Blimey, this week has been hugely busy, and we've been absolutely inundated with enquiries and bookings for the coming year right the way through to 2025! It's brilliant to see lots of couples getting the prep work in nice and early and getting excited for their big day!
But, it's no secret that planning a wedding can be stressful and with lots of new couples being set to tie the knot over the coming years, it's helpful to get organised and do things in the correct order, so the planning process is as easy and as enjoyable as possible.
I want to help take the sting out of planning a wedding because it's honestly such a fun process if you get stuff sorted in the right order.
Let's turn that stress into excitement, so here are some of my top tips for wedding planning as soon as you've got engaged!
Guestlist! - So this is the very first thing you want to be thinking about! Get an idea of an approximate number of guests you would like in attendance both for your daytime and for your evening reception. Generally, this is going to be your biggest expense for the day, so having a rough approximation is going to help when speaking with venues to get the best price.
Budget - This is a big one! Get some kind of idea of how much you want to spend. Weddings are expensive days and believe me, the costs can and do rack up very quickly. ALWAYS, set more money aside for photos and rings, as they're the physical things that will be a constant reminder of your big day.
Think about dates for the wedding - As always prep work is key. So when speaking to venues, have a handful of dates in mind that you'd like to book. If you're lucky, they'll have the first date you suggest, but more often than not, popular dates such as bank holidays and weekends during the summer months sell out quickly. You can often save money by considering a wedding during the week, and outside of the summer months as some venues will offer "Off-Peak" prices at this time.
Photographer - That's me! As you can see I'm all about planning as far in advance as possible, so getting that date in my diary as soon as you know it is essential. Once you've booked, we can then start to think about getting you an engagement shoot put together, which always look good on those "Save the date" pre-invites you send out.
Decide on a theme! - Lot's of couples like to go down the route of having a theme to their wedding. Think about colours and things you'd like to include to go alongside them. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Pinterest is a goldmine for ideas and inspiration. Set up a board, and add anything you like the look of!
Best men and Bridesmaids - The moment you appoint a maid of honour and a best man, they're going to have all sorts of grand ideas flying around in their heads about things they can do to royally stitch you up on hen and stag nights. They don't always share the same consideration for your budget, and these nights out and weekends away can be pretty expensive when you've got thousands of pounds to spend on other important things. My best advice on this front is to speak with them and manage expectations. Don't lay down the law, but have a chat with them about your budget for the proceedings.
Wedding insurance - This is something that's usually an afterthought, but something that's quite important. Get some quotes, and put some cover in place to make sure should anything unexpected happen you've got cover in place to fall back on. Wedding days are expensive, and just the same as insuring your home or your car, you definitely want a safety net to mitigate that risk!
Wedding Email Address - Let's not beat around the bush here, you're going to be submitting enquiries right, left and centre. It's not something I do, but inherently those enquiries mean your email address is assaulted with a plethora of offers, mailing lists and various wedding suppliers contacting you 2000 times a day chasing up on business. Set up an email address to give out to wedding suppliers that both you and your fiance have access to, turn off alerts, but check it a few times a week, just in case anything worthwhile gets sent through. Once you book with someone, THEN give out your personal email address. Honestly, the amount of couples that have thanked me for this tiny bit of advice is mindblowing, because who on earth wants their phone pinging every 5-10 minutes?!
Get recommendations - Personally, I've had the pleasure of working with some really amazing suppliers in the industry, but unfortunately, I've met some pretty bad ones too. I'm always happy to share what I like to call my little black book of suppliers that I've worked with who share just the same work ethic and passion for the industry I do. Be it cake makers, caterers, florists and everything else in between, I've got some go-to names and trusted suppliers who can help make your dream a reality.
Get Excited! - As I said, wedding planning doesn't have to be stressful. Get the organisation right, and it can be a breeze! It's one of the biggest days of your life!
10 tips for now, and I reckon these are all a good basis for anyone who has just got engaged, or for anyone who is getting married in the next couple of years.
As always, I'm happy to have a chat with anyone struggling, and I'm only at the other end of the phone if you've got any questions!
That's it for this week!
Peace, Love and Photos!
Jono x
댓글