Calling All Brides: 5 Tips You Need to Start Wedding Planning on the Right Foot
Photography: Kara Evans (based in Kankakee, IL) @karaevansphotog | Styled Shoot Hair & Makeup: Hannah Elisabeth Beauty (Selina - makeup & Holly - hair) | Flowers: Michaela Mantarian Floral Co.
It’s not every day that you get to have the ultimate glam sesh and dream about your big day! As a 2022 bride, the to-do list is long, but the excitement outweighs everything. I recently had the opportunity to try on some amazing dresses, get glammed up by the Hannah Elisabeth Beauty team, and shoot with Kara Evans for a styled vendor shoot. That’s where these lovely photos are from, and it already had me feeling butterflies about my upcoming wedding day!
One of the most common things I’m told is to truly enjoy every moment of the journey leading up to the wedding because it goes by so fast. With the months counting down, I can truly say that’s true. It feels like just yesterday that we decided on California and locked in our venue! To keep our planning efforts streamlined and fun, I used these 5 tips to help myself stay organized and avoid common pitfalls. That doesn’t mean that unexpected things won’t come up, but this is definitely a helpful way to start!
Start with the “hard“stuff” first…..
Think budget, guest count, venue location! These three things work hand-in-hand and dictate so many other details about your big day, such as the type of vendors you will need and how much you should spend on different items like invitations or food. Research budget guides online, and determine what you think your estimated total would be. Have an honest conversation with your partner and any other family members who have offered to contribute to your wedding to see what is feasible and appropriate for YOU (everyone is different and that is OK). When you have a good idea of the budget you’re working with, it will help you understand the bigger picture much better. It can be uncomfortable to discuss money, but I promise it’s worth it, and it will help everyone feel more prepared as you go forward.
Pro Party Tip: If you’re having a destination wedding like me, be sure to consider an additional line item in your budget for “destination travel and expenses.” This could include 2-3 trips to visit the location, transporting your dress or shipping items to the venue, or even vendor travel and lodging for any non-local vendors. Given these costs, you can adjust other areas of your budget accordingly to keep yourself on track and prevent stress from unforeseen costs.
2. Consolidate your vendor services when possible!
It takes a lot of work to coordinate multiple vendors, emails, contracts, and details (hint: plan to hire a partial or full wedding planner or coordinator if you’re feeling overwhelmed). Make it easier on yourself by bringing on vendors that offer multiple services, such as entertainment, rentals, or hair & makeup teams. For example, I went with Hannah Elisabeth Beauty for my entire “wedding journey” hair and makeup team! Hannah Elisabeth Beauty is a collective of amazing makeup artists and hair stylists that give you a personalized one-on-one experience, yet they are based in various cities nationwide to offer you the best services no matter where your big event is at! Since I’m based in Chicago, but my wedding is going to be in California, it brought me so much comfort using ONE vendor that could manage hair and makeup for all of my wedding-related events. It was seamless to book for events in the midwest like showers and dress shopping, or west coast events like our rehearsal dinner and wedding. By consolidating what would have been 4 vendors into just one, Hannah Elisabeth Beauty saved me so much time! They even offer a monthly discounted subscription, so you can get glam and save a few bucks, which we can ALL appreciate on the wedding journey. Check out my hair & makeup trial reel with Hannah Elisabeth Beauty on Instagram, and book your services on hannahelisabethbeauty.com! Thank me later ;-)
3. Set Expectations with Your Partner
My partner got lucky with expectations - ha! I absolutely love to plan events, hence this whole blog ;) and he really loves travel planning, so it was easy for us to divide the planning: wedding (me) vs. honeymoon (him). Although I took on the bulk of the wedding planning by choice, I still set expectations for where I could use his help and made note of what items he felt strongly about to ensure I incorporated them into the day! If you’re splitting the wedding planning duties down the middle or even 25:75, it will be important to stay in close communication as so many vendor details build upon each other. While you’re setting expectations, talk about what excites you and what might feel draining about the planning process. Set aside date nights where you specifically don’t discuss wedding planning, and at the same time, make your partner aware of times when you specifically want to focus on wedding tasks together. This will help you both feel like you still have “normal” time together as wedding planning can start to feel very consuming the closer it gets! After all, there are so many details, but the most important one is that you both stay happy and excited throughout the process.
4. Choose your wedding coordinator wisely & early
Coordination is often seen as an add-on toward the end of your wedding journey, however, when you choose a coordinator or planner early on there are major benefits! Itentionally building this into your budget from the beginning will help you have a go-to resource for questions and support throughout your journey. If you’re having a destination wedding, I can’t recommend this enough. Whether you go with a coordinator, partial planner or full planner, this can often SAVE you money through their recommendations and event experience. Even as a coordinator myself, I knew I could not do this alone. Teamwork truly does make the dream work leading up to the day and on wedding day. I intentionally chose a coordinator who was local to the area we are getting married in. She has great business ties to our venue and the people who work there. It has already paid off in so many conversations about venue logistics and local wedding vendor recommendations! I’ll share more about this as we get closer to the date.
5. Your New Mantra: Sooner Rather Than Later
The phrase “sooner rather than later” will be your best friend. While it’s good to pace yourself and enjoy the journey, crossing the ‘little things’ off your list EARLY on (like additional outfits, flower girl baskets or wedding party gifts) will help reduce stress later down the line. Most “wedding planning” lists that I’ve seen online miss a lot of the small things, thus creating panic when it finally comes up that you need to add prelude music to the ceremony or secure transportation for your vendors between events. Make a master wedding checklist for yourself, consult with previous brides, ask your vendors questions, and choose a wedding coordinator/planner with checklists they can provide based on experience. It may seem silly to think about some of these ‘little things’ so far out, but trust me, there will be plenty to do as it gets closer!
These tips were brought to you in partnership with Hannah Elisabeth Beauty, a collective of hair and makeup artists based in Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, Florida, and beyond nationwide.