Planning the Perfect Wedding – from One Bride to Another!

Planning the perfect wedding should be a fantastic experience and we hope this blog offers some valuable tips to guide you. 

So, you’re engaged but now what?

We commonly find that at this point, brides to be are feeling lost, overwhelmed or anxious on where to begin their wedding planning. Most have heard a horror story or three and feel an elopement is high on the cards to avoid becoming another casualty to the stereotypical wedding day blues.

So, with that said, we have compiled a short list of our top wedding planning tips to ensure your wedding day is stress free.

Location, Location, Location

You will often find that popular wedding venues are booked well in advance. The first step in the wedding planning process is to decide on and secure your venue. This step is even more important if a venue, date or location holds meaning to you.

When selecting your venue, some important tips to keep in mind include the venue package inclusions and exclusions, hire period and the rules of the venue. We often find that these areas are commonly missed in the hype of falling in love with a space.

Setting the Date

This won’t be as easy as you think!

During your consultation with your preferred venue, they will present a list of possible dates for you to consider. You may have a specific date in mind but for many couples’ dates are aligned with the season and weather. An important concept to remember is that your date may affect the floral options available, the weather, availability of vendors and the travel and accommodation availability and expense for your guests, for example.

For these reasons, pricing and availability can fluctuate so its important to take time and think through your date and what elements of your wedding day are most important to you to include.

Personally, the drought affected the floral options, colours and quality of many floral choices for my wedding day however I worked with my florist to implement a plan b.

Create an Inspiration Board and Research Vendors

I commonly find in the industry and being a recent bride myself that most sources of advice will suggest setting your budget at this point.

I argue though, how do you know what a realistic budget is if you don’t know what you don’t know!

Do you know the styling and vibe of event you would like to achieve? Do you know the vendors you would like use and the vendors available to help achieve your Pinterest pins? Do you love a specific photographer but have no idea of their fees or where they are based? Is there specific floral you would like on the day?

These are common examples of additional costs which fluctuate between suppliers, dates and regions.

I recommend starting an inspiration board to gauge the elements you like and dislike which will then ultimately assist in defining the plan for your wedding day. Defining your colour scheme, floral preferences, dress styles, a DIY wedding verse a styling team, for example, affect your budget.

This also forms a great discussion with your partner to define what is important for each of you to achieve on your day. What you find important may not be the priority for your partner.

From there, you can then start researching and gathering quotes from vendors to determine the expense to deliver your day. Creating an inspiration board allows you to narrow down where you need to prioritise your time. It may in fact be that you find this step overwhelming and need to invest in a wedding planner to alleviate the stress.

Create a timeline

It’s quite common to assume that there is plenty of time to have all your ducks in a row. But… time goes by very quickly and its quite common to become overwhelmed as the big day looms closer.

Wedding vendors and details often require bookings in advance and periodic payments. So, from a time and budget perspective, you may not have as much time as you think to have everything planned, organised and paid.

The easiest technique to manage time, payments and decision-making is to start with the end in mind. Using a calendar or monthly planner, work backwards from your wedding date entering in the key dates that decisions and payments need to be finalised.

Organise a coordinator for on the day

Whether it be a family member, friend or wedding planner we cannot recommend more highly the importance of nominating a reliable person to oversee your day. And, let’s be honest, the last thing you want on your wedding day is to be feeling overwhelmed and stressed following months of planning, time and expense.

If nominating a friend or family member, it’s important that this person understands that their job is to oversee the on the day details and a plan of attack if something goes wrong. All too often we see the nominated person disengaged or absorbed in the excitement of the day that they do not to notice that the cater has phoned lost or the weather forecast has turned for the worse and plan b needs to be executed.

We recommend one month prior to your day, as a minimum, the coordinator has a checklist and run sheet for your wedding day that they work with to ensure everything is on track. It is important that key family and friends know that they are the person to speak to in case of questions or emergencies.

Be a sponge…

There are so many platforms available these days to research any element of a wedding which can make the wedding planning process overwhelming in itself. It can be daunting!

Who better to ask for feedback though than your recently married friends and family!

Be a sponge and ask their thoughts, feelings and suggestions on your inspiration board and shortlisted vendors. Having other opinions can often bring to light ideas and lessons learnt.

Have a Plan B

We have seen things go terribly wrong, many instances of which could have been avoided with a plan b.

Try your best to predict any mishaps, hiccups or short comings and place some plan b’s around these just in case they need to be implemented. And, most importantly, make sure your on the day coordinator knows your plan b inside out!

Planning the perfect wedding should be a fun experience. We often find that it is as stressful as you make it.

So pop some bubbles and get back on the planning wagon!

Planning the Perfect Wedding and need help? Call Marry Me Events