Don't make these common wedding planning mistakes!

When planning your wedding the excitement is real! You can get easily distracted by all the big beautiful images on Instagram and Pinterest and get carried away with your planning. With so many amazing suppliers, venues and inspiration out there its easily to want it all and have everything! In this post I'm going to highlight some of the most common wedding planning mistakes that couples find when planning their own weddings.

Budget spent quickly

Setting your budget should be one of the first things you sit down together and talk about, before you even start the planning! You need to realistically work out how much you can spend on the wedding and allocate the money accordingly to each element of the wedding. For more help on this head to my blog post How to plan your wedding budget.

Blowing your budget isn't something you want to at any point of your wedding planning, let alone in the first 6 months and then be maxing out credit cards to secure the rest of your suppliers! When researching your venue and suppliers make sure to stick within your budget and dont go looking at venues that you know are already too expensive. Work out your non negotiable's and what you both want for the wedding and go from there. I know wedding planning is exciting but be sensible about the budget and dont go ordering everything you like the look off!

Letting others take control of the guest list

When planning out your guest list, remember its your wedding day and you will want people you both love watching you walk down the aisle and celebrating your special day with you. I highly doubt you want your parents work colleagues and random friends attending your wedding when you dont even know them! Family are hard to say no to (especially if they are assisting with the payments to the wedding) but it will save you a lot money and stress if you are only inviting people who you truly care about. If needed make a compromise with the parents and offer a couple of seats that they would then cover the cost for if they insist on inviting them. Head over to this blog post for my top tips on making your guest list.

Traditions

A lot of couples get caught up in the wedding traditions and feel like its something they have to do at their wedding, even if they dont want to. **News flash** Nope you dont have to! Its your day and you can do what you want, how you want. Don't feel like you have to cut the cake, toss the bouquet, have a maid of honour or best man, have a first dance or even wear white. Couples are feeling more confident in breaking these traditions now and creating their own traditions. I always say, its your day and you can do it your way!

Assume DIY would be cheaper

This one is a big common mistake when it comes to wedding planning.

A lot of couples will start to get costings from suppliers they would like to work with and when they get back their quote realise its a lot more expensive than they originally thought and think they can do it all themselves.... Factor in cost of getting supplies, time, petrol, researching what you need and not to mention the endless hours perfecting everything causing sleepless nights. Its just better to sometimes leaving it to the professionals. Remember you are not just paying them for their service you are paying for their years of experience and knowledge of their craft and when you think about it, they are worth their weight in gold!

Order your dress too late

When you buy your wedding dress its not like shopping for a 'normal' dress. You cant just pop into a shop pick one of of the rack have it fit perfectly and be done with it. You need to start dress shopping no later than 9 months before the wedding day this is because you may need to go to multiple different shops to find the one, which you would have needed to make appointments at which may be weeks apart. The shop would then order in your dress and once its arrived it may then need altering. Its always better to leave more then enough time to make sure you find your perfect dress and that it fits you perfectly!

No videographer

One of the biggest regrets I have heard from couples is wishing they had hired a videographer. Having photos is amazing but having video footage of the speeches, vows, getting ready and the reception is also priceless. Its also something you can look back on for years to come and have footage of those who may no longer be with us enjoying your special day. I will ALWAYS recommend my couples have a videographer.

No wet weather plan

If you are getting married in the UK have a wet weather plan! I dont care if your wedding is the height of summer but not have a wet weather plan you are tempting fate! One of the wettest weddings I have experience was August bank holiday weekend! You need to speak to your venue (ideally on your viewings) and ask what their wet weather plan is, especially if you are planning on having any of your wedding outside as the inside option could not be what you want. This is something you want to find out at the viewing stage, not on your wedding day!

Let Pinterest get into your head

Another mistake that is so commonly made by couples especially in the last couple of years is wanting to copy Pintrest weddings. Pintrest is great for getting inspiration and working out what you want your wedding day to look like and communicating with your suppliers the types of things you want. But once you have confirmed your main suppliers (venue, decor, flowers, etc) stop looking at it!!! It'll only make you second guess yourself because you might have seen something else that you like better. Only use pintrest for inspiration and once you have booked suppliers let it go!

Hidden costs

Checking for hidden costs is a big one! One cost that couples seem to forget about is the postage charge to get their invites to their guests! It may be higher than you expected so work out how much this would be roughly by using the Royal Mail website. Venues may have hidden costs such as cleaning fee or damage deposit. You may also need to hire security or additional lighting. Its always best to have a 10% contingency in your budget for any of these hidden costs that may crop up.

Try to please everyone

You cannot please everyone so please dont try to. Remember its your day and it should reflect you both as a couple and be exactly what you both wanted for your wedding day. If a family member suggests you should have something that you dont want to have a polite 'thanks but no thanks' will do. You do you!

Pass on trials

Please please please never pass up on trials! Yes than can be an additional cost but if you are being offered the opportunity to have a trial run from a supplier please go with it as this can save you time, money and stress in the long run, especially if it turns out you dont like the supplier and need to find someone new,at least you had a trail with them first. This goes for hair and make up trials and also engagement shoots with your photographer, do your research book in with these suppliers and then double check you are happy with their work before you book them for your wedding day! Engagement shoots are usually done by your wedding photographer but if you have looked at their work and like it but are still unsure, ask to book in for an engagement shoot with them first to use it as a trial before you book them for your wedding. They will be happy to do this.

If you want to avoid as many of these mistakes as you can, send me an email to see how we can work together.

xx