- Shop the Look Above: Dress: 2 Three 4 for Intermix// Booties: DSW // Earrings: David Yurman // Bubble Umbrella: Target // Engagement Photos: Michael & Carina
I do not claim to be wedding planning expert. Reach out to my amazing wedding planner, Cody Grannis, or get inspiration from Style Me Pretty, the ultimate wedding blog, for the professional expertise. However, wedding planning can be really stressful and a daunting task for many girls, but I’ve had quite the opposite experience. I’ve loved planning my wedding and as much as I cannot wait to marry my fiancé in June, I’m sad I’m running out of things to plan (less than 5 months to go)! 🙂 I never had a Pinterest board of my “dream wedding” before I got engaged, which is really unbelievable since I’m the biggest girly girl and planner. I always wanted to get married to my fiancé and of course I knew it would happen one day, but I never had actually planned out ideas for my future wedding before I got engaged. But, I’m super OCD and a detail-oriented person. I love fashion and interior design, but I don’t follow trends. I know what I like and what I want, and that’s how I approached planning my wedding. Here are some tips and resources that may help you on your wedding planning journey…
- Don’t rush into wedding planning. After most girls get engaged they want to immediately start planning the wedding. It’s most girls’ dreams to get married, so I don’t blame you, I was the same. However, you will be married for the rest of your life. Take some time (a couple days, a couple weeks, a month) whatever feels best for you as a couple to just enjoy being engaged. Trust me, it will be way less stressful for your boyfriend, now fiancé.
- Discuss finances. After you’ve had your time to enjoy the honeymoon engagement period, discuss finances. No one likes to talk about money, but you will need to talk to the appropriate people to determine a wedding budget. Will you be taking the traditional approach with finances (i.e. will the bride’s parents pay for the wedding and the groom’s parents pay for the rehearsal dinner and honeymoon)? Or, will you and your fiancé pay for most of your own wedding? In today’s world every couple is different, but determining your budget is the first step in wedding planning.
- Stay True to Yourself as a Couple. This is your wedding day. This is the one-day in your life you can be selfish without (mostly) being judged. I’m not saying cause crazy family drama, but if you and your fiancé just want a small wedding, and your family wants you to have a huge wedding, speak up! Your wedding day is about celebrating you and your fiancé’s new chapter in life as husband and wife. Your wedding day should represent the love you two share and what makes you both happy. Of course, it is nice listening to other people’s ideas and opinions, but at the end of the day stay true to yourself and your fiancé as individuals and together as a couple.
- Don’t get offended when He Doesn’t Care about the Details. Don’t get upset if your fiancé doesn’t care about the details of your wedding. Peonies or Roses? Champagne or Blush? He’s most likely not going to know the difference or care. I made this mistake early on. It’s our wedding – the most important day of our life – don’t you care? Of course he cares, he cares about you, he loves you and cannot wait to marry you. What he doesn’t care about are the tiny details, what the centerpieces or flowers will look like. Honestly, he’ll probably forget the next day. What he is going to remember is what you looked like when you walked down the aisle and when you say “I do” and that’s what really matters.
- Book the Priority Vendors First. Figure out what is most important to you for your wedding. Is it the venue, the photographer, the dress or the band? Determine what is important to you for your wedding and book those vendors first. For me, I knew where I wanted to get married so we booked our wedding venue, wedding planner and photographers immediately. Once you book a venue most of the other vendors fall into place. Most venues have preferable vendors they suggest using.
The main website I used in planning my wedding is Borrowed and Blue, a locally inspired wedding website started by a husband and wife (so cute) from Charlottesville. I found and booked nearly all my vendors through Borrowed and Blue. Other than that, my main resource is my wedding planner, Cody Grannis. I used Cody for partial wedding planning since I still like to plan a lot of the big stuff myself, but having her 6 months up to my wedding day really makes dealing with the little things so much easier. If a wedding planner isn’t in your budget, I still suggest getting a day of planner or designate someone (an Aunt or a friend) to organize everything the day of your wedding. On the day of your wedding you should be sipping champagne with your bridesmaids and not worrying about a thing.
Hope some of these tips help! If anyone needs any help or questions with wedding planning please shoot me an email. I’m always here to help. 🙂
xx,
Lauren
8 Comments
Words of wisdom and so calm.
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February 17, 2016 at 10:49 pmYou styled it so well!I am totally in love with your look.
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Such a beautiful look!You are really amazing and attractive.
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This is just perfect!The background matched the outfit so well!
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I love your outfit!From top to bottom,in every single detail.
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February 25, 2016 at 9:38 pmWonderful photos, stunning outfit!
Planning for a wedding is a tough job. I as given the responsibility of planning for my brother’s wedding and I started searching for some tips online. This blogs helped me make a schedule and give me useful tips. I managed the entire wedding in the most appropriate way and everybody loved it.
November 22, 2016 at 12:20 am