Wedding Planning Tips
Has planning your wedding started to make you question your sanity yet? Every bride has that moment where the list of things to do seems so overwhelming that she thinks “why am I doing all of this, we should have just eloped.” We get it. But we promise that all of those times you perused Pinterest for wedding inspo while you should have been working, the craft nights you had with your girlfriends putting together favors, and those hours spent agonizing over a seating chart will all be worth it in the end. This is what you need to know to de-stress and get back on track.
Do your research and explore your options
First things first, you need to know what’s out there. Do your due diligence before visiting venues, making appointments, and booking vendors.
Questions to Ask a Wedding Venue
Make a timeline and a budget
A timeline will help you meet deadlines and a detailed budget will ensure that your wedding isn’t costing more than you can afford.
Utilize your resources
The Knot and Wedding Wire have amazing online tools designed to help couples with the planning. Sometimes the answer to your question is just a quick Google search away.
Get a head start
Don’t wait on the things that are the most important to you. The wedding day will creep up quickly and you don’t want to save things for the last minute. It never hurts to book vendors quickly or get ahead of your timeline. The more on top of the planning you are the less stressed you will be as the wedding gets closer.
Stay organized
This is probably the most important advice we can give. It may be obvious, but staying organized will make sure that important details don’t fall through the cracks. Checklists, timelines, and spreadsheets are going to be your best friends for the next few months. You can buy planners like this one to help keep everything all in one place.
Ask yourself what you want the wedding day to look like
This is your day! There isn’t anything that you have to do. Do you want to skip the bouquet and garter toss? Go for it! Would you like to do a First Look? Wonderful! Don’t be afraid to break from tradition and eliminate formalities. The day can go however you’d like; it goes by so quickly, and you should try to be as efficient with your time as possible.
Don’t be wasteful
Really think about your decorations, signage, dessert, and flowers. What are you are going to do with anything that is left over? Even though a donut board might look cute are you really going to keep it afterwards? Think about donating your leftover decorations. For example, at the Red Barn we always donate any leftover flowers to a local nursing home.
Don’t stress about things that are out of your control
No one can control the weather or the color of the foliage. You need to be flexible about things you cannot change.
Trust your vendors
You hired these professionals for a reason. They do weddings for a living, and their input is often valid. Always make sure to be communicative with your vendors and check in with them to see what they need from you.
Take things one step at a time
This speaks for itself, but it is important to not take on too much at once. Pick a task and complete it before moving on to the next item on the checklist.
You’ve got this!