5 Things to Do Before Planning a Wedding
There are so many aspects to a wedding that are daunting, cause fights, and result in mayhem. There are a few things you should do as a couple before planning your wedding. I am not a genius at weddings, nor do I claim to know all the ins and outs of wedding mishaps. (Im not a psychologist) Being married myself I know that a Brides wedding is her most important day. It is as important as your first child, college graduation and 50th anniversary. Planning a wedding starts with the Bride and ends with the bride. Here are a few tips that wil help you along the way, or even better will help your wedding experience be less stressful and more enjoyable.
Step 1
Plan the wedding to a T – I dont mean sit down with your spouse and map out everything that needs to be done. That can be done by the wedding planner. What you need to do, is know in your head what you want “your day” to look like. What do you want the day to be? Experience is key. There are many creative people that can take an idea and make it beautiful, but there are essentials that every bride and groom must have at their wedding. This starts and ends with the bride.
Step 2
Lay down ground rules – This involves a budget, the groom, and the parents of the bride. If you are not on budget you will be more stressed than you know. I spent countless hours crying before my wedding because I did not think I could afford what I wanted. If i had laid down some budgeting ground rules I would have been a lot better off.
Its not about the money its about the memories
Step 3
Utilize great friends – If you have a bridesmaid and a best man, dont just use them for the bachelor and bachelorette party, use them until their feet are sore. Have the bridesmaid go with you, help you, answer the phone for you, and be there when you are struggling. This process is even better if they have gone through it. Ask your friends for frugal tips, and measures they took to do the wedding on budget.
Step 4
Sabbath – Find a day of the week, where you are not overburdened by work, wedding, or stress. RELAX! It is your wedding. Yes. But it is not your life blood. Find a way to escape it all. If this means giving some tasks to your friends (See Step 3) then do so. I worried too much at my wedding and regretted it later. It is much safer and less stressful to your relationship.
Step 5
Stick Together – You need to stick it out together. Again I am no psychologist, but there are so many ways that an engagement can go out the window, when your true colors come out. They will come out when you plan a wedding. Make decisions together, and decide as a couple. It is the brides day, but the groom needs to feel part of the memory and part of the bride.
I hope these tips are helpful when planning a wedding. Wedding planning is a scary thought, but doesnt have to be stressful or overwhelming. Talk about these things before jumping into a lavish wedding you dont agree on that breaks the bank.
Brooke provides information for event planning Seattle and is a Seattle wedding planner so the next time they pop the question you will be prepared.
5 Things to Do Before Planning a Wedding
There are so many aspects to a wedding that are daunting, cause fights, and result in mayhem. There are a few things you should do as a couple before planning your wedding. I am not a genius at weddings, nor do I claim to know all the ins and outs of wedding mishaps. (Im not a psychologist) Being married myself I know that a Brides wedding is her most important day. It is as important as your first child, college graduation and 50th anniversary. Planning a wedding starts with the Bride and ends with the bride. Here are a few tips that wil help you along the way, or even better will help your wedding experience be less stressful and more enjoyable.
Step 1
Plan the wedding to a T – I dont mean sit down with your spouse and map out everything that needs to be done. That can be done by the wedding planner. What you need to do, is know in your head what you want “your day” to look like. What do you want the day to be? Experience is key. There are many creative people that can take an idea and make it beautiful, but there are essentials that every bride and groom must have at their wedding. This starts and ends with the bride.
Step 2
Lay down ground rules – This involves a budget, the groom, and the parents of the bride. If you are not on budget you will be more stressed than you know. I spent countless hours crying before my wedding because I did not think I could afford what I wanted. If i had laid down some budgeting ground rules I would have been a lot better off.
Its not about the money its about the memories
Step 3
Utilize great friends – If you have a bridesmaid and a best man, dont just use them for the bachelor and bachelorette party, use them until their feet are sore. Have the bridesmaid go with you, help you, answer the phone for you, and be there when you are struggling. This process is even better if they have gone through it. Ask your friends for frugal tips, and measures they took to do the wedding on budget.
Step 4
Sabbath – Find a day of the week, where you are not overburdened by work, wedding, or stress. RELAX! It is your wedding. Yes. But it is not your life blood. Find a way to escape it all. If this means giving some tasks to your friends (See Step 3) then do so. I worried too much at my wedding and regretted it later. It is much safer and less stressful to your relationship.
Step 5
Stick Together – You need to stick it out together. Again I am no psychologist, but there are so many ways that an engagement can go out the window, when your true colors come out. They will come out when you plan a wedding. Make decisions together, and decide as a couple. It is the brides day, but the groom needs to feel part of the memory and part of the bride.
I hope these tips are helpful when planning a wedding. Wedding planning is a scary thought, but doesnt have to be stressful or overwhelming. Talk about these things before jumping into a lavish wedding you dont agree on that breaks the bank.
Brooke provides information for event planning Seattle and is a Seattle wedding planner so the next time they pop the question you will be prepared.
Planning the Cheapest Wedding
There are ways to plan a wedding that doesnt break the bank. You dont your husband or wife looking at that ring regretting the debt you incurred. Follow some of these simple rules and you will be safe from the green wedding goblin who is after every penny. These frugal tips will have you celebrating the cheapest wedding.
Tip 1 – Plan the wedding yourselves – I have seen so many couples talk about the vision they have for their wedding, only to see it drowned out by a crazy creative event planner, who over did it, with little taste. If you know what you want it is far cheaper to do it yourself. 90% of the time a wedding planner will charge 15% of total wedding cost. that is 15% MORE than you needed to spend.
Tip 2 – Recipe for success – It can be really difficult to cook for 200+ people, but there are options without going to a fancy wedding caterer. Costco is a great option for finding huge tubs, and cases of ingredients to make a cake/souffles. If you cant do dinner, dont do dinner for everyone. I have been to a ton of weddings, where all they served were amazing appetizers and drinks. Be sure there is enough and dont pay too much for them. If you want to serve dinner, higher an affordable caterer. I have a friend who called her favorite Hawaiian restaurant and they sent mountains of food for the fraction of the cost a fancy wedding caterer would.
Tip 3 – A friends backyard – If your parents are part of the baby boomer generation like mine were, they have to have “that” friend that has a Buick, a golden retriever, and “that” backyard. The most beautiful wedding I have ever been too was at a house on a lake. Free to the bride and groom because it was her grandparents. There are friends of friends from college, that have places. The most expensive part of a wedding is location. Save thousands of dollars on a location and be able to serve dinner.
Tip 4 – The ring – As a groom, this is not something you want to go stingy on. Having that said, you can find a beautiful ring that your wife has raved over for the last month copied by a local jeweler. Places like Blue Nile sell just the diamond, take it to a local jeweler and have that Tiffany ring replicated. If the groom is reading this. TELL HER, she wont care she got the exact ring she wanted for a lot less.
I hope these 4 tips help you on the road to matrimony. Marriage and Family are hard enough, dont make marriage the same. Marriage is for you guys, enjoy it without paying for it.
Brooke provides information for event planning Seattle and is a Seattle wedding planner so the next time they pop the question you will be prepared.