Where to start planning a wedding - when you have no clue where to begin.
Planning a wedding can be a daunting experience for the newly engaged. With Pinterest and Instagram "perfect" wedding inspiration everywhere you search, you may be wondering how you can plan the wedding of YOUR dreams.
My readers know I love to plan and host parties, but what you might not know is for many years I had a career in the bridal industry before turning to law and blogging. I‘ve had the pleasure of working along side talented florists, bakers, caterers, planners, musicians and some of the best bridal consults in the south.
Over the years I’ve worked with countless couples who were overwhelmed with trying to afford every possible trendy item you could have for a wedding. Those couples were often lost to the process because they didn’t have a clear vision for their wedding. What those couples were over looking is what elements reflected themselves and brought them joy.
I encourage all newly engaged to pick the three most important elements of their wedding before any money is spent.
PICK 3
Pick three may be lottery lingo but it’s also where I have learned successful wedding planning begins. By determining the three most important elements or "wants" for your wedding day, a plan begins to form. From those three you decide how much of your budget will be allocated to achieve the wedding plan.
If you don't know what your total budget is, pause on the planning until you have an exact number.
There are infinite things you can spend money on when planning and throwing a wedding. And unless you have an unlimited budget, there will be parameters on your spending.
Before I go further, let me alert you that you need a minimum $500 of your budget ear marked for unexpected expenses such as forgotten cash tips to the officiant and vendors, uber rides for tipsy rehearsal gets, and last minute purchases for the bridal party. If you’re planning a destination wedding I recommend a $1000 for the unexpected. Spending your all-out budget before your wedding day is a plan for disaster. Read that again.
For our wedding in 2017 we determined our budget was $10,000. My first must have was beautiful red roses everywhere at my reception. Second, my fiancé and I both agreed we wanted really good food served to our guests at the reception. We spent a significant portion, almost a third of our budget to treat our guess to a mouth watering Italian feast from our favorite restaurant. Third, we wanted our guests dining and dancing to live music. We were lucky enough to discover a local musician who performed all our favorites for a fraction of the cost of a DJ. Years later we have no regrets.
If you’re still unsure where to start planning your wedding, I suggest you and your fiancé write down a list of everything you both want and then prioritize that list.
And for a little something extra, here is my list of items not worth spending a lot of your wedding budget on (unless it's in your 3):
Invitations and save-the-dates
Programs for ceremony guests
Generic “bridesmaid” and “groomsman” bridal party gifts
Dated momento wedding favors
Until next time, Xoxo,
Grace
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