Yea! You're Engaged! This should be such a fun and happy time! But I keep reading articles that tell you to not run out and buy your dress, to spend no more than 20% on this or that, blah blah blah. Hey, it's your wedding, do what you want!--within reason.
I wrote a post about a year ago about laying the foundation for any event, and it holds true especially for something big like a wedding. Having this information will help keep you sane when all your vendors, friends, and family give you well-meaning advice and confuse the heck out of you.
Now it's time I let you in on a few secrets to making your planning go more smoothly. To have a successful wedding, here are 5 things for you to know:
- This is the biggest secret to wedding planning: there are no standards. Yep, I said it. I let the cat out of the bag. There will be a few hundred weddings in your city on the same day you get married and each one will be different. If you are a fan of flowers,
you can spend half your budget there. If you love music, you can spend
your money there. If you have always dreamed of a certain dress, you
guessed it, you can splurge there. There is no secret to budgeting or
planning a wedding. You have a certain amount of money to spend and you
can divide it up any way you like.
- First, book the things and people that can only work one wedding at a time. That includes the venue, person performing the ceremony, musicians, hair stylist, make up artists, photographers, and possibly caterers.
Makes sense right? If there are 500 weddings occurring in your city on the same day, you will want to make sure you get the vendors you like. Bakers, printers, and florists (and sometimes caterers) can do multiple weddings at a time so you can book them a little later. - Spend your money on what is important to you and focus your energy on booking the best. To me, pictures were important because that was what I had left when the wedding was over. Also, my father had just had a heart attack and I wanted a lot of family pictures. My picture and video costs were 50% of my budget. I wore my mother's dress and held the reception at my house to save money in other areas so I could splurge on pictures. And I hired the best photographer and videographer I could find.
- If you are DIYing, DIY early and plan to do a test run. You can DIY most of your wedding if you plan in advance and enlist your creative friends and family. If you are going to DIY anything, do it early. I can't stress this enough. Also, do a test run. I did my niece's flowers and tested designs with her at her shower first so she could choose what she liked.
Test runs are especially important if you have never seen the work of the person before or if you need to make sure something comes out before you do it for your wedding day. If you realize something doesn't work, be willing to change. Even if that means telling Aunt Marion she can't make the cake on your big day.
- Right before the wedding, people get weird. Friends may become jealous that you are getting married, siblings can become envious of the attention you are getting, and other people just start behaving oddly. This occurs at one of the most stressful times in your life. Try your best to not take it personally and remember their feelings are really not about you. Sometimes no matter how much others try to put you first and be happy for you, their inner turmoil bubbles to the surface. Don't let it ruin your big day.
Just remember these secrets as you plan your big day and you will have a happy wedding!
To your happiness!
Laureen
No comments:
Post a Comment