Wedding Planning Guide

These wedding planning tips are a great guideline no matter how you want your day to look. These tips are merely suggestions to ensure your planning runs smoothly and to assist with answering questions you may not know to ask.

Prior to getting engaged: Believe it or not, couples don’t always talk about how they want their wedding or elopement to feel/look. I suggest once you enter a space where you’re considering getting engaged, to begin chatting about what vibe and feeling you want your wedding day to look like. While this period is exciting and you may want to wait until you’re actually engaged, I promise communicating your wants/needs before you get there is extremely helpful once you do! What things matter to you? This allows you to both be on the same page with expectations, and minimizes outside pressure from those around you once you announce your engagement.

You’re engaged! Congrats!: First and foremost, take a minute, breathe, and enjoy this moment. While I know the excitement can push us to share with the world, I really do recommend taking a day to celebrate just the two of you. Once this news is out, you’re going to be inundated with information, opinions and expectations from others which can feel overwhelming and sometimes even stressful. Trust me on this. Soak up this time together.

Budget: Before you open up Pinterest and start reaching out to vendors, take some time to figure out your budget. Elopements can range anywhere from $100 to $25,000+ and weddings can range anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000+. There are so may available options for every budget – what matters most is maintaining a level of comfort financially, and understanding what suits you best as a couple. I can’t express this enough – please don’t break the bank for other people. This day is about you and your partnership, not throwing a party for other people. The last thing you want is to put yourself into debt in order to appease others.

Things to consider when determining your wedding planning budget:

Venue (or lack of venue; parks, personal property etc)
Vendors – Officiant, Planners, Photographers, Videographers, Catering, DJ, Florists
Dresses, tux, shoes, jewelry, Decor,
Linens, furniture/reception rentals
Travel, Airbnbs or getting ready spaces
Number of guests you’d like in attendance
If you plan on hosting a full dinner; family style, buffet or plated
If you plan on having pre wedding events; such as bachelor or bachelorette parties/trips
If you plan on having a wedding party, and how involved you’d like them to be during your planning/celebrations

Venue Quick Tips

While you’re likely to pay more for a venue’s space, some of that cost does include items such as: tables, chairs, silverware and sometimes a simple linen option.

You may choose to get married in a more simplistic manner (backyard, in a forest etc) This will definitely appear budget friendly at the get go, but you’ll need to consider the costs of furniture rental and delivery as well as how a delivery timeline affects your day.

Many venues do offer day of coordinators with their packages, however I highly suggest hiring an offsite planner/coordinator to help you on your day. This ensures support in the weeks/days leading up to your wedding. They get to know you on a deeper level and learn more about your needs/wants, rather than just the typical timeline of what works best for the venue.

Vendor Quick Tips

Before you go on the hunt for the perfect vendors, think realistically about what you want. Do you care about style, about how they work, who they are as people?

When it comes to photographers, I suggest figuring out what style speaks to you most; do you love candid photos, more detailed shots, more classically posed? When you inquire with photographers, have this in mind and share this with them. If they end up not fitting in your budget, or offer a style different than you had hoped, it’s perfectly okay to ask for referrals! As a wedding photographer I want you to find someone that works best for you – even if that means it isn’t me.

Planners and Coordinators are a huge help on your wedding day. Planning on having a traditional wedding with a hefty guest list? Please seriously consider hiring a coordinator. Moments come and go quickly on your wedding day, and without someone there to assist, at best, you’re leaving the responsibility to other vendors, which takes away from their respective jobs they’ve been hired for. At worst, it creates stress for those in your wedding party or family to take on which always has a way of making its way back to you. If you haven’t hired a coordinator yet, let your photographer know! I have a referral list for all of my clients.

Decide on the type of wedding you want to have: Elopement at a beautiful waterfall, grand party at a historic hotel, a destination wedding somewhere warm, or even in a backyard at a close relatives home.
Guest list: This is an important factor early in your planning process. You need to know what type of space you’ll require before you can consider the venue/location of your celebration. Consider what feels best to both of you. Do you prefer something intimate, or a lavish style of party. Understanding your guest list allows you to understand how big of a space you’ll need. Alternatively, choosing a venue which dictates the guest count is also a possibility. More on that below!
Pick a season to get married: Considering the elements when you’re planning your wedding is high on the list of importance. While mid summer is a popular time to get married, you do need to consider how that’s going to affect you, and any guests you may choose to invite. If it’s 100 degrees during your ceremony, there is a risk of people fainting (I’ve witnessed this multiple times), people sweating through their wedding attire, and sweating off their makeup. Considering a fall outdoor wedding? Are you prepared to get rained on? Or increasing your budget for a last minute tent? You can do anything you want – you just want to be prepared for the elements and how they’re going to affect your day.
Choose a date: Once you’ve decided on a season, choose a date (or a few) that seem acceptable. Once you begin looking at venues, or researching permits for parks, you may need to have a bit of leeway with your date. This will allow you to pick a location that you love!
Begin looking at venues/location options: Once you have your date(s), it’s time to reach out to venues, or find a location for your elopement. Whether big or small, all venues/locations have pros and cons. What things matter most to you? If you care about having an outdoor wedding, you’re going to want to make sure the grounds appear well kept from all angles. Indoor spaces may have low light which is going to affect your photos. Consider the flow from the ceremony to reception. Is the area easy for elders or those in wheelchairs to get around? No matter the stipulations, it’s best to think about things like this so when your wedding day arrives, there are no surprises.
Hire your photographer: Since you’re currently on a wedding photographers website, I think it goes without saying one of the most important vendors to consider hiring, in my opinion, is your photographer. I recommend reaching out to multiple, setting up a phone call and actually talking to them. As a seasoned wedding photographer, I find it valuable to create with couples I can document in a natural way – rather than booking every couple that inquires. I can assure you, most professionals feel this way, too. Talk about your wants, needs, budget options, and anything additional you’d like your photographer to know so they’re able to show up for you in a way that suits you.
Hire a seasoned wedding planner: When it comes to your day, if you’re planning on hosting a traditional wedding, a professional wedding planner is key. They’re going to streamline the big moments, as well as the small. The things you don’t consider when you’re planning, and little flare ups throughout the day that you don’t want to worry about. I highly suggest looking into many planners, reading reviews and interviewing them on the phone or in person. I say this because a good planner can lay the foundation for an incredible day – an inexperienced planner can do the opposite and can turn a wedding day upside down if they aren’t aware of how important factors such as timelines, client desires, vendor communications, or how family conundrums work.
*A quick note: When planning your day, as easy as it may seem to have family or friends help with day of coordination or planning – I strongly urge you to steer clear of this. Your wedding day has many moving parts, many of which go unseen by everyone outside of a planner and photographer. If your budget doesn’t allow for a planner, chat with your photographer so they can assist with preparing you in the best manner possible.
Decide what other vendors you need to curate the day that suits you: This can be as simple as an officiant, or as detailed as all of the vendors listed above. Once you’ve hired your planner and photographer, chat with both of them about your day and enlist their referral lists for vendors that will work with your needs.

Check out more of my wedding planning tips here