Wedding Planning Tips

What are you interested in specifically? Planning in general? Cost cutting? Something else?

Use Withjoy.com or wix.com to share with guests. Use the forums here. Find vendors via Yelp/Instagram/Thumbtack

Start off by determining your budget and what you estimate your guest count to be! Then go from there.

Wedding Wire has awesome forums that you can search through. More than likely there's a forum already created that pertains to what you're asking!

Our wedding website is through Zola. They have a planning checklist that's super helpful! We also like having our registry through them, and how easy it is to link registries with other stores through them!

Sit down with your fiance before you do anything else and decide what your top 3-5 priorities are to focus on. Skip the rest. Most couples go for the guest experience (good food, guests not opening their wallets to drink, good dj) as well as quality photos. Others will have a different focus.

From there, make a list of your must have people you cannot imagine the day without. Do not invite anyone out of guilt or obligation, especially if you are not close to them. Some will recommend you invite immediate family only but many people do not have relationships with them and their best friends and other extended relatives are much closer. Do what works for you but this is your turn to make decisions and they have already have their turn..

Then decide how much money you are willing and able to spend without help. Some people will offer you money but it always comes with strings attached so you give up control when you accept it.

All that in place, you can search for a venue. Take a look at eventective.com which has many venues not on the major lists. Decide if you want all inclusive (be aware you will pay 5 figure minimums for food and beverages alone and many will not budge if you want personalization or want to skip certain things entirely.) or if you want a blank slate which allows you more freedom to personalize and save money ( furniture and kitchen is included in most).

Google Sheets has a free wedding planning packet you can access from any device and print out into a 3 ring binder from Target with page protectors to hold contracts, brochures, fabric swatches, paint chips, etc for vendor meetings, etc.

Do not ask attendants before 6 months before the wedding.

As soon as you send out save the dates, you must invite those people.

Follow etiquette. Ask moms and grandmas when in doubt how things are to be handled the best way.

Every vendor that you hire get a copy of their contract. Get receipts any time you pay for something. Keep them all in a folder/cohesive place so that you can reference back anytime you need.

Remember that no one cares about your wedding as much as you do and to not let your life revolve around planning your wedding, because you'll get hit with serious post-wedding blues if you don't.

When making a guest list do it in circles. Start with you and the groom, your parents, then grandparents, siblings, people you couldn't imagine the day without, then extended friends and family. Just because you went to someone's wedding doesn't automatically mean you have to invite them to yours.

You're welcome! Zola is awesome, and I find it really easy to use!

Happy planning!