Anyone who’s ever planned a wedding knows that can be incredibly stressful. Even planning a small simple wedding with just a few friends and family in attendance can seem like a herculean undertaking. In addition to the logistical planning, there’s also the cost which can easily drain your bank account before you know what happened. In order to make planning as smooth and stress-free as possible, here are the top 10 tips for our experts.
1. Plan Well In Advance
However soon you think you should be planning, you should be planning sooner! One of the golden rules of time management is that everything takes longer than expected, and this rule is even more true for weddings. Trying to get everything organized is difficult enough when there’s plenty of time without being crunched for time. Do yourself a favor and start getting everything planned well in advance and you’ll save yourself from pulling your hair out trying to cram everything in at the last minute.
2. Send Out Invitations Very Early
Between work, family, school and everything else, people have busy lives. Trying to get a large number of people in one place to do anything can be a challenge, so making sure everyone knows exactly the date, time and place long in advance is very wise. Send out email and text message notifications in addition to cards, as well as reminders to everyone on the guest list.
3. Have a Backup Catering Company
We’ve heard many horror stories of companies hired to provide the food for a wedding canceling at the last minute. This is even more common right now since so many businesses are having trouble hiring and retaining staff. To avoid this disaster scenario, have a backup catering company you know you can rely on to provide something in time for the big day, even if it’s not your first choice of food. After all, something is better than nothing!
4. Confirm Everything With Everyone
People forget events easily, even weddings. As a wedding planner, you need to make sure you call and confirm with everyone you’ve sent invitations to in a polite and friendly manner. Don’t make any assumptions without conformations.
5. Expect Delays
Life happens and problems will inevitably arise, which is why savvy wedding planners will expect delays in advance rather than reacting to them. Do all your planning with the expectation that everything will get delay due to circumstances beyond your control. This way, you’ll be able to sleep well at night knowing you’ve planned for problems ahead of time.
6. Get the Wedding Presents Ready to Go
Most family and friends will choose the most obvious wedding presents, like a cutlery set or something truly boring like a microwave. To make a wedding really special, consider getting a gift customized to the couple. Some of our favorite gifts that are always well received are matching engraved champaign glasses and custom silver fingerprint necklaces made with both partners fingerprints. Make sure you order any custom products at least a month in advance to be sure they’ll arrive in time.
7. Have Food For Everyone
Make sure that your food spread can accommodate everyone’s tastes. Some people will be vegetarians or vegans, so make sure you have something for them. Most people will be polite during a wedding and do everything they can to avoid ruining the happy couple’s big day by making a fuss about not having their particular dietary preferences accommodated. That being said, make sure there’s some vegetarian food just in case, even if you don’t think anyone attending is a vegetarian.
8. A Professional Photographer Makes a Huge Difference
Many wedding planners try to save money by getting their amateur photographer uncle or someone else to do the photos but trust us when we say that hiring a professional wedding photographer is more than worth the cost. After all, a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event and you want it to be captured forever with the highest quality prints you can get. These are photos that will be cherished for years and years to come. These are photos that grandchildren and greatgrandchildren will look at, so it’s well worth the extra cost to hire the best photographer you can to capture the day forever.
9. Make Sure the Bride/Groom Knows That Everything Is Under Control
Reassure them that you’ve thought of everything and they’re in great hands. Let them know that your planning has been meticulous and that their special day will be amazing with memories to last a lifetime. Some partners like to be actively involved in wedding planning while others like leaving it in someone else’s hands. There’s no right or wrong way to divide the responsibility – each couple is different.
10. Relax!
It’s easy to forget this simple fact, but you aren’t the only person in history who’s ever planned a wedding! It’s been done successfully many times before! It’s easy to get lost in the logistics and details and lose sight of what the day is about – the union of the happy couple. Everything will be okay and the wedding you plan will be an amazing day that the new couple will remember for the rest of their lives.
