5 Wedding Planning Tips To Kick Start Your Journey

I’ve had a few chats with brides over the last couple of weeks and the big mental block is knowing where to start and being overwhelmed with all of the noise and volume of information out there.

Photo Credit: Epic Love Story as seen on Temperley London’s Instagram page.

I explain that the reason it’s so cluttered is that you haven’t nailed your Big Vision so rather than focusing on this big wide industry, having a clear vision on the exact end result you want will go a long way to save you time and stress.

Here are some tips to kick start your planning process:

1. Get on the same page… As a couple and before you start sharing plans or booking anything, both of you should take time out to focus on what you both want and what your key ‘must haves’ are for each other. Sometimes couples are looking for two completely different wedding days so up front, sit down, get some paper out and hit the ground running. You should have a big idea such as; home or abroad, big or small, castle or contemporary hotel.
2. Money Talks… Similar to the above, it’s time to get in to the awkward conversation about how much you can both afford. Who has savings, if you need to borrow, is someone’s parents planning on gifting cash. Ask yourselves the question, how much are you willing to spend on the day. For many couples, the wedding project is the first time their finances will become combined and that is a whole new dynamic to a relationship. You may want to set up a joint account (this comes in handy if you receive a cheque gift to either of your names later one).
3. Who’s on the list…. Both of you should start jotting down who you want to invite. It’s good at this point to start this process in a spread sheet. You can create filters or colour code definite invitees, on the fence and maybe you will decide to do an ‘afters’. This will give you your number. This number is how you will get your price for your venue. You wont be able to get any pricing without this roughly considered.
4. The Vision…. When you combine what you both have in your own minds and the money that will get you there to make that dream come through, you should have a good idea of what your big day will look like. You can now clearly see what the end result will look like which will create a path for your route to enquire. Now that both of you are aligned, it might be a castle wedding, a contemporary style, abroad, a DIY….
5. Shop, Shop Shop… Now you are ready to start contacting potential venues to get a showaround, date and quote. This is the most costly part of the day so make sure to get x3 quotes so that you have a very clear idea of the values, pros v cons for each venue. Many couples have one venue in their head and go straight to book. By doing this shopping around it avoids you having doubts creeping in later. These doubts are mainly asking if you could have got the best deal. Hold back, shop around and just be 100% sure this is where you want to go.

Once you get this much done, you will then be on the journey for hooking all of the other items that you will need to make the day as perfect for you as you have in your head.

For more help on your wedding planning journey, check out The Ultimate Wedding Planning Guide Ireland.