9 Wedding Planning tips
If you’re unsure about hiring someone to plan out your wedding, or you believe you can handle it on your own. Picture Me Hitched has a checklist for you.
Organization
This is a big must! Anything from keeping contracts to signing your name on the marriage license, you must be organized. Whether you like physical organization or digital, keeping documents in one location will keep the headaches to a minimum. Organization not only has to do with physical items, it also has to do with your time. Becoming scatter brained will only delay a deadline. When organizing your time, write out an itinerary. Make sure to block out times and dates on your calendar devoted to specifically planning your wedding. Leave yourself a cushion of added time so you have the ability to be thorough. We all know missing a step can throw the entire process into a spiral.
Budget
Pay attention to it, there’s no need for added stress when planning out your wedding. Be realistic with your wants, needs and desires. When you and your fiancé set your budget, don’t deviate from that number. There’s no reason to look at a Louis Vuitton purse when all your budget is allowing for is a Dooney & Bourke pocket book. We’re not saying you can’t buy that LV purse, we are simply stating, you didn’t plan for that added cost. Sticking to the budgeted plan will alleviate the potential of choosing what to have and what not to have. If all goes according to plan and you come in under budget, it’s much easier to add to a wedding rather than take away.
Research
The internet is saturated with information about weddings, take your time in finding out information regarding your special day. Do your homework on the venue, find out the “pros and cons” when picking one out. The same applies to all vendors, pick the vendors that apply to your needs. See what they can offer and how it may be beneficial to your wedding. Read reviews about their business, know if they’re helpful and understand if they are trying to sell a product or provide a service.
Contracts
Read completely through all contracts before signing your life away. We can’t tell you how many times a contract has been signed without understanding the full complexity of their signature. If you don’t agree to the terms, ask the vendor to revise. If the vendor won’t revise the contract, you’ll need to weigh the risk versus reward outlook. We know you’ll be building relationships with these vendors, but the best may not always be the couples. Verbal agreements are just that, verbal. If a vendor is promising you something, they should have no problem promising it in ink. You have to protect your investment and a wedding is a lifelong investment.
Deadlines
Sticking to the decision making timeline is vital. If you’re like many others, procrastinating on deadlines can be detrimental in the decision making process. Have your itinerary built out based on priority. If your 1st 3 goals are venue, dress and photographer/videographer, stick to the process before moving on. Many people ask, why would we pick out a photographer/videographer in the beginning phase of our goals? Of course, you’re thinking, another photographer/videographer trying to make a sale in their blog! Well, not exactly. Countless times before, couples have said, “ I wish we would have had visual representation of picking out the dress.” Or, “ the photographer/videographer could have given us insight to how the venue may or may not have worked with our style.” All we’re saying is, many decisions have to be made and further delay may add stress.
Fiancé
We’ve spoke about this many times in other blogs and it still rings true, keep your fiancé involved. Marriage isn’t 50/50, it’s 100/100. Keeping your partner in mind when making decisions isn’t only fair, it breeds communication. Sometimes, it’s best to do things solo, but that’s only when a surprise is on the horizon. Outside of that, discuss all topics regarding the wedding preparations. The groom/bride may relinquish all decision making powers to the other, but that doesn’t mean it’s a one way road. Pick their brain, ask questions and ultimately, have fun. Weddings are forever and there’s no reason to look back on the past at what could have been.
Envision
Put yourself in the moment, picture exactly how you plan to be at any given time during the process and stay true to that. Set realistic goals and not fairytales. We understand the ladies love a nice fairytale, but question, is this a reality? After you’ve picked out the things you want for your wedding, don’t look back. If the questions have already been answered through thorough vetting, there’s no reason to second guess. Make those visions your reality and get ready for, “ I do.”
Enjoy
Weddings sometimes, don’t come twice, so why not enjoy the ride while you’re on it? We understand these are stressful times, but honestly, they don’t have to be. You’re buying an experience with all of your time and effort so why not enjoy it? Picture it this way! You’re planning this epic journey through life and knocking an item off of the bucket list. If it’s stressful and makes you miserable at times, it doesn’t appear to be a bucket list item. Breathe, smile and just remember, the people you put in positions to complete this bucket list item know what they’re doing. That’s the reason you hired them, right? ;-)
Planner
You may want to take on the responsibility of planning your wedding, we admire that. Just remember, it never hurts to have a “day of planner.” There’s no reason that you or your fiancé are running around, not enjoying yourselves, trying to stick to an itinerary. You should be with loved ones enjoying this epic rite of passage. Leave the hard work to others and pat yourself on the back for a job well done!