Yay!

I'm engaged. Happiness, sugar plums and chocolate cake! When he popped the question, I was ecstatic, running around all pumped up about all the fun planning that lay ahead.

Until I started planning.

I read a book that basically said, "You're an idiot. Weddings are expensive, exhausting and will cause your face to melt off in frustration. It's also the MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF YOUR LIFE. Enjoy!"

My dreams of horse drawn carriages and chocolate fountains quickly deflated. Planning a wedding in Los Angeles was not looking exciting or cheap. My fiancee (who will be referred to as Mr. Adventure) and I decided that if we wanted to have a nice wedding without starting our marriage in the red, some compromises would have to be made. Like forget about training a dove to place the ring of my finger. (10 points if you recognize that reference!)

We both decided to only invite close friends and family with no more than 50 guests. Having the wedding during the off season would also help to cut costs. But even those factors didn't help much.

And so it begins, our eye opening, face melting challenge! Plan an affordable wedding without sacrificing too much quality.

Step one: Find an affordable and somehow gorgeous venue.

Step two: Have everything else magically fall into place? Or tackle every task one at a time, whatever.

Thirteen months to go!