Four Top Tips to Help you Plan the Perfect Wedding
Happy New Year from Jennifer Louise Weddings
If you’re a newly engaged couple from the Christmas period or if you got engaged last summer, you may see the New Year as the point to turn your attention to the task of planning your perfect wedding day.
You may feel like you’re totally relaxed about this, or you may already feel a little nervous about getting things right, but chances are as you start to journey through the planning process, there will be things you need to navigate that you haven’t considered already.
As a professional wedding planner, my job is to help my couples overcome any issues they may face and make the planning process as enjoyable and smooth as possible.
As a result, nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing couples achieve their wedding vision and dream day. To do this, there are a few tricks and techniques to help, so here are my four top tips for helping to plan the perfect wedding.
1. Budget
This is quite possibly one of the most important things to get right from the start of your wedding planning journey. You may already have some savings, you may need to start saving or, if you’re fortunate enough to have family who can, you may also receive some help from loved ones.
It’s important that you do your calculations, get an understanding from any loved ones on what they may be able to contribute – here’s a really good article on how to have this conversation – and start your budgeting with a clear figure on what your overall wedding pot is.
Once you have the figure, you can create a budget checklist and it’s crucial you include everything on this list! Before you write anything down, set aside 5% immediately for contingency as unforeseen things inevitably crop up. Everyone remembers the venue and catering, but it’s easy to forget wedding dress alterations, postage for invitations, wedding party gifts and so on, so do your research and check out downloadable lists like this for inspiration.
Once you have your list, then jointly agree your top three things that are important to you so that you know what’s important to assign more budget towards. The trick is then to stick to your budget and keep an up to date record of what you’re spending and your payment deadlines. If you struggle with this, a professional planner can help work your budget efficiently to achieve the style you’re looking for within your budget. Check out my services if this is something you may benefit from!
2. Stay true to yourselves
Once you’ve set your budget and defined your wedding day style – click here to read my blog on how to do this – then it’s important to stay true to yourself as a couple.
Firstly, weddings are joyous occasions for families and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or coerced by loved ones who want you to incorporate their traditions, ideas or guests on your special day.
But if this doesn’t feel right for you, it’s important you find the courage to diplomatically let them know and remind them of your wedding vision so they can push in the same direction as you – showing them your mood board is a good way of getting this across.
Secondly, it’s also easy to feel like you need to be trendy and keep up with what others are doing on their wedding day, but if this doesn’t feel right for you, then don’t include it.
It’s important that your day is infused with your personalities and the elements represent you as a couple. When you achieve that and can thoroughly enjoy witnessing all the special details of your day coming together, your guests will feel that magic too and those weddings are always most memorable to attend.
3. Superstar Suppliers
Without a shadow of a doubt, suppliers can make or break a wedding, so it’s super important that you do your due diligence before committing to working with one.
Check out their reviews, ask for references and meet them in person (or at least have a Skype call). Building a rapport with your suppliers is important and you want to trust your gut instinct that you can work with them. If you’re not getting the right vibe from them, keep searching.
My extra top tip here is, if there’s one supplier this is super important with, it’s your photographer. When all the dust has settled, the images are the most used mementos of your special day so it’s crucial to get this supplier right.
4. Finally, make time for you
Wedding planning can feel like a marathon, so it’s important to plan milestones you want to achieve by certain deadlines – there are a number of useful guides on Google for this.
The trick is to pace yourself so that you reach the big day enthused, excited and calmly confident.
Delegate roles and responsibilities by drawing in the help of your wedding party too – after all, they should do a little more than just turn up on the day to expect a wedding party gift!
Alternatively, a professional planner can also help take away the administration and research that go into the daunting amount of options to have on your wedding day, leaving you and your fiancée to make key decisions based on your brief.
And last but most importantly, don’t forget to make time for yourself on your wedding day.
When you agree on your venue, you need to know whether they provide someone to run the day for you and to what level – as your idea of this and theirs could be very different. If there are gaps in your expectation on what the venue co-ordinator will deliver, then you may be left with organising suppliers on your day or managing your wedding party to manage them which isn’t ideal either.
After months or years of planning, you want you and your loved ones to be able to soak up every moment, take in all of your hard work and not have to worry about running the show. On this occasion, something like my ‘On the day’ co-ordination service may be ideal to ensure all suppliers and finishing touches are dealt with, so that you and your fiancé are left to fully immerse yourself in your big day.
Taking these four top tips into consideration when planning your wedding will help to ensure you achieve a day that’s on budget, true to you as a couple and without supplier disappointment. It’s important that you make time for yourself, especially on your wedding so that you can witness your vision as it comes together, along with the expressions on your guests’ faces.
If you’re newly engaged and you feel like you could benefit from my Pre-Wedding Planning services, why not get in touch? I offer bespoke packages to suit you. Visit Our Services for more information or email me if you have a wedding you’d like to discuss
