Hello!
I hope you’ve all had a splendid week. I’ve blogged about picking vendors, staying on budget, and staying cool. I think that the time has come for us to talk a little bit about time in general (well, only when pertaining to your wedding).
I recently booked a bride whose wedding is {gasp} in 3 months from now. If you haven’t felt the panic, let me rephrase. Her wedding is in ninety days, and she has absolutely nothing booked. Now, I definitely love a good challenge, and as a wedding planner, there are definitely a few strings I can pull to make sure this wedding turns out flawless.
But if you are flying this one solo, or if you would simply like to be kinder to your wedding planner (and wedding vendors at large), here are a few tips to help you stay on time when planning your wedding.
1- Set a budget: You just got engaged, congratulations! Take as long as you need to enjoy this blissful time, but before you get pulled in by frilly pouffy dresses and diamond-encrusted Manolos, please sit down with your sweetheart and talk money. Painful as it may be, there is no sense in planning a wedding if you don’t know how much you can actually spend. Oh yes, and obviously, pick a date.
2- 9-16 months before W-Day: Book your venue. This might sound logical to someone who, like me, is an organizational freak, but you wouldn’t believe how many panicked calls I get from brides who photographer, florist, and dress in tow don’t have a venue with 6 months to go. Don’t forget that most venues don’t do just weddings, so securing a booking for the date of your choice means planning well ahead of time.
3- 8-12 months before W-Day: Dress up! Boys get to walk into a store, pick a tux, get fitted, and 2-3 weeks later, voila! But us girls, being all picky and precious that we are… Well, let’s just say that the shopping can be lengthy, finding THE dress can be even lengthier, and then it can take up to 6 months to get in store, plus alterations, changes… You get the point. Start shopping.
4- Book the most expensive items first: Things like chocolate truffle bonbonnieres and teal invitations are always readily available. But good photographers, amazing dj’s, special entertainment, and {ahem} wedding planners usually only take on one event per day. So, if you love em, book em. As soon as you can.
And there you have it! Once your venue, planner, photographer, dj, and caterer are booked, and your dress ordered, you can relax and actually get down to the fun stuff. Flowers, cake tasting, and decor rentals, here we come!
xoxo
