't find all of them valid.  Some of these items are innocuous enough, like..."finalize menu and service details with caterer."  Well, that's pretty black and white.  Others are a little more complex:  "Brides:  experiment with your beauty routine, self-tanners, and facials."  ??  I suppose I should just go ahead and check this one off the list.  I feel like it's probably best to not do any experimenting with only four months left until the wedding.  And...self-tanners?  I don't think so.  

The other beauty of the checklist is that it tells me how many days are left until the wedding.  Today, it informs me that there are 122 days remaining until I become Mrs. Smith.  It also tells me that I'm behind on a few items - namely, booking our hotel room for the wedding night.  This is notated by a purple exclamation mark next to the checklist item.  Other items I am overdue on:  ordering invitations (I'm working on this, Checklist, I swear!), and deciding on a floral scheme with specific flowers.  

Oh well.  I'm pretty sure I'm on top of things, and while I'll continue to use my Knot Checklist purely for the joy of watching tasks disappear, I won't let it get the better of me!  And for now, my own internal checklist has informed my that I'm overdue for walking my dog.