Where do I start?

For as long as I can remember, I have pictured my wedding. As I've gotten older, the picture has changed quite a bit. I've already told you about the venue I imagined and the location that we booked. Once we were engaged, I felt a HUGE amount of pressure. I didn't want to spend any extra money. Any. So I knew that I needed to make sure that if I made any decisions and purchases, that they were final. I pictured myself in a bridal version of "Who wants to be a millionaire."

(source)

Meridith Vieira: "Ready2bmrsd, what colors would you like your wedding to be? A) pink, black and silver; B) white, ivory and gold; C) chocolate, pear and cream; or D) teal, navy and white."
Me: "Can I get a 50/50?"
*Cue dramatic music*
Meridith: "Computer, please take away two options."
*Funny 50/50 noise*
Meridith: "That leaves you with B) white, ivory and gold or C) chocolate, pear and cream."
Me: "C) chocolate, pear and cream"
Meridith: "Is that your final answer?"
Me: "Uhhhh, I think so."
*Gulp*

You see, I thought that if I had an idea that I liked and I shared it with anyone, I needed to be sure that it was my "final answer." It is sort of like buying a dress, but continuing to try them on. What if I found something that I liked better? What if I fell in love with accessories that would look better with a different theme?

I wanted to make sure that I didn't spend a lot of time or energy going off in the wrong direction. Then I got some great advice from a friend: buy something. If you start buying things in the color scheme or theme that you like, then you can't change your mind. Brilliant!

So go figure, but I didn't buy anything that had anything to do with my theme. I bought it because I liked it. What was it? My cake topper. I got my vintage cake topper from a seller on ebay for $11.

She's blonde, he's not. She has a sweet veil, and I love how they are holding hands. I'm not going to build our wedding around our cake topper, but it seemed like a generic place to start. Since then, I have definitely developed a theme, and I can't wait to share it with you!

Where did you start your wedding planning? Did you change directions mid-stream? Do you remember what your first purchase was?