Today we are diving into 7 ways NOT to plan your wedding, I don't want you to make these mistakes when planning your wedding!
"Don't do these... it won't end well!"
DO NOT PLAN WITHOUT A BUDGET
This might sound very predictable of me as I go on about this all the time in many blogs and videos! But firstly, DO NOT plan without a budget!
I harp on about this all the time but you cannot start planning or knowing who to approach or what you can afford without a set budget. I'm not a numbers person myself but I cannot stress how important this is. If you do not set a budget things may get out of control, you may over spend, you'll get stressed and miserable, so please just set a budget!
NOT PULLING YOUR VISION TOGETHER PROPERLY
Now what I mean is knowing how to split your budget to be able to allocate enough money for each section of your wedding. Find out more about how to budget your wedding by clicking here! Or if you need help with your budget you can buy my wedding toolkit here, this will help you with splitting your budget and how to keep on top of your payments.
DO NOT PLAN WITHOUT A VISION
You need to make sure you have pulled your wedding vision together, having 75,000 different wedding inspiration boards on Pinterest since you were 16 will not help! Your taste would have changed, you've grown up, it may not aline with your budget, it may not be suitable for the venue you've chosen or some ideas might not even be available in your location.
You need too curate, you need to create a new board that streamlines your wedding vision, you need to create a mood board or design booklet that brings all your ideas together in one clear design. You can then show this design to all your suppliers so that everyone understands the same vision you are trying to achieve.
Again, if you need help creating your own design booklet I've done the hard work for you and you can buy it here!
NOT ASKING FOR HELP
Remember, you do not have to do this on your own, it's not solely down to you! Don't be scared of asking for help from whoever it may be, your partner, your mum, your dad, your siblings, your bridesmaids... there's so many people out there that I'm sure could help you if you're finding it all a bit too much.
It's a big job planning a wedding and there's a lot involved, so delegate and allocate different jobs to different people if needed, it may be something small but that little weight off your shoulders will help! We want to keep your stress and anxiety levels to a minimum!
NOT ALLOWING ENOUGH TIME
I don't necessarily mean time between engagement and marriage but not allowing yourself enough time to plan, those people that say they've planned their wedding in a week are lying to you. Obviously, the time you have between your engagement and your chosen wedding date does play a factor but a wedding can take up to 250 hours to plan so please take this into consideration when choosing your wedding date.
Wedding planners can help to plan weddings in a shorter time frame because it's our job, we do it for a living and already have all the supplier contacts whereas you, you're stepping into a job role you've never had to do before so give yourself the time.
Plan a schedule to give yourself that time that's needed for wedding planning whether thats a couple of hours a week or 30 minutes a day whatever works for you and your life.
NOT CONSIDERING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUR BUDGET AND THE NUMBER OF GUESTS
These two things directly correlate, your budget will effect the number of guests and your guest numbers will effect your budget. For example, if you want 200 guests but have a £20k budget, which is a very decent budget, it's not going to be realistic, it's doable but the expectation of your wedding is going to be less.
The amount of guests will effect almost every aspect of your wedding budget so just bare that in mind when deciding guest numbers. It will effect your venue size, your catering as you'll have to feed them all, all the stationary you'll need for them (invitations, name places, menus, table plans) and so on...
NOT REMEMBERING THE GUEST EXPERIENCE
Don't get me wrong I am a big advocate for this is your wedding and you do you, you do what makes you happy, it's your day! But, you are also hosting an event to celebrate with your friends and family and you want them to have a great time too! So try to find that balance and remember the guest experience as well as what's important to you.
Now, what I mean by that is food and entertainment. Make sure your guests are well fed, watered and entertained. Don't for example, reduce or have no canapés during the reception as you will have hangery guests, they may not have eaten lunch depending on the ceremony time so they will be hungry! Give your guests good, filling food and they will be happy. It's also a good idea when drinking is involved for a long period of time! It doesn't have to be expensive but just make sure there's enough.
I hope these 7 tips of what NOT to do when wedding planning has helped, but if you need any help and want some wedding planner advice you can book in a 1:1 power hour with me by contacting us here!
Happy planning!
Lauren xx
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Photos by Sophie Duckworth Photography