Wedding Planning 101
Wedding planning can be super fun and it can also be stressful. I heard somewhere that the average couple has about 7 hours a week to plan and honestly, that seems generous. I know you may already be scrambling to figure out how to fit it all in to your day to day. Here are a few tips to help as you start your journey!
Figure out your ballpark budget and guest count FIRST.
This sets the tone for the rest of your planning and gives you some important information up front. If you know you want a large wedding but don't have a lot to spend, that will inform your search in a big way! You will be able to rule out venues based on capacity alone sometimes, and narrow things down so your choices don't seem so overwhelming. Some venues have flexible or custom packages that they can fit to your budget as well, and it can't hurt to ask!
Pick your top three "vendor priorities".
Do you LOVE food? Want live music? Definitely want the best photo/video combo out there? Care more about the view and less about the rest? Sit down and think about what vendors you are super excited about and which ones you aren't sure of. Pick your TOP THREE and focus your initial energy there. This will help you figure out where to spend the bulk of your budget and can help you save in other areas!
Trust your vendors.
You picked them, you booked them, now… trust them! They may offer input that is different than what you had envisioned, but there is likely a reason. As professionals in the industry we’ve seen a little bit of everything and then some, which means we’ve learned what works and what you can make work, but with some changes to logistics and budget. Our job is to help you weigh investment versus impact. We are here to help you spend money on the things you care about and save on the things you don’t - let us offer our advice and take it to heart! A good vendor will always have your vision in the front of their mind and will also be real with you when it’s needed.
TAKE BREAKS. And take care of yourself.
Make sure that you are well rested, fed & hydrated, and have a good chunk of time to look through options when you step into planning. If time blocking is your thing, schedule an hour or two at a time and then STOP when the time is up. Figure out how you want to organize vendor options beforehand and follow your system - there are lots of paper wedding organizers available and we have lots of couples that create spreadsheets to compare cost and amenities! AI is also completely changing how couples plan - play around with different prompts and see what is helpful (“give me a year-long planning schedule including booking vendors for my 100 guest outdoor wedding”, or “show me a dinner and dancing layout for a 65 guest wedding under a 30’ x 60’ outdoor tent”, for example).
Above all, remember that you are doing this to celebrate the love of your life and that while the details are important, they are not as important as the two of you, getting married! The rest is icing on the (wedding) cake.
Deep breaths and happy planning!
Love,
Jessie