I want you to rock your wedding planning so much that I decided to create the ultimate guide to planning your wedding with success. Yes! This is here to save you from all of the stress! Believe me, when I say, this is what you need for your wedding planning. There is so much information out there and I thought you deserve a one spot location for all your wedding needs.
March 1st may be a national wedding planning day but weddings are being planned all the time. I bet someone is getting engaged right this minute somewhere in the world. I am going to be 100% real with you, planning a wedding on your own is a lot of work and we have a lot to cover so let’s get started!
1 – Grab Yourself an Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist
One thing I tell all my brides-to-be is that they need the ultimate wedding planning checklist. Why? Because being organized helps you from going crazy and helps lessen your stress. Don’t worry, I will save you the endless scrolling of Pinterest and Etsy. I spent many hours to create a free ultimate wedding planning checklist resource area just for you and your wedding.
If you are on the fence about if you really need one, check out my article – Ultimate Reasons Why You Need Wedding Planning Checklist.
2 – Decide on your Wedding Budget
I can’t express enough how important your wedding budget is. It fuels everything in your wedding. You have so much to get like flowers centrepieces, décor, food, wedding cake, venues, invitations, and attire. Sit down with your fiance and figure out who is going to be paying for this wedding. Set a healthy and reasonable budget for your wedding. On average based on The Knot, a wedding can start at $31,213.
Remember it is recommended to put 20% of your income towards your budget. There are many ways to save money on your wedding such as the time of the week you plan to have your wedding on. Saturdays are the most expensive and most popular days to choose from.
Related: Everything you need to Know for Your Wedding Budget
3 – Finding Your Wedding Vision
Your wedding vision is one key foundation for your wedding planning. Believe it or not but it sets the scene of your wedding. If you are having trouble knowing what you want, I want you to know that you are not alone! Let’s jumpstart your wedding vision by taking the best quiz out there, judging upcoming weddings you attend and using Pinterest as a search engine to help you know what you exactly want for your wedding.
Related: How to Really Find Your Wedding Vision
4 – Utilize your Time
Let’s face it, we don’t have all the time in the world to plan our wedding. With work or school and life responsibilities we just have limited time. Where do you find the time? Well, I am going to recommend that you utilize your time by planning your wedding during your lunch break. We can all agree that most of us may have a half-hour or hour lunch. This is the perfect amount of time to cross a few things off your lists such as searching for your dress or vendors.
5 – Let Social Media Help You Out
6 – Power Through your Guest List
You can figure out your guest’s list in 60 seconds. You don’t need to invite everyone. Try to stick to close family members, close friends and close co-workers first. Consider other friends and co-workers only if you have space on your guest list and venue. To power through your guest list, all you need to do is be honest, be reasonable and make sure that everyone can fit into your venue. Ask yourself some questions such as:
- Have you talked to this person in the past year?
- Does your fiance know this person? (or have met this person)
- Would this person invite you to their wedding? (or has invited you)
- Can you imagine your wedding day without him or her?
- Have you hung out with them outside of work?
- Do you want to allow your guest to have a plus one?
7 – Go After Your Dream Vendors
Where do you start finding wedding vendors near you? There are wedding websites, Pinterest and Instagram to find your vendors. How to Build Your Dream Wedding Team with Vendors is what you need to follow for every vendor you find. My step by step S.C.O.U.T vendor formula will make vendor searching so easy! How do you connect with vendors? I created a short video on the best ways to connect with your dream wedding vendors. You learn exactly how to find vendors near you, how to connect with them through their wedding vendor website or social media accounts as well as how to pitch yourself to wedding vendors.
8 – The Perfect VenueÂ
When exploring the perfect wedding venue to choose, you need to consider two things, locations and if you want this spot to cater to both your ceremony and reception. By keeping everything in one location you save yourself from having everyone travel to and from locations.  Your wedding is supposed to be the best time of your time so don’t be overly picky about your location. The point of a venue is that it is hosting your event, you are not moving into it. It is a blank space where you have the chance to make it what you want it to be.  Related: Wedding Venue Tips You Need to Know Now
9 – Nip Parent Problems Ahead of Time
Identify if parents are going to be a problem with your wedding planning. You are going to want to sit them down and talk with them ahead of time before you are in the position of your parents hijacking your wedding. Regardless of both parents being excited for you and how big this moment is for them. You can’t forget about yourself and what you really want for your wedding.Â
You need to first understand where your parents are coming from so you can see their viewpoint. Ultimately you need to find your voice, say no without them realizing and don’t feel guilty. At the end of the day, you decide on how much say your parents should have at your wedding. For peaceful wedding planning, make some compromises and find the middle ground.
10 – Choose Your Wedding Party Successfully
Choosing a wedding party is not always an easy decision but you got this! It takes smart thinking and the right team to make the right wedding party. This is an honour for them to be apart of your wedding party but remember that it comes with duties and responsibilities.
Who you choose needs to be able to help you out with a variety of tasks as well as for emotional and physical support during this time. Don’t forget the events they need to attend such as bridal showers and bachelorette parties.
You want a group of fun and awesome friends or family right by your side having fun, worthy of bridesmaid gifts and who are up to the challenge. After all, you deserve the best night ever!
Final Thoughts
Are you feeling more motivated about planning your wedding? We covered a boatload of information that I hope inspired you to keep wedding planning like a boss! I want you to know that you are on the right track, my friend. This article is designed to give you the running start any bride-to-be needs to take their wedding planning to the next level. Happy planning!
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Thanks for sharing such an amazing and informative blog. I agree that this guide is really helpful for those who are trying to make their career as a wedding planner or to make their event successful.
Thank you so much! I appreciate it!