You can’t control everything that happens on your wedding day, but you can avoid common wedding planning mistakes. Here are six common mistakes engaged couples make, even the most organized ones.
Planning the wedding before setting a budget
Before you plan even the smallest detail for your wedding, it’s important to figure out your wedding budget. If you don’t have a strong financial foundation of how much you can (or are willing to) spend on your wedding, the entire planning process from the get-go is going to be difficult and disorganized. Check out our blog post, Wedding Budget Guide 101, for six factors to consider that will directly impact your wedding budget.
Inviting too many guests
There’s a big difference between a venue’s maximum capacity and recommended guest count, and I highly suggest to go with the latter. The recommended guest count will comfortably fit your guests, tables, decor and all other items that will go into the space, which impacts the layout, flow and overall atmosphere. Although the maximum capacity can be accommodated by a venue, you should expect guest tables to be closer and generally everything in the room to be tighter, which can feel crowded and uncomfortable. You may also think that 10-15% of invited guests will RSVP no. Although there are a variety of reasons guests may not attend (planned vacation, another wedding, no time off from work, last minute emergency), the number of guests who won’t attend is not guaranteed and will depend on your specific situation (how many invited guests are from out of town vs local, for example). Don’t invite the maximum number of guests your venue can hold and assume a certain amount will say no.
Not having a plan B for outdoor events
Whether it’s for your ceremony, reception, both, or even another wedding-related event like a cocktail hour, rehearsal dinner or day after brunch, don’t just hope for the best or plan to have the event outdoors no matter what the weather is like. That will result in you and your guests being uncomfortable and irritated, which will take away from your special day. Make sure you have an alternative option for an outdoor wedding (or related events) in case of inclement weather.
Not delegating wedding responsibilities
You may feel like you and your fiancé have to handle every wedding task that comes at you, but the truth is you likely have friends and family who are asking if they can help you in any way. My advice is to take them up on their offer! They may not be able to take your pictures or cook the wedding day food, but they can certainly assist with putting together invitations, finding wedding music, making spa appointments, planning non-wedding day events, calling out names for pictures after the ceremony, grabbing the card box and gifts at the end of the night and spreading important info such as locations, time changes and updates on the wedding day. The point is to delegate the tasks you do not have to be immediately involved in.
Not hiring a videographer to save money
Many couples debate whether to hire a wedding videographer to capture their day. It may seem like overkill to hire a photographer and videographer, but the truth is both artists capture special moments of the wedding day in very different and unique ways. It’s more common for couples to say they wish they had a wedding video after the fact than not, so it’s better to invest in wedding film than regret it later. Based on personal experience, I cannot stress enough how important it is to put part of your wedding budget into wedding videography. A wedding video captures movement, sound and other moments you may not remember or have seen for yourself on the wedding day! It’s a truly engaging wedding day memory you can look back on for years to come.
Not hiring a wedding planner
You may think you don’t need a wedding planner if your venue has an onsite coordinator, however there are many differences between a wedding planner and venue coordinator. A wedding planner’s main job is to educate and inform on anything related to weddings including costs, trends and etiquette. One of the biggest struggles many couples face when planning their weddings is managing their expectations versus reality when it comes to their wedding budget. You may experience a lot of sticker shock when shopping around for venues and vendors. If you have no idea what wedding services cost or why, a wedding planner can help you with all of that. A planner will not only find out your style, budget and wants, but also match you to quality, professional vendors according to those important elements. If you can’t afford a wedding planner, I strongly suggest hiring a wedding manager (i.e. day-of coordinator) at the very least to take care of the logistics of your wedding day. A wedding coordinator will do these amazing 10 tasks for your wedding.
Stay tuned in a couple weeks for six additional mistakes to look out for!
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
