While these are both nice starting points, they are not going to help you through the next year of phone calls, meetings, food samplings, location visits, travel arrangements, and much more.
I was married in 2000 before I became a wedding planner. More than once, I got so wrapped up in planning the “perfect” day that I yelled at my fiancé, started crying, and ate way too many dark chocolate. It didn’t have to be that way! Spending a little extra time on keeping my desires
organized, sharing the weight of planning responsibilities, and simply reconnecting with my fiancé on a regular basis would have made all the difference.
Here are seven things that I wish someone had warned myself about even before the proposal. It may take some self-reminders, but in the end, you can save countless amounts of time, stress,
and money.
1. Start Early, Start Simple
Every wedding magazine and website has their checklist to help with your planning. Most
checklists are based on a 12-month timeline, which is the common timeframe used for planning all aspects from start to finish.
As a wedding planner who planned over 550 wedding, my advice for you is to START SOONER! You should stay focus and arrange the larger aspects first— choosing just the right color scheme, theme or location can be a long process. I see many couples ended up changing their wedding date and location 3 or 4 times during the planning process.
Even if you and your fiancé aren’t planning on getting married for a while, start thinking
about color schemes for your event. The colors you use will set the tone for the entire event, and
sticking to a color scheme by featuring said colors in all aspects of your day (decorations, flowers, invitations, bridesmaids' dresses, guest favors, accessories, etc.) is an easy way to save money.
Check out some of the great wedding-related blogs on the web. They are full on constant inspiration and a great source for color palettes:
- Project Wedding
- Style Me Pretty
- Snippet & Ink
- Little Black Book
- Flights of Fancy
- Once Wed
- 100 Layer Cake
- Style Me Pretty
2. Food, Photography, or Location
Regardless of the economy, weddings can be super expensive and a well-thought-out budget is a key to long-term sanity. As with any budget, you have to prioritize what is most important to you and where you will spend the most money. The most common big-ticket items are:
- Food
- Decor
- Location
- Photography & Cinematography
3. Be Original
Three-tier cakes, ball gown-style dresses, guest favors, seating assignments—after awhile, all the
little things become extremely hard to track. Have you ever stopped and thought about what you really want? How about cupcakes instead of a layered cake? Why not ditch the wedding favors or make them yourself? Forget about the princess dress and try something that reflects your personal style.
My advice is don’t do something just because everyone else does. If the tradition does not reflect you, then be yourself. After all, your wedding is your wedding. Devote time to looking at lots of magazines and real weddings online to figure out what kind of day you really want. Maybe a ceremony in a public park and then a cookout-style reception is right up your alley. Or how about renting a carnival for both events? There are no limits to what you can do for your day, so let your mind wander for a few months before you start signing contracts and paying vendor deposits.
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| "Green Wedding" designed by AAWPA Wedding Consultant Graduates |
4. Prepare for the Paperwork
Whoever said that death and taxes are the only two guarantees in life mistakenly left out paperwork. Everything from magazine pages and catering menus to receipts and contracts will soon be overflowing from your desk, unless you develop a system. Remember, staying organized is vital to saving money and your sanity. Repeat this like a mantra through out your planning.
Organizing is like clothes shopping— one size does not fit all. You have to find what works for you and embrace it. Personally, I like file folders, but some like binders with dividers, pocket folders, or even cloth-covered boxes. You should also get the free shareware called DroxBox or Google Doc. I use that to share files, pictures and music with my brides. So you can have access anywhere you go to as long as you have access to internet.
No matter the method or style of organizing you choose, make sure that it is easily updated and
makes finding what you need as simple as pie. For wedding planning in particular, there are a few consistent elements you can expect & use to stay sane:
- A calendar
- A budget
- A payment schedule
- Payment receipts
- Vendor contracts
- A vendor contact list
- Ideas clipped from magazines and found on wedding blogs
- A guest list
- A wedding party list
- Paper Source
- See Jane Work
- Russell + Hazel
- EcoJot
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| Wedding at Terranea Resort (Photo Credit: Unique Photography) |
5. Remember What You Are Planning For
This is your wedding – you’re marrying the person you love. No matter what flavor the cake is or the color of your napkin, at the end of the day, the two of you will be married. That is more important than any china pattern or location. Take time out to spent regular “date nights” together, excluding any wedding conversations. Simply remind yourself of why you fell in love in the first place and why you are busting your chops to make a special day the two of you can share.
6. Hire a Wedding Coordinator
No matter how perfect you have your wedding planned, on the wedding day, you'll need someone to execute your ideas and bring that vision into reality. So hiring an experienced and reputable wedding coordinator is important. She can manage the day for you, iron out the final details, make sure things run smoothly and on time, and ensure you’ll save incredible over-time costs.Call (626) 768-3666 and schedule a visit to our wedding studio for an afternoon tea. We will give you some free advices on how to make your wedding stress-free and fun.
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| Twogether Events Crews (Photo Credit: Manalo Empire Photography) |
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