March 17, 2020

If you’re planning a wedding there are inevitably so many things on your To Do List. Well how about a “to-don’t” list? Here are my Top 5 mistakes to avoid when planning your wedding…

  1. Not establishing a budget. From the beginning, it’s really important to determine a realistic wedding budget. It might be uncomfortable but it’s critical that you speak with everyone involved to understand where they stand financially (as mentioned in this post about what to do when you get engaged). When you have your budget established, be honest about it with your planner. If you lowball your number, they won’t be able to provide you with the quality vendors you’re looking for. If you overestimate, they’ll recommend vendors that will take up too much of your overall budget. Be honest and realistic!
  2. Inviting more guests than your venue fits. Before looking at venues, I advise that my clients create a rough guest list & count. Take this list and the parameters you used to make it (i.e. no kids or family ends at first cousins) and review it with each family. It’s important to review this with all families involved so that you don’t fall in love with a venue that fits 150 and your parents insist on inviting 230. Do not book a venue if the capacity won’t meet your guest list! And while the ‘20% will reply no’ rule generally works, I never advise clients to count on it.
  3. Trying to please everyone. When there are parents, siblings, and friends involved in the planning process, it’s hard to not want to give them what they want…especially if they are paying for all or some of this big day! I promise that it’s not worth having a day that is focused around making someone else happy instead of celebrating you and your fiancé. If you don’t want to be married in a church, don’t get talked in to it. If you would like less tradition and more personality, make that a priority in each step of the process. If you don’t like a ballgown, don’t listen to your friend who is trying to convince you it’s the one. You can respectfully stand up for yourself throughout the planning process while maintaining your relationships.
  4. Spending too much time on Pinterest. While the invention of Pinterest has been absolutely wonderful, it has made the lives of wedding professionals around the world…challenging. It’s helpful to see what a client is pinning as we can establish patterns and preferences. But once your planner/designer and necessary vendors have this inspiration – let them take it from there. If you’re working with a designer, they’ll take this and put it into something that will look less like other people’s wedding photos and more like a detailed plan that evokes an emotion and feeling. The goal is not to replicate something exactly how you saw it on Pinterest, we want to create a day that is completely unique.
  5. Not trusting your vendors. You hired them for a reason! Trust that they will deliver what they promised for you. The more you micromanage and dictate specifics, the less authentic their work will be…and you won’t be happy with the results. I know trusting someone with your big day is hard which is why it’s imperative you hire reputable and skilled vendors that can actually bring your vision to life.

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Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Wedding Planning