Photos by Thunder and Love
1. There is no wrong
or right way to plan – Every couple is different and your day can be
whatever you want it to be (simple, yet I found myself forgetting this). Some
people use a wedding planner and some people tackle it themselves (yup, that
was me). Obviously your budget will play a pretty big part in wedding planning,
but know that there are no rules on what you should or should not do. It’s your
day, don’t forget that.
2. As soon as you say
the word “wedding” everything goes up in price - Prepare to be shocked by the prices of wedding related stuff! Weddings are important
events (often once in a lifetime events) and a lot of people are trying to cash in on this fact. Though, understandably, some people also
realise that the pressure to get everything perfect is higher on a wedding day and they want to be compensated
accordingly. Thankfully, there are tons of DIY tricks and many budget friendly ideas you can find on the internet
to try help with keeping you within your budget.
3. The photographers and/or
videographers are worth the splurge - After all the emotions of the day
start to fade and you go back to reality, the only thing you will be left with
are the photos and the videos (and a partner for life, but you know what i mean)…Having beautiful photos is a wonderful way to
keep the memories around your home. Be sure to choose a photographer that has a photographic “style”
that you both love (look at their websites and Instagram) and meet them before the day. Also, extra tip, be sure to
give the photographers a detailed list of all the photos you want taken (I wish
mine had been a bit more detailed).
4. Invite who you
want and don’t feel bad – This was something I learnt very quickly. Once I
started being quite ruthless with my guest list, it became easier and easier to
not be guilted into making the list longer. You may hear things like “But if
you invite him, you must invite her” or “uncle blah blah may take offence to
that”…. Seriously, you cannot make everyone happy. Rather be true to who you
and your man really want at the wedding and forget the rest…They will get over
it and if they don’t, well that’s not really your issue.
5. The dress is very
important, but you don’t need to own it – The wedding dress is undoubtedly
the most important item of clothing at the wedding. It not only makes you feel
like a princess, but it is also the most photographed thing on the day. Wearing
the dress of your dreams is ideal, but that doesn’t mean you can’t save money
too. Personally I think owning your dress is overrated (it’s definitely going
to just sit in your closet for years), I rented mine and it was half the price
of buying it.
6. A little drama is often just part of the
process – As much as I wanted to avoid family & friend drama of any
kind, I couldn’t avoid it altogether. The best thing to do is to just take a
lot of deep breaths, do your best to ignore anything that you really can’t
solve, don’t allow the drama llamas to change anything you want on the day
(stand your ground- it’s yours and your fiancés day), don’t be offended by
people who can’t make it(we are all on our own paths, etc etc) and try to
remember that this too shall pass (oh, and wine helps a lot too).
7. You have to consciously
“be in the moment” (yes, I know how cheesy that sounds) – Believe me when I
say, the actual day goes by so quickly, that if you blink too long you miss it.
So, try enjoy the planning and the day as much as you can. I was super stressed
when planning, but thankfully I managed to de-stress myself a week before…So I could
at least savour the lead up and the day itself. It’s very easy to stress yourself out to the point
of madness when planning your own wedding, but remember this may be the only
time you get married and you should enjoy it as much as you can (again, wine
helps a lot and so does delegating tasks to friends & family).
8. Pinterest is your
friend - All your vendors (the
people who will be supplying stuff- cakes, flowers, etc) will want to visualise
what you are talking about (for example: not everyone will understand what a romantic -hipster-Gatsby
style is, even though you have such a
clear idea in your head). So making “inspiration boards” will help a great deal
with getting everyone on the same page. I
had a wedding Pinterest board from the moment I started planning and it helped
so much.
9. Paper invitations
are unnecessary and a wasteful – Holding an actual invite in your hand can
be nice, but honestly it’s something I could do without having. I discovered
the amazing site Paperless Post online and I never looked back. It does cost,
but it is only a fraction of the price of actual stationary printing and you
can see exactly when invites are received, plus you can send out updates and
messages to guests.
10. Love is all you need
(yes, we are back to being cheesy) -
But seriously… At the end of all the planning, madness, stress, family drama,
drunken nights, countless invoices and probably some credit card debt… The main
thing to remember is that you and your man love each other. Disputes and crazy
emotions will come up all along the way (mainly because I found that men do not
see weddings like women do - it’s not
good or bad, it just is) and it’s important to remember that the whole point of
the day is to marry the person you love…For better or worse. As long as you both pitch up on the day,
forget everything else that could go wrong (or did go wrong) and enjoy the
start of the real journey.
No comments
Leave me a comment....