6 Tips for Wedding Planning Like a Boss

You know you’re a boss—you get stuff done at work, are a master of creativity, are your own advocate when you need to be, and even attracted the most amazing spouse-to-be. So why is it when it comes time to plan your wedding, you suddenly want to run away and hide under a heap of tulle? All the stress and fear of the unknown (and the huge amount of wedding planning tips from well-meaning friends and relatives!) can make even the most boss betch a little freaked out, but fear not!

We’ve got all the wedding planning tips to help you become not just a bride, but a boss bride—keep reading.

Get your wedding online.

As soon as you’ve got some of the basics of your big day set in stone, pull a Zuck and get yourself a website! Wedding websites are essential these days for any modern couple, providing a central location for your guests to retrieve information (without having to bug you for it!) as well as a back-end for you to round up all the important things like RSVPs, registry, wedding weekend itinerary, maps and more. Basically, think of your website a home base for everything having to do with your wedding—and the best part about it is, you can update it anytime you want!

Follow fellow Boss Brides + experts.

Gathering inspo and wedding planning tips from the experts is a total boss move. Fill your Insta-feed with all the curated wedding goodness gathered by wedding blogs and publications (ahem, like this one), then use their posts to find hashtags, guest bloggers and more sources of inspo that’ll fill you with genius ideas. Sure, your feed will completely transform to a lace-and-floral-filled abyss for the next eight months or so, but trust me, there’s no such thing as too much inspiration! 

Vet your vendors.

You wouldn’t go to a restaurant without reading the reviews, so why would you book your caterer without seeing what past couples have to say about their service? Guess what: There are ratings and reviews for tons of vendors in almost every realm of wedding planning there is, from the biggies like florists and DJs to the more behind-the-scenes vendors who are just as important like tailors and lighting designers. Every element of your wedding is equally as important and deserves top-notch attention, no matter your budget, and the very best vendors are out there. All you have to do is find them—and nowhere will you get more honest wedding planning tips than from the mouths of former Boss Brides! So don’t book a vendor—any vendor—without reading plenty of reviews, as well as their social channels.

Set #goals, and a schedule—then stick to them.

You’re a #goaldigger IRL, and you absolutely should be while planning your wedding, too. There are so many tasks and milestones that must be completed before your big day, that you simply won’t be able to get them done to your high standards without serious prioritizing—figuring out which wedding tasks are most important to you and allotting the most planning time to them—scheduling—setting realistic goals of which tasks to finish, when—and sticking to your plan as you would stick to any to-do list (like it was your job!). Sure, all this admin might seem a little militant and not very fun or romantic, but once you’ve got everything plotted out, the actual step-by-step planning will go a lot more smoothly (and be a lot more fun!).

Stay balanced.

Being a #bossbride doesn’t mean living and breathing wedding planning for 12 months without a moment of peace. It means developing a smart planning strategy that also gives you time to completely cut yourself off from all things wedding every now and then—because everyone needs a break, even bosses. Select one night a week to put a moratorium on wedding-related anything, and keep Sundays sacred (most of us nine-to-fivers load our weekends up with wedding tasks, leaving us no days a week to chill out and actually relax—totally unfair!). Also, keep up with a fitness routine—not because you’re obsessing over a bridal body, but because working out is proven to cut our stress-creating hormones, clear our minds and keep us centered, making the days we do devote to smashing our wedding to-dos that much more productive.

Keep smiling.

Ever heard that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar? Annoying platitude to hear when you’re in the throes of a boss bride bad mood, but also annoyingly true. The #1 trait of being a boss is radiating good vibes at all times, because your wedding, after all, is a celebration of love! Not to mention, it’s a team effort, and you’ll be leaning on lots of friends, helpers, and loved ones throughout the planning process, no matter how much of an independent-type you are. People will be happy to be supportive, but what they’ll expect back is love and gratitude from you—two things you’ve probably got plenty of normally, but which are easy to lose track of when you’re uber-stressed. If you feel like your baditude is getting the best of you when the planning gets rough, just remember to breathe deep, take a step back and focus on the people that are going to make this whole event so special, not the things. Oh, and, those good vibes? Definitely extend them to your vendors, too—they deserve your best self just as much as your friends and fam do!