10 Wedding Planning Tips to Make Your Life Easier

Everyone would love to have the money to hire a wedding planner, but for a lot of people it’s not affordable.  It’s a good idea to hire one because they know the industry, how to deal with almost any size crowd and have the most experience and knowledge to make that special day go a lot smoother. But if you find yourself planning your own wedding, we’d like to offer you some tips we’ve found from professional planners that will help you when getting ready for that big day.

1.  Send invitations Early

Most weddings are planned around weekends so always get your invites out on Tuesdays or Wenesdays.  This way, they arrive just in time for the weekend when people have a bit more free time and can RSVP right away.

2.  Have a well thought out RSVP window

Do you best to have at least a 3-4 RSVP deadline. It gives you plenty of time to call or text the inevitable stragglers and give your venue, caterer and florist a firm number. It also gives you enough time to look for better deals to get more bang for your buck and wow your guests.  Don’t forget that these days the trend for RSVP’ing is technology, which is making it easy for your guest to respond and gets a high percentages of RSVPs. Everyone is on their smart phones or tablets and one way to get some traction is to have  a wedding website for all your guests to RSVP from. Be sure to check out a couple of sites before choosing who will manage your RSVPs. Some require your guests to give all their personal information and this can rub your guests the wrong way and not continue on the site to RSVP.  Texting is another great way to make it easy on your guests to RSVP, this is the fastest way to get information to your guests as well.

3.  Make a priorities list

Towards the beginning of planning your wedding set 1-3 priorities, these can be concrete items like “I want all white roses” or “Must have a rockin’ band” or they can be concepts like ‘I want my wedding to feel like a upscale picnic.’  Whenever you are meeting with a vendor, making decisions on the wedding or just clicking through Pinterest, these priorities will help guide your planning and more importantly your budget.

4.  Know your style

Fit our wedding towards your style.  A wedding is not the time for “outside the box” thinking, because it’s your wedding and it should be how you want it.  Beware of everyone’s advice.  Outside people plan for things their way and sometimes it might not be yours.  Don’t get us wrong, getting advice is great but in the end you should plan for the wedding that fits your personal style.  Your wedding should be a reflection of you as a couple not a copy and paste of every other wedding your friends and family have done before.

5.  Plan alcohol EARLY!!!

It’s shocking how many couple’s forget to plan the alcohol, or think it’s pretty much a forgone conclusion.  For instance, will it be an open bar or will the guest pay for the drinks.  Will you have your future brother-in-law bartending or will you hire a professional, also will they be paid upfront or a minimum with tips.  Discuss alcohol with your venue upfront so you are not surprised later.  (A couple we know did not expect that the venue provided both alcohol and the bartender which did not go into the initial cost.  These things happen when you don’t plan early.)  Make sure all alcohol related details are reviewed and well known before you start sending money.

6.  Plan around the season

Use in season flowers and elements for your wedding flowers and décor. This will save you a tremendous amount of money and also give a very seasonal feel to your event. Aisle florals can sometimes be used throughout your reception.  For instance you could transfer your arrangements to the banquet tables or your head table. You can also use your bouquets on the head table or your cake table as well.

7.  Choose your bridesmaids wisely

Pick your bridesmaids carefully and thoughtfully.  Your bridesmaids are there to assist you in the wedding process and to help in all the work and activities. Make sure they will be a help and not a hindrance. Remember that quality overrides quantity in this area. Consider everyone’s personality in this process carefully.

8.  Mark out some alone time before the event

Schedule in some time for just you and the groom on your wedding day! You’ll have plenty of time to mix and mingle with friends and family at your reception. We like to schedule in about 30 minutes immediately after the ceremony for our couples and send them away to a quiet part of the venue or on a little drive with or without their photographer. Your wedding day will FLY by and if you don’t stop to take it all in for a few minutes you might regret it. It’s nice to take a little breather with your groom and maybe have your photographer capture those first quiet and intimate moments after you become husband and wife. This can segue right into a Grand Entrance as you join your cocktail hour or reception as “Mr & Mrs ___.” It’s also a great chance to grab a refreshing drink or bite to eat if you didn’t have a chance all day. Which leads us to another little tip….pack a few protein bars in your bag a few days before. You will inevitably be famished by mid day and wedding days hardly grant any time for brides to eat. It will give you that little boost of energy to continue throughout the long wedding day.

9.  Make sure to confirm all your vendors

If you don’t have a wedding planner or event designer who has been involved with you and your vendors during the entire wedding planning process, it’s great to check in with all of your vendors the week of your wedding. Even if you booked a vendor and paid in full significantly before your wedding date, it’s still a good idea to just check in via phone or email and discuss how the wedding day will work, your expectations, your timeline, arrival & departure times, and who is the best contact person day of so you are not getting bombarded with questions as the bride on your wedding day.

10.  Plan the cake cutting before the big day

Many brides and couples are opting for creative wedding locations that may not include the services of a traditional, all-inclusive venue. One of the services often offered by an all inclusive venue is cake cutting. This includes providing the plates, forks and napkins to go with it. For brides with a planner, cake cutting services is something that your planner has ensured is in your rental and catering contract. It is an easy oversight if you do not have a planner. As guests, we’ve attended weddings where cake plates, forks and napkins have been forgotten. We have even stepped in at friends’ weddings to cut cakes when we’ve noticed that the poor mother of the bride is staring dumb-founded at a huge cake with 4 tiers, not knowing where to start. In our meetings with brides, we have noticed that it is always a epiphany moment with our clients when we remind them that we have ordered additional service ware for cake in their rental order or (for the more DIY bride) that they will need to make sure to have an additional set of forks, plates and napkins available for whoever is cutting the cake.