Before I got engaged I had the notion in my head that wedding planning was nothing but sunshine and rainbows, so easy and funny, what a laugh it would be. Fast forward a year and I am neck deep into my plans and I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve broken down in tears on multiple occasions because sometimes it gets a bit much. Although It hasn’t all been bad today’s post is a little compilation of wedding planning tips and things that I’ve learnt whilst planning my own wedding, and how you can learn from my experiences!
Get Your Guestlist Down
You basically can’t plan anything without knowing the number of people you want to invite. Do you want a small venue or will you need a larger venue? The first thing I did was draw up a guestlist of people I wanted to invite to the ceremony and the wedding reception whilst noting down any plus ones. This made it so much easier when looking at potential venues as we were able to give them an idea of how much room we would need.
Decide The Season and The Day
It may shock you to know that the wedding industry is quite cut-throat. If you’d like to get married on a Saturday in July you can bet your bottom dollar you will be paying top whack for it. If you’re more flexible on your dates I would definitely recommend looking at marrying on a weekday in slightly colder month like February – all of the venues we visited put a massive premium on Summer weddings and if you wanted to get married on a Saturday it was even more expensive!
Ask Around
When looking for suppliers ask friends, family and even the venue if they have any recommendations. There is bound to be someone in your family who has arranged a wedding before and the venue you are getting married at no doubt works with suppliers on a weekly basis. Tried and tested recommendations are always a winner as you know what to expect!
Save But Splurge On The Important Things
We have tried to be really diligent with our savings every month but I do believe that if there is something you truly want you should splurge on it. Our photography package was very pricey but our photographer is absolutely lovely and takes stunning pictures, for a memento you will keep forever it’s worth it. Things I was less worried about splashing the cash on were items like table decorations, we simply picked up some wooden numbers and spray painted them, these combined with some nice party favours and silverware supplied by the venue will make for a simplistic yet elegant table.
Everyone Has An Opinion
One of the hardest things for me to swallow was that the minute you tell someone you’re getting married they start conjuring up their own plans. Asking for random people you’ve barely met to be invited, being damn well awkward when it comes to planning anything with them, and making the bride and grooms life a bit of a misery! One thing I’d like to say to all potential wedding guests, is that before you start making your demands to the bride and groom think about what you’re going to say – the day is meant to be about them, not about you so if that means you have to suck it up and accept that your mum’s brother’s cousin’s girlfriend isn’t getting invited please just accept it graciously.
The reality of the situation is that the Bride and Groom will have no doubt shelled out thousands and thousands of pounds so that all of their guests have a lovely day so the least you could do for them is to be a bit flexible or supportive if they ever need you!
Make Google Docs Your Best Friend
I have a Google doc for literally everything. Budget, Google Doc. Guestlist, Google Doc. Honeymoon Locations, Google doc. It’s so easy to have everything in one place, plus more than one person can collaborate on them on the fly, so if James feels like helping me out, he’s more than welcome.
Don’t Get Bogged Down By Being Perfect
No one and nothing is perfect, and your wedding day probably won’t be either, but sometimes some of the most fun comes from not having planned it at all. (I need to remember this more…)
Accept You Can’t Please Everyone
You aren’t a miracle worker and no one will ever be completely happy, there’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like fish on the menu or would prefer fruit cake to sponge cake but the most important thing to remember is that they are there for you, and in the grand scheme of things they are much more likely to remember the fun they had on the day than whether they didn’t like the menu!
And finally, try and relax wedding planning can be stressful and difficult but try and hang on to the fact that in the end it will all be worth it, and you’ll have some lovely memories too!
