Terri Ramsey Beavers If you’ve recently got engaged, then you’re probably knee deep in the planning preparation for the wedding day you’ve always dreamed of. You’ve got the wedding invitations all penned out, and you’re decorating them with some cute decoupage and the best cursive your hands could come up with. You’re flipping through all the right magazines and cooing at the dresses you know would hug you in all the right areas, and you’re more than ready to get down to the shops to try something on! And you’re filled up with butterflies and you can’t stop looking at your partner with that special smile in your eyes.
But when you think about it, how many decisions have you managed to make yet? Are you stuck in between one dress and another hard place? And sure, you can take as much time as you like before you’re sure, but if you feel like you’re never going to be sure, there’s a good chance you’re going about your wedding prep all wrong!
Now’s the perfect time for you to change that, and start making the preparations your own way. Your big day is coming up, and it’s going to be one of the best days of your life, right? So let’s make sure you’ve got your hands in all the little details, and that they spinning the way you want them to! So here’s just a few ways you can make sure your wedding is all about you and your partner, and that you’re having just a little bit of fun along the way as well!
Does this set up feel like you? If not, make sure you’ve got the means to change it!
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Come Up with Your Own Budget
Every wedding is different, and you’re never going to attend any two that are the same. Sure, they have common themes or motifs amongst them, but these are always used or presented in different ways. Take the napkins, for example – one bride and groom might want them to be twisted into the shapes of swans, another bride and groom might want them folded neatly in triangles in the center of a table.
And the same principle applies to the budget. You need to come up with your own budget, and decide for yourself what is too much and what’s too little – it’s your wedding, and you know what you want from it! So you need to sit down with a spreadsheet, and punch in all the party decorations, caterers, musicians, DJs, and any other miscellaneous items and see what kind of numbers come up. Is there any wiggle room, considering what you’ve got in your savings account? Do you need to cut down on any of the items and/or professionals you have listed?
Once you’ve got it all set out in front of you like this, and only then, you can truly decide on the budget you’re going to be working with. Sure, maybe your Dad or your partner’s Mom wants to chip in too; you’ll only know if you need their monetary aid once you’ve got your budget plan all written out in front of you. Sure, take other people’s advice, and use all those checklists you can find online, but make sure you’re involved in your budget decision too!
Invite the People You Want (and don’t feel obliged!)
Your wedding is meant to be one of the best and most enjoyable days of your life, and that means you need to curate the guest list and curate it well. After all, you don’t want your flakey sister who’s missed your birthday for the past five years right in the front row, and if you’ve got an uncle you don’t know that your Mom says should be there, you don’t have to invite him either! It’s your wedding, you know who you want to celebrate it with, and that means the guest list is entirely up to you.
Do a rough draft first, and if there’s too many people on the list to be contained in the venue (you have health and safety to consider as well),keeping on cutting a few people off until you’re satisfied with the list that’s left. You might feel a little awkward, or a little guilty doing this, but there’s just some people out there in your family you aren’t close with, and you don’t have to invite them because of this! Not to mention you can always invite them to the after party when the vows have been exchanged, as more people are typically allowed to congregate here to revel in the enjoyment.
Choose the Photographer Carefully
The photographer for your wedding is a big decision, and it’s one you don’t want to make on a whim when you’re pushed for time. Usually it’s considered a good idea to get your wedding photographer booked about 8 months before the date, to make sure you’re in their diary good and proper (a good wedding photographer will always be in high demand!), so it’s a decision you should make near the beginning.
The photographer needs to be someone you rub well with, and feel comfortable posing in front of. After all, they’re going to be snapping shots of you and you and your partner in some pretty intimate positions, and that’s not something to be shared out lightly! You want to be sure you can trust the person behind the camera to get exactly the right angle, to make sure you always feel like a Queen every time you look back on this day with the photo album on your knee in front of you. And ultimately, you want them to know what they’re doing, and be professional about it!
Maybe you could ask the friend of yours who’s trying to get their photography business up and running? They could do with the business, and being able to put your big day on their portfolio, so why not help them out? You know they’re good, you’ve seen their work before, and wouldn’t you just love to let your big day be a part of their flourishing business? Hey, the photos would be a lot more personal that way!
Or maybe your sister has a good recommendation from when she got married – be sure to get the number of the person she has in mind and exchange some calls and texts as soon as possible. You need to get the networking portion of your wedding rolling early!
Gather as Many Contacts as Possible
Speaking of networking, you’ll need to make sure you’ve got quite a few contacts written down in your notes. You want your big day to be perfect, and there’s a good chance the caterers you’ve booked or the DJ who had some energy you absolutely loved will pull out at the last moment – don’t let this come between you and a happy ‘I do’. After all, you’re going to have second choices from when you were trying to choose between one cake company and another, so make sure you still have the other business’ contact details in the books.
This way, you’ll be able to wake up on your wedding day with a smile on your face and a bounce in your step. You’ll be able to walk down the aisle or through the field with a bit more confidence than usual, as you know everything is perfect and no eventuality can ruin the happy day that’s coming next. And being able to feel confident and secure on your wedding day is one of the best ways to do it yourself!
All in all, the more contacts you have, the less panicky you’re going to feel about the whole process. If a company does pull out, get straight on the phone to the next one and ask them to whip up a batch of themed cupcakes as soon as they can, or to put together the perfect wedding playlist in time for the evening reception.
Get the Honeymoon Booked
Just a quick point to finish off! The sooner you get the trip away all booked, the more secure you’re going to feel about having a potentially stressful wedding day that could go wrong at any moment! After all, we can’t plan for every eventuality, and if you’re feeling a bit hot under the collar by the time the best man has finished his speech, knowing you can immediately jet set off to relax in a paradise you’ve always wanted to visit with someone you love will be the best thing to put your mind at rest.
And hey, the sooner you get the flights booked, the more money you’re going to save in that tight budget you had to put together all by yourself!
So, if you’re someone who isn’t feeling too confident about their wedding plans thus far, make sure you use tips and tricks like these to improve how easily you’re going to sweep down that aisle. Your wedding will be great!