11 useful and practical wedding planning tips you won’t find in regular bridal magazine

There’s a sh*t load of wedding planning tips out there on the vast spaces of internet. And if you have never done it before (and there’s pretty big chance that you haven’t) you could go down the rabbit hole forever. As a wedding professional I often found a lot articles pretty unreliable and lacking reality (see my thoughts on how to properly interview your wedding photographer).

Below I will be sharing my thoughts will briefly answer more realistic questions:

• How do you put together one helluva wedding party for friends and family while keeping expenses minimal?
• How do you navigate thought the this sea of something that is completely new to you?
• How get the most bang for your buck?

Along with somewhat unusual wedding planning tips below I will be sharing some of the images and examples from few past weddings I photographed:

Laura’s and Ryan’s Gatherings On The Ridge barn wedding
Jackie’s and James’s Wisconsin family farm wedding
Laura’s and Adrian’s Wisconsin river wedding

I hope you did find those wedding planning tips useful.
Cheers!

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1. Accept the brutal truth: there won’t be magic bullet in wedding planning.

You will need to do your homework in order to put it all together. There probably will be some sleepless nights. But the more you will get a grip of how things work in on a wedding day in advance, the less you’ll have to worry on you wedding day. And to have stress free wedding day so you can to you can enjoy it at its fullest is your ultimate goal.

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2. Jump start your inspiration.

Get on Pinterest and put some inspiration boards together. And don’t get stuck with just weddings. Heck, ditch weddings and expand into other categories. Think movies, clothing, road trips, magazines for creatives, photography, identity and website design, restaurants and food, etc. See as many examples and save them to board (or do screen shots) of what things you resonate with. Try to go through as much as you can! Afterwards let it sit for a week or so. Then sift off the noise, and keep anything that is still resonating with you. This will help to put something that is unique and that represents real you best.

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3. Cash is the king.

That’s a big and tough one, isn’t it? Pay for your wedding with the money you have. Don’t go into debt that will haunt you for the next 10 years. No money? Get creative. I say this phrase a lot, but it’s really not about how much you spend- it’s about how you feel.

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4. Figure out your wedding day priorities and do them right.

For Laura and Ryan wedding day priorities that would consume most of the budget were wedding venue, catering and wedding photography. Couple was really drawn to down-to-earth, sustainable, and community-minded vendors. If they wouldn’t click with a vendor, they would keep searching.

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5. Delegate some tasks and get help from friends and family members.

Share you wedding day ideas with people that are close to you and see if you can outsource some of them. Make sure you put to work their individual skills. Laura’s sister helped with wedding planning. Kyle, Laura’s brother, officiated their wedding ceremony. Bobby, Laura’s dad and retired DJ, put together wedding reception playlist from Spotify. Bridesmaids put together flower bouquets. You get the idea.

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6. Make the big decisions on you own.

Don’t fall into trap where your wedding becomes someone else vision. Friends and family usually have their ideas on what your wedding should look like. You’ll need to figure out what’s important to you and understand why. Knowing the reasons WHY you want it certain way will help you to easily explain it all to your opinionated friends/ family. Listen to what they have to say, but stay honest to yourself. This will guarantee you’re your wedding day reflects who you are 100%. This will result personal and comfortable wedding day.

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7. Stick to your plan.

Big percentage of couples start planning their wedding at least a year in advance. It’s a lengthy period of time. Expect to encounter many distractions on along the way. You’ll meet new people, observe new trends, get new ideas, etc. Once you have a good, solid plan, stick to it. Besides giving you peace of mind sticking to the plan will also help you not to max out your budget.

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8. Get a wedding planner/coordinator if you want peace of mind.

OK. Maybe you can find this one in bridal magazine, but still: having an experienced professional planner that has training, expertise and contacts in the wedding industry, and who will help to navigate you through your wedding day, is a HUGE help. And unfortunately even when you have a wedding planner, that still doesn’t mean there’s not homework to do.

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9. It’s all about a marriage, not a wedding.

This one is one of more important wedding planning tips. Your wedding day is big deal. I get it. But your wedding day is not that important when you compare it to your marriage. That thing you both will experience together for many more years to come. So really it’s not the wedding day, but after the wedding is what really matters. Keep that in mind when planning.

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10. Start early and build it all slowly.

Overwhelmed by the amount of information, options, styles, .etc? Getting a cold feet feeling on the whole wedding planning thing? Well, you’re not the only one out there. Quite a few wedding couples I talk to recall that scary moment when they stepped into unknown land of wedding planning and realized the endless possibilities for the decisions they will have to make. Start early and build it all slowly. Figure out your wedding style, look up the venue. Pick up most recent Wedding Planner and Guide. Don’t try to juggle food, wedding photographer and DJ all the the same time. Unless, of course, you’re good at it.

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11. Take it with a grain of salt.

Your wedding dress will get dirty. Sparkly sandals won’t be nearly as comfortable as initially anticipated. DJ will get drunk. Wedding pictures outside won’t happen because of rain. Best man will get into fight at the after party. Food will get served cold. Mother of the groom will turn into momzilla. Stressed out maid of honor will get wasted.
But that’s just how life is. And that’s what makes it so damn exciting.

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