Where to Start if You’re Overwhelmed With Wedding Planning
If you are feeling stressed about the mile-long list of things you have to do for your wedding day, stop and take a deep breath. You can do this! Like anything else in life, you can achieve success if you just take this one day at a time with an organized plan of attack.
First off, sit down with your soon-to-be husband or wife and get on the same page when it comes to what means the most to both of you. This prioritizing and communication will set the wedding planning off in a good direction.
Start with...The Timeline:
Whether you've been engaged for 5 minutes or 5 days, you've likely already heard the same question a thousand times; "When's the wedding?" It's as if people expect you to start the planning process immediately after saying "yes!" Well don't give into peer pressure. When you're ready, sit down with your fiance and decide what month or day you two will be tying the knot. To make things simple, decide with your fiancé what day you two will officially be tying the knot. Maybe it is a year away or as soon as 6 months. Either way lock in a date so the planning can begin.
Then...The Budget:
While money isn’t everything, it still is the best place to start when wedding planning. Draw out a plan of how much you and your future spouse are willing to spend on the big day. Avoid stress down the road by mapping out exactly how you plan on spending with maybe a little extra set aside as a buffer for any emergency pop-ups. There are plenty of wedding budget planners out there to help calculate expenses.
Next...The Guest List:
Creating a guest list will help you determine many things including your budget for both food and favors. While it can be hard to cut people from the list, the bottom line is you'll likely be paying per head for the catering, so if you're trying to keep costs down, not everyone will be able to be included.The venue you may have in mind also will have a capacity limit, so consider what is most important to you: exploring small intimate wedding venues or inviting tons of family and friends.
Also...The Wedding Registry:
It’s never too early to start with the fun stuff! Don’t worry about looking like you’re hungry for gifts, people will appreciate some direction with what to get you when both the bridal shower and the big day arrives. If you’re unsure what to put on your registry, there are plenty of unique new registry ideas out there. If you feel like you have everything you could register a high-end cruise for your honeymoon. You can even register gift cards now rather than ask for money. Maybe you and your spouse to be want to register membership to something like a crossfit gym or yoga studio!
Wait a Minute...The Wedding Planner:
If you find yourself too overwhelmed, there is always the option to hire help. If you have the finances, hiring a wedding planner can alleviate a lot of stress and anxiety during the lead up to the big day. Not only can a wedding planner offer their input and expertise when making decisions, they can help with all the granular details like making phone calls to book, and pay vendors. They will also be there on your wedding day to ensure everything is running smoothly with no hiccups.
