Any Wedding Plans Advice!!!

Hey Laura!! Is there a specific topic that you're looking for help on? Finding vendors/venues? Budgeting? Guest list? Or just wedding planning advice in general? Where are you at in your wedding planning?

View Quoted Comment Hi Lisa,
Thank you for your reply but yes just general advice! I just got engaged Sunday so I'm new to all of this! It's very overwhelming yet so exciting!

View Quoted Comment That's so exciting!! Congratulations on your engagement, and welcome to Wedding Wire!!

The best planning advice I ever got was to start with the biggest details, and work towards the smaller details. Start by talking with your fiance about what you both envision your wedding to be. Discuss budget and estimated guest count. Once you figure those out, look for venues in your area that meet your vision, that are in your budget, and can hold at least the number of people you plan to invite. I recommend looking at multiple options to really get an idea of what each one includes, packages offered, costs, etc. Once you book your venue, start looking up any vendors you'd like (photographer, DJ, etc), and start meeting with them. You might want to consider creating a separate email address only to be used for wedding related business: this will help keep everything (vendor communications, contracts, etc) all in the same place and easily searchable.

Also, look into the checklist and budgeting tools either here on Wedding Wire, or on The Knot! Those will help keep your planning on track, and help you manage your wedding budget. Always feel free to post on these forums to ask for advice, questions about planning, or even just to show pictures of your planning progress (centerpieces, dress, etc)!

Try not to stress out over smaller details, and remember to enjoy the process! Also, take some time to enjoy being engaged before really jumping into wedding planning. Time to celebrate!

Happy wedding planning!

Congratulations!! How exciting!!!
I think getting a planning binder is a great start because it can guide conversations between you and your fiancée about the wedding, like planning your budget. Choosing a budget and sticking to it is a big thing to keep in mind as you go along. Communicating with your SO is the next biggie- talk about money and guests and music and cake. It’s going to be mostly fun but also stressful and having open lines of communication throughout is a huge deal. It’ll help majorly in cutting back on stress.

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much for your response. I greatly appreciate it! I've already purchased a Wedding Journal & also just a separate notebook for any random thoughts or ideas.

View Quoted Comment I love, love, love this!!!!!
Thank you so much for your feedback. This will help give us a head start on many things that's on our personal checklist.

View Quoted Comment That’s a fantastic start! My bff started an inspiration board next- taking picture out of magazines and printing some to put on a cork board. Then, of course, her Pinterest boards lol

Congratulations!!


For sure, make sure you take a little bit of time to let this sink in. Even if it’s a week or so, just enjoy. And then, organization is key! I did buy a planner, but i ended up making my own binder. Main topics I sorted out: 1. Final details Confirmed 2. All things money (created a log to write down our budget and keep track of every single penny we spend)3. All things guests. (This has changed a million times due to covid)4. All things bridal party. (Who you want as well as their information such as sizing, if you order their attire(5. All my contracts and agreementsAnd finally, a countdown and calendar where I mark my deadlines. You definitely want to start with the bigger things like venue, photos, catering, etc. Because once you have a date, the rest is easier.
You’ll find yourself planning for a week and then resting for two LOL. It’s exciting but stressful. Best of luck!

View Quoted Comment Yes, Pinterest is a God-sent ☺️ I love it & congratulations to you & your SO ❤️ Love is a beautiful thing!

View Quoted Comment Congratulations to you and your Fiance' as well! It is very exciting. I just want to be as stress-free as possible during this process! Thank you so very much for the useful tips! I will be getting a binder this week and starting a vision board!

View Quoted Comment Also, check out Jamie Wolfer on YouTube. She has been a life saver. Has videos on almost everything!!!

View Quoted Comment Will do! Thank you again ma'am 😊

Congratulations! I got engaged earlier this month! We aren’t getting married until March 2023 but here are some things that have helped me so far:


I made a separate email account to sign up for the wedding wire and start emailing vendors. It’s been GREAT. That way when I get emails about people replying on here, it goes straight to that email account. I can also block it all out if I need to by having that separate email.
I bought a wedding planner notebook! It’s awesome because it has separate dividers for budget, guests, vision, wedding party, vendors, etc.
We are planning our wedding bit but not even two years out. We’re enjoying being engaged but we also love planning a little here and a little there. I think it’s so stressful to plan everything in a years time. So we’re doing a little at a time so we can take a break if we need to without having things pile up. We’ll be booking out venue and vendors this Fall 2021 for a 2023 wedding. Enjoy your time with your fiancé definitely but give yourself plenty of time to plan things out.
We spoke about budget and saving pretty early on and made a monthly savings plan! It’s been SO helpful! I suggest doing that right away! Once we knew what date we wanted, we immediately set a budget we knew we could stick to and we won’t go over that budget. If the vision can’t fall within that budget, it’s not meant to be! Happy planning!

View Quoted Comment

Solid advice!!

I definitely agree with Lisa's advice!

Pray, pray, PRAY
I would say discuss budget first, and work your way down.

Now, my unconventional advice for any bride is to go to 2-3 bridal stores and try on dresses soon after getting engaged. This will not only give you a better picture of styles you might look good in, it will give you a clearer picture of what costs are going to be. Have a few favorites to pick from depending on potential venues.

For example: If you are deliberating between a hotel or a garden wedding, find styles what will compliment the venue you will pick.

If you can, go during the week days, at an earlier appointment. Most brides tend to browse during the weekends with their entourage, and the stylists (I was one) can get stressed. If you show up during the week day, and articulate that you are just looking for now before you book a venue, it will generally make both you and the stylist more relaxed, and you can have an amazing 1 on 1 appointment.

Take pictures, and look at them after a couple of days. Sometimes your impression of yourself in a dress changes once your nerves are calmed. If you aren't ready to shout about your engagement from the rooftops, consider showing a confidant, or even your fiancé (unless of course you want him to be completely surprised).

And for your appointment, wear wedges. Your feet will thank you.

Some lessons I’ve learned so far (things I wish I’d done & things I’m glad I did):

(1) I wish I had talked to my FH up front about how involved he wanted to be in the process. Managing expectations will save you a lot of stress.
(2) I am glad I got all of the big vendors booked early. I got engaged in December, getting married April ‘22 & I booked venue, photographer, caterer, DOC, & videographer by early March of this year. Getting that done has allowed me to spread the remaining tasks out in a manageable way. (3) Use a planner(4) Create a vision board (a physical one, not digital). (5) I’m glad I budgeted for cosmetic/health/beauty extras! I’m getting monthly facials done for the first time in my life! Do it!

Best wishes, Laura! I was quiet about my engagement for 2 months because well, COVID guilt, but then I gave in, had an engagement getaway with my FH, and opened up Pinterest, and brides.com articles. The articles on Wedding Wire and Theknot.com also give me perspective, and help with budgeting, checklists, and timelines. Honestly, I thought wedding etiquette rules were antiquated, but it doesn't hurt to have guidelines when you're labeling envelopes. Don't reinvent the wheel if you don't have to. Somedays I found I like planning, others I want to tune it out. My partner and I try to achieve a goal a week because this year the postponed weddings from last year are booking everything this year. You should be good though!

I agree with the others to discuss your estimated guestlist with your partner (for venue shopping) and to each list your top 3 priorities. Then you know where each other is coming from. I wish I did this earlier because we had very different ideas about a wedding, and he turned out to be more traditional than I thought. Also, discussing budget is crucial, and I constantly refer to percentages recommended for each category and use the WeddingWire pie charts frequently.

Enjoy and know planning frustration comes in waves. Lastly, save money and know it's going to something you care about, and help your partner save money.

View Quoted Comment Congratulations to you two lovebirds as well!!! We have a date set for August 2023 and we have started to reach out to different vendors & venues! I know having a set budget & sticking to it it key to making sure our finances are in line. We hope to have a lil saved over from the wedding for our honeymoon 😍 I'm so excited for us all!

View Quoted Comment Thank you very much for your response! I have to write all of this down! So much great advice! I am looking to schedule an appointment with Davids Bridal near my hometown in the next few weeks. The fact still hasn't quite set in yet that I'm engaged! This is will be my first marriage and and advice or tips will help up!

View Quoted Comment Hello,
Thank you so much for your helpful tips. They are greatly appreciated! I agree that getting the big things out the way first will make the rest of the planning process less stressful! We are taking things a day at a time for now but we making progress!
Happy Planning!