This week has been nothing short of amazing. The stars aligned in my favor: Two wedding issues that have been plaguing me have finally come to resolution!

After months of disappointing samples and dozens of overpriced Web sites, I’ve finally found the perfect invitation. A stranger tipped me off to Invitationpie.com via e-mail, and while I was skeptical at searching yet another Web site, I figured it wouldn’t hurt me to browse. When I saw the photo of the site’s blossom invitation, it just clicked inside me that this was the one for us. Enthusiastic as ever, I e-mailed the designer and asked for a sample. But even from the photo, I was confident that the search for the perfect invitation was finally over.

True to my experience with all my other vendors, this Web site isn’t a mass-production conglomerate; it’s one designer who customizes simple invitations for brides on a budget. When the invite arrived, my suspicions were confirmed—it was perfection wrapped in a teal envelope. I’ve made some minor color changes and have yet to figure out wording, but at long last I’ve found a wonderful invite that suits us.

As if this wasn’t enough good news for one week, I finally came to a decision about hiring a “day-of coordinator”—or DOC, as the official wedding folks call them. After much internal debate and plenty of public feedback, I decided that hiring someone for that day was the right decision. This way I don’t have to worry about a timeline, vendors, or anything other than having a great time with my new husband. To be honest, I’m sure I’ll be studying the timeline and harassing our DOC throughout the day, but at least in theory I can now focus more on just being the bride.

Doing some initial price searches, I realized that day-of coordinators certainly charged a lot for minimal labor. I had no intention of spending $2,000 for one day of service, so it was off to the Knot.com message boards for some suggestions. After conversations with some past DC brides, I decided to meet with Myra at Exceeding Expectations. (www.exceedingevents.com) Her reasonable prices and no-nonsense demeanor made me sure she could handle our day-of coordination with relative ease—plus she was polite and easy to work with when I rescheduled our meeting three times, so she could obviously put up with my intense scheduling!

It still feels like the wedding is so far away, but July is getting fairly close. I hope all of the weeks leading up to our big day are as successful as this one has been!

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