Self planning!

Yes! I’ve planned the wedding pretty much by myself and I hired a day of coordinator since our vendor requires it but now I’m really thankful for that. The biggest things that have helped me were google docs and Pinterest. You can share the documents with other people who are helping you plan and then everything is in one place. I think they actually have free wedding planning templates but I found that out after I made all mine. You can do a guest list tab, budget so you know what you’re spending and so all your due dates are in one place, a to do list by month (highly recommend this so you don’t get overwhelmed) I looked at multiple wedding websites and blogs to do list suggestions and when to do them, then fit it to our wedding needs.


For Pinterest, have one wedding board then organize that board with different groups. Florals, hair and make up, decor, cakes etc. this will help you stay organized so you can easily find that one picture you are looking for and a lot of vendors do ask for your link so they are get a sense of the style you’re thinking. I also find it helpful if I’m feeling overwhelmed and liking too many things, I go through the pins and delete the ones I don’t love anymore or don’t fit with the overall theme I was trying to go for.

Utilize the budget and planning tools from this website!!!! I used this and then had a wedding coordinator/friend who does it as a hobby she told me i was the most organized bride she has worked with!! And she has done a lot!

View Quoted Comment Thanks very helpful I will look up some templates!

View Quoted Comment Thanks so much I plan to use the app as much as I can.

Take advantage of the wedding planning template on Google Sheets. You use that instead of a planning book. First sit down with fiancé and decide on a budget, guest list and the priorities you want to focus on vs tossing out.


Book your venue first. Then major vendors (catering, photographer. Etc). Browse Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration. Instagram and Thumbtack.com are your best bets for locating vendors.

View Quoted Comment Thank you that’s helpful.....so far Pinterest has been my best friend for inspiration!

Someone on here recommended this book and I canʻt thank them enough, itʻs been sooooo awesome keeping all my thoughts and ideas together:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1623159857

View Quoted Comment I will be ordering that tonight I just have a wedding planner book that my sister bought me. Thanks

View Quoted Comment I am doing the same Pinterest planning scheme as Jillian and it has really helped me narrow my wedding vision. Going back through and deleting pins that no longer fit is especially important. Very helpful for the early stages of planning.


I also bought a physical planner book. I work best when I can put pen to paper (literally). Using a combination of the timeline in my book and the WW timeline has helped me figure out what to do when. This is the book I got.

I'm planning on my own and made this board! As someone who loves visuals and loves lists, it's exactly what I needed!

View Quoted Comment

This is brilliant!

Hi Jacquelyn! And congratulations!!

I am in the preliminary stages of planning myself!

When my fiancé and I were first talking about getting married, I made a list of the things that were most important to me, and that I didn't want to compromise on. Then I made a list of things that I wanted, but could be flexible on, along with a list of "extras" or things I wanted that would be nice in an ideal situation if budget permitted. I gave this list to him for him to see, and asked him to add anything he wanted because it is important to me that he is happy, but would also get a scope of the wedding planning.

Next, we created a guest list with the people that were our family and closest friends, along with a list of people we would want to invite if we could stretch our budget.

I did add him to my Wedding Wire account so he can see what I am doing, what I am looking at.
(It saves a lot of sanity when you have saved your ideas, and you can ask your fiancé to log in and tell you what they think).

I created a few folders to categorize venues to visit, but I am also making notes on packages and pricing with the coordinator's name and contact information. I will probably utilize this strategy with vendors at a later time.

Outside of our main calendar, I bought a dry erase board with the days of the week. We can move this calendar to our room or a place we can both see it to remind each other of upcoming appointments.

On a personal note, I have planned to make time to read books on preparing spiritually and mentally. When all is said and done, a wedding is one day, but a marriage is for a lifetime, and should be prepared for with more care than the wedding. (Easier said than done, because it is so easy to get carried away with planning for the party).

View Quoted Comment You are welcome... i found this site was far more useful/helpful on the desktop version you can more easily edit/fine tune everything and have access to the seating chart page and seems better on desktop than phone app

View Quoted Comment There’s no attachment

View Quoted Comment No attachment was ever sent .by “This site” i meant weddingwire itself on a computer NOT their phone app version

View Quoted Comment Thanks........ I haven’t even logged on thru the website yet may have to try and see

View Quoted Comment I’m sorry wrong message still learning to reply 😂