WEDDING PLANNING LIKE A BOSS (pt. 1)

Hellooooo you’re engaged! Or you’re like I was two years ago and you’re just really into wedding stuff, even if there’s no ring on your finger. No matter your current relationship status, when that ring is on your finger and it’s time to get down to business, it can be pretty overwhelming. Dresses, cakes, venues, and more can have you running for the courthouse before you even pick a date. Since I lived this reality less than a year ago, I thought I’d put down all my tips & tricks for wedding planning before it leaves my brain.

First things first, SET THAT BUDGET. In 2018, the average cost of a wedding was $44,000. LOL. Before you pass out, let me tell you right now most of the info you’ll find in this series is devoted to my fellow #BudgetBrides. I’m a firm believer that you can have a beautiful wedding without a heavy price tag. If you’ve got the cash for a $44,000 wedding, you go girl. Otherwise, I’ll walk you through my personal experience on where to splurge and where to save. To start, you’re going to need to decide what are non-negotiables for your wedding. Pick 3-4 categories to which you want to devote the majority of your budget and make sure that these are the things that are most important to you. For us, we knew we wanted to spend the majority of our allotment on the venue, the dress (okay that was all me), and the photographer. Choosing these things allows you to really dial in on what matters most (to you) and helps you let the smaller things go.

We had a venue high on our list and we knew we wanted to get married around April or May, so we toured the space and then asked what they had available during those months. They were booked on Saturdays for the next year, but since that wasn’t important to us, we opted for a Sunday wedding and had no problem booking the venue for our April 28th wedding. There are a few things you should keep in mind before you sign on the dotted line for your venue. First, decide what “theme” your wedding will be. If you want a spring garden party feel, maybe don’t choose that dark church. Likewise, if you want something dramatic and moody, maybe skip the greenhouse. Second, make sure that you have a general idea of the size of your guest list before you book your venue. Our venue had a limit of 350 guests and we ended up inviting 353 people. We knew obviously not all 353 would make it, but we were thankful that we picked a venue with such a large capacity. Several of the other venues I had looked at only held 100-150 people, which would have made things reaaaaally tricky, considering we both have large families. Another thing to consider when choosing your venue is where you will get ready at the day of your wedding. Our venue had bride and groom suites which was fantastic, since we could show up to decorate that morning and then not have to worry about leaving again or driving somewhere else before the wedding. If your venue doesn’t have suites for you to use, check out nearby hotels or see if friends or family have a house in the area you could use. Trust me when I say that the day goes by so fast that you don’t want to spend a lot of it in the car. Next, make sure you ask what is included with the venue before you book. Do they provide tables and chairs? What about a sound system? Will there be someone on site on your wedding day? This allows you to price out anything not included in your venue to get a better idea of what the total site cost will be. Overall booking your venue can be overwhelming, but once it’s done you’ll be able to start envisioning what your wedding day will actually look like.

We also booked our photographer early. I knew Kelli with Wilder Photography would do an amazing job and make us comfortable on our wedding day, and (this is the best part) she was within our price range and available on our wedding date. If you have a particular venue or photographer in mind, or really any vendor that you for sure want to lock down, choose your date around their schedule! There are so many different types of photographers out there that you really want to make sure that you choose one that fits your style. We chose our photographer because of the way she combines photojournalism style photography with traditional wedding portraits. We also liked that her editing style is clear and has natural colors and tones. Make sure you communicate with your photographer throughout your wedding planning process so that they know things like your timeline, any certain shots you want, etc. Another thing to check with your photographer about is their turnaround time. We received our wedding pictures back in less than two weeks, while I’ve known friends that have to wait four months for theirs. If receiving your photos back quickly is important to you, make sure to ask when you can expect to have the photos back. The last thing I’ll say about wedding photography is that it might be one of the most important things you can spend your budget on in the wedding planning process. Please, please be willing to pay a professional to take timeless, stunning pictures of your day and tell Uncle Al, “thanks but no thanks” when he tells you he can take your pictures with his iPad.

Now that your brain has probably shut down from that information dump, you can take a breath and get to work on these details before PART TWO launches next week. Keep your eyes peeled!