Wedding Planning Tips - From a Wedding Planner!
Some Quick Tips:
Create a joint wedding planning email to share with your partner.
Check out these 5 vendors you should book right away
Follow a wedding planning checklist - here’s a freebie to get you started
Open a new credit card! Might as well get points and amazing benefits, or a free flight for your honeymoon, right!? Our favorite is Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Capital One Venture.
Last but not least, download some wedding freebies
So you’re engaged!
Here is a compilation of wedding planning tips that we’ve collected in 6 years of wedding planning.
Don’t forget to ask your fiancé what he or she wants.
It’s common that one partner is not as involved, but perhaps they just don’t know what to ask. Try to engage them as often as possible or give them a portion of the wedding to be “theirs”.
Ideas for the groom to work on:
Transportation – Arrange transportation for the wedding party and guests if needed.
Marriage License – Research local requirements and ensure it's obtained on time.
Guest Accommodations – Help with hotel blocks, travel info, or airport transportation for out-of-town guests.
Song Selections – Help pick important songs (first dance, parent dances, entrance songs).
Bar & Drinks – If there’s a signature cocktail, have him choose or create it.
Enjoy the process. This is practice for marriage, after all!
Your season of engagement only happens once, so don’t let overwhelm consume you. You likely haven’t undertaken a large project together before, so it’s okay to be bogged down with project management and decision fatigue. If things are getting heated, or you’re feeling stressed with decisions, take a pause. Everything will be there when you return.
I advise my clients to have a Wedding Planning Wednesday, and the rest of the week is yours to do as you wish. Make sure you’re finding other things to talk about ;) And remember – you aren’t just planning a party. You’re preparing for a beautiful marriage.
Another pro tip: Set aside one day each week for a date night without ANY wedding talk. I know, it’s SO fun, but it can be all-consuming if you allow it to be. Try a new restaurant, get outside, have a game night – just try your best to focus on your relationship, not the wedding.
Get the scary convos out of the way
Budget, guest list, and wedding date… oh my! The 3 elements that build the base of your wedding. Before you can move forward with hiring or making critical decisions, it’s important to be realistic about what is feasible. If you have a 10k budget, but have 400 guests in mind, you might need to take a step back and reevaluate priorities.
Check out these 25 simple ways to save money while wedding planning.
Need help narrowing down your guest list? Use our free resource here
Everything is expensive
Yikes, I said it. It’s a billion-dollar industry, and there is no way around this, it’s just the sad truth. Our best recommendation is to narrow down on your top three priorities, invest in those, and spend a little less on the vendors you don’t have at the top of that list. Of course, you’ll want to outline. Your entire budget prior to hiring anyone, so you don’t end up shocked down the road with higher-than-expected bills. Of course, this is something we do for you with our full planning services.
While we may be biased, there are a few things that are absolutely worth the cost though–your photographer, and your wedding planner for peace of mind and expert guidance. Those three vendors will be some of the best investments you’ll make for your wedding, and it’s important to choose correctly, because you’ll be with them 80% of your day.
Engagement photos are a must
I’m not typically a “should”-er, because this your wedding and planning journey, but I believe engagement photos are so very valuable, and you won’t regret them in the slightest. It’s the perfect time to bond with your wedding photographer, get more comfortable in front of the camera, and the perfect photos to add to your save the dates and invites.
