Been There, Done That Bride Part Two: Melissa Montoya

Why Part Two you may ask? Well if you haven't read Amanda's story yet, I'd suggest you hop on over to yesterday's accompanying post first.

This week, it's my sincere pleasure to tell the story of Amanda and Melissa. Not only are these ladies near and dear to my heart, but they also have quite the story. Imagine getting engaged on the same day as your sister, and then hosting your weddings only seven weeks apart!

In addition to her sister's challenge of playing bride and Matron of Honor, Melissa was also a bridesmaid in her best friend's wedding within the seven week time frame as well. The good news is that she lived to tell the tale and happily shares her story with us.

Without further ado, here's Melissa-

Why are you a “Been There, Done That” Bride?
I consider myself a “Been There, Done That” Bride because I survived a year of many weddings. In July 2009, I was overjoyed when my now husband proposed to me. Later that night, I was overjoyed AGAIN when my sister’s boyfriend proposed to her as well. To add to the mix, my best friend was engaged just two weeks earlier! So not only am I a Been There, Done That Bride, I am a Been There, Done That Maid of Honor and a Been There, Done That Bridesmaid.

What surprised you most about your wedding planning?
How expensive everything was. I tell every new bride I talk to, “whatever you think something is going to cost, multiply it by three.” At the beginning of planning our wedding (the day after we were engaged), we started a wedding website and used their handy budget planner. After it divided our money into all the major categories, off I went to start my research. No sooner than my first stop, I realized there was no way I would be able to create my vision with the lesser amount that the budget recommended. But in the end you make it work, you realize what you absolutely can’t live without, what you can make on your own and what you can sacrifice, which in my case were the beautiful gold chivari chairs that my father would absolutely not budge on.

What caused you the most stress during your wedding planning? How was it handled?
Time and originality. Being involved in three weddings within seven weeks created quite the challenge. Being the maid of honor in my sister’s wedding and a bridesmaid in my best friend’s wedding meant three bridal showers, three dress fittings, three bachelorette parties, three dresses… need I say more. I really had to take a couple of weeks and focus on one wedding at a time and then switch gears, color schemes and themes in order to keep my sanity. Trying to make sure that each wedding was special and unique was enjoyable but definitely took a lot of creativity. My sister and I squabbled over the Father of the Bride song (my sister won since she says my dad sang it to her longer) and my best friend and I did go back and forth a couple of times on who would have the tall twigs in vases for centerpieces, but in the end all three weddings were completely different. We all created our own atmosphere, our own special touches and our own amazing memories.

What could you have absolutely not lived without during the planning?
My mother, my sister, the glue gun and many, many checklists….There was no way I could have achieved everything I did for my wedding without the support of my mother and sister. They were there for me every step of the way and for every project, whether it was creating wedding programs, pew cones, collecting acorns and pine cones, constructing a homemade trellis or just being a sounding board for my many wedding ideas. They both carried a glue gun with them at all times as pretty much every aspect of my wedding had some arts and craft project involved much to their dismay. Also a big believer in checklists, I had a checklist for everything. I may have taken it a little too far at my sister’s bridal shower reporting if we were over or under on our time period for each event, but what can I say, I wanted to keep everything running smoothly.

What would you have done differently?
I really would not have done anything differently for my wedding since it far exceeded any of my expectations, but if I had to pick one thing, I would say to not stress out so much about the cost of the photographer. That was the one expense that I really had a hard time committing to, but now looking at the beautiful pictures we have, I am so thankful I spent the extra money as these will always remind us of our amazing day. Still today when I view my wedding album, I feel as if I’m transported right back to that special day. We look forward to sharing these memories with our children someday.

If you had one piece of advice to share with our brides, what would it be?
My one piece of advice, which I’m sure is the same with every “Been There, Done That” Bride, is to just enjoy the whole process. All the planning, stressful decisions and late night craft sessions lead up to the most amazing day of your life. It is so rewarding on your wedding day to sit back and look around and realize that you created this moment. The day of your wedding, you have done everything you can do, it is now your time to get pampered, marry your soul mate and then dance the night away!!

Melissa wore three very different hats during the planning process but found that with checklists and multiple glue guns really saved the day. She also knew that sometimes you have to make tough decisions and decide what are the "must haves" in the planning process. What's also great is that while Melissa took on many projects herself, she also realized the importance of having a professional capture her Big Day.

Interested in being featured? Simply email me at meghan {at} ofdconsulting {dot} com. Have friends trying to plan their Big Day? Then join us August 15 at Wedology 101!

Cheers,
Meghan

Meghan Ely is one part of the Wedology 101 team, and owner of OFD Consulting, a niche Marketing/PR firm servicing the wedding industry and the Managing Director of the Richmond Bridal Association. She is a contributing writer with Virginia Bride magazine, and has been published in Premier Bride Richmond. She and Jennifer write a Wedology 101 column for the Richmond Times Dispatch's Celebration section. She loves late harvest sauvignon blancs, letterpress anything and cakes shaped like Death Stars.