There is so much excitement when you first become engaged. Then it hits you, Now you need to start planning, more times then not it becomes overwhelming and stressful, I've put together a few of my top 10 planning mistakes I have seen over the years. Hopefully this will help point you all in the right direction when it comes to your wedding planning. Also I strongly recommend and encourage all of clients to Hire of Day of Coordinator and or a Wedding Planner. They are the most valuable vendor you can have during your planning process and at your wedding.
1. ) Making Plans Before Setting a Budget.
This is a big one, So many couples and bride's to be want to rush right out and buy a dress, or start shopping around for a wedding photographer, or even a venue. Before you get your heart set on a photographer, or Venue or even your dream dress , It's extremely important to setup a budget for each part of your wedding , The Venue, The Food, The Dress, The Photographer, The Decor Etc.
You risk falling for a gown or location that breaks your heart when you realize that to afford it, you'd have to cut your guest list in half—or cancel the honeymoon. Setting a budget and sticking to it , will help take a little bit of the stress away from the Your budget defines your options and drives your decisions., this also helps give you a realistic idea of what you can actually afford and what price point you need to stay in or below for all of your vendors.
2: ) Not Having a Rain Plan So now that you have put together a budget , you start your search for a the perfect wedding venue. Summer weddings tends to bring out the beautiful outdoor ceremony, for some locations summer means summer rain if your wedding is an outdoor event, rain on your wedding day isn't just ironic , it is a huge game changer. Too many people are tempted to just hope it wont happen. Talking with your wedding venue for additional options and idea's for your wedding day is important. They will know best options for you if it does happen to rain. .
3.) Underestimating the Cost of Outdoor Affairs
Outdoor weddings are by far my favorite, They are so beautiful and romantic.There are a ton of cost for having an outdoor wedding, Rental's such a ten, tables, chairs, linens, restrooms if your venue doesn't have outdoor restrooms, kitchen facilities, lighting , fans or heaters, and generators to keep things up and running if your venue doesn't have outdoor electricity. When renting an indoor venue most of these items are already included so there is a lower cost with renting an indoor venue.
4.) Planning a Too-Long Party I know it's your wedding day and all you want to do is share this day with your family and friends and you just want to party the night away. Ideally a five-hour reception is the top of what your guest can enjoy and still leave the wedding laughing and having a good time. The evening should be natural and fun guest tend to get distracted with a long wedding, Keep your ceremony to no more then 20-30 mins , with a nice cocktail hour right after the ceremony - 45 mins of mingle while photo's are being taken, once your photo's are complete starting the festivities for the reception is key. Putting together a good timeline will help keep things running smoothly and on time.
5.) Packing Them In.
I know how hard it is to make a guest a list. Your wedding is a special event and you want your most loved family and friends present for your special day. Your guest list should reflect those special folks that you want around for this joyous occasion. It's okay to not invite everyone, including your coworkers that you aren't super friendly with. Having a cramped wedding makes meal service and dancing difficult. It really does effect the guest experience. I recommend asking your venue how many attendees can comfortable fit in your space and then reduce that by 20 percent. You do not want to get the max of what your site can accommodate.
6.) Mistiming Vows This is a big one, having a ceremony at noon is just plain bad, All around, Your guest will melt, your photo's will be bright , I always always stress to my clients that a full sun wedding is difficult on everyone. Your guest are uncomfortable, you are squinting while giving your vows. I strongly recommend talking with your photographer, figuring out when the sun goes down and come up with an ideal start time. Golden hour just before the sun sets is my absolute favorite time to capturing a ceremony. It's the one time you should take advantage of when planning your wedding ceremony.
7.) Not Supplying Enough Information
Remember when planning your wedding either local to you or a destination wedding, some folks may not know the area like you do. it's extremely helpful for your out of state guest or vendors to provide as much information as you can about your wedding venue and location. Providing suggestions on things to do and information about getting around, from hotel's to the venue. If your guest are staying in town at rehearsal dinner hand out itineraries telling everyone where they need to be and when. This helps to ensure family and friends arrive on time and ready for your special day. It's also important to give guest a time frame of what time the ceremony starts, ideally if you want your ceremony to start at 5:30pm telling folks to arrive at 5:00pm is perfect this way no one is running late and you will start on time. Also if the venue is not close to hotels it's important to remind guest of the drive time and possible traffic, Including family members. asking them to arrive early is better then having arrive late.
8.) Making it an Open Mike Night during toasting. Nothing makes guest more bored at your wedding then listening to every best friend and family member toast the happy couple. While heartfelt toast can be the highlight of a reception, too many can quickly lead to wide- spread boredom. I recommend limiting your toast to your parents, maid of honor and best man. Make sure to include the DJ in the planning process and ask that the microphone not be passed around. Make a list of who is toasting and stick too it.
9.) Trying to Please Everyone.
Ultimately it's your wedding day, Don't worry too much about what others think of your decisions. It will and it can take the joy out of the wedding planning process and the focus away from what everyone is celebrating, They are celebrating you. As long as there is plenty of food, drinks and good music you're guest will have a good time and will be taken care of. Anything beyond this is all about you, the color of your wedding , the decor , the venue, The wedding is all about you!
10.) This is a big one Not Having a unplugged wedding. This is a topic I can't stress enough with all of clients and it's an extremely important topic , I plan on writing more about this soon. An unplugged wedding is where you ask your guest to leave their mobile devices behind or turn them off during the ceremony or some of clients choose to not allow any type of mobile devices throughout the entire wedding. This means Ipad's , camera's and any other tecky gadgets like go pro's. Your guest should be there to relax and enjoy their time , This leave's your photographer such as my self free to do the job you hired me to do without interruption . I also recommend to not have your guest post images to social media during the event and wait for your photographer to share a few sneak peeks of the days events.
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A Wave of the Wand Photography is a Lexington , KY Wedding Photographer, Who specializes in Wedding and Engagement Portraits. We proudly serve Lexington, Kentucky as well as the surrounding communities. We also Love to Travel to your neck of the woods. Contact us today to book your Engagement Session or Wedding with us. www.awaveofthewand.com
(859)-359-2178 | awaveofthewand@gmail.com | Lexington KY 40517
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