Professional Tips on Planning Your Wedding

As a professionally trained wedding planner and owner of a wedding coordination business, I have planned over 50 weddings in the mid-1990's. As part of my business I also offered wedding decorating services. The tips I'll share here are based on my experiences working with a variety of different brides and grooms.

Interview lots of vendors.
First let me clarify what "wedding vendor" actually means. Wedding photographer, DJ or band, caterer, bakery, calligrapher and limousine service are all examples of wedding vendors.

Take the time to interview many different types of vendors before you hire someone for your wedding. And don't limit yourself to vendors who are only in your budgeted price range - by talking to high end vendors you'll be able to find out what makes higher priced vendors stand out from budget vendors. Knowing this information will help you to look for those qualities in lower priced vendors. Many times wedding vendors who are just starting out in their business will offer lower prices but still have a lot of talent to offer for your wedding day.

Ask friends, family members and even casual acquaintances for recommendations of vendors they used in their own wedding. There's no great inside-information than hearing a review of a vendor from someone who has hired them before.

Don't break the bank.
The average price of a wedding in the United States is close to $30,000 but you don't need to spend that much money on your special day. You can organize an elegant and memorable wedding on a budget less than $10,000. But it will require a lot of research, comparison shopping and budgeting.

Sit down with your fiancé and determine what elements of your wedding are most important to you. Is it a fabulous and delicious meal? Is it outstanding photographs that you'll treasure throughout the years of your marriage? Is it the party after the ceremony that will include a full open bar, rocking band and lots of dancing into the night? Or is an extended honeymoon in an exotic location most important to you as a couple?

Now determine what things are not very important to you. Do you really need a wedding video? Is it necessary to book an army of stretch limousines for the whole wedding party? Do you really need dendrobium orchids in your bouquet? Will anyone miss the carved prime rib for dinner?

Once you have established a budget, stick to it. This is the hard part. Keep this budget with you when you go shopping and be firm about the decisions you've made in the beginning. If you find yourself tempted by something that was not budgeted, don't buy it right away. Give yourself a 24 hour waiting/thinking period and if you still can't live without it, go back and buy it the next day. Then adjust your budget to determine what other thing you'll have to cut back on to accommodate this new purchase.

Add your personality.
A traditional wedding with all the "chutes and ladders" is the most expensive type of event. The bridal industry has exploded with profit because everyone wants the same type of wedding and will buy all the typical wedding-themed merchandise. However, by simply looking somewhere other than the wedding isle at the store you can save money and add personality to your special day. What hobbies, passions or recreation do you and your groom share? Golf? Scuba diving? Baseball? Technology? Antiquing? Figure out what you both love to do together and find a way to share that experience with your guests. Check out my article about how to plan a Golf Themed Wedding for couple who love to play golf together.

Write your own vows or compose a song together that will be sung during the ceremony or reception. Share a music CD with your guests that include your favorite songs as a couple. The sky is the limit when you start making a list of all the great things about you and your fiancé.

Call your vendors the week before the wedding.
It might sound like an obvious piece of advice, but it is often forgotten by couples in the hectic final days before the wedding. Calling all your vendors the week before you wedding is one of the most important details to remember. Not only will this step force you to double check your contracts for any last minute details or payments, but it will also give you the chance to verify the agreement between you and your vendor is solid and let you communicate your timeline of the day.

Let me tell you a story about why this is so important. I was hired by a bride who had planned the majority of her wedding and asked me to step in during the final month of planning. All her vendors were hired and all the big decisions had been handled in the year leading up to the wedding day. As always, I called all her vendors the week before the wedding for final verification of the timeline. When I called the limousine company they had no record of a contract and did not have my clients wedding on their schedule. And they did not have any limousines available for the following weekend. The client's original contract was faxed and some fast-footed shuffling was accomplished by the limo company and a car was acquired to fulfill their contract. If that call hadn't gone out the week before the bride, groom and wedding party would have been stranded without a ride after the ceremony.

Hire a good photographer.
After your wedding, what will you have left to remember your most special day? You'll have each other and you'll have the photographs. My #1 piece of advice to the brides I worked with was "Don't scrimp on the photographer." I have seen far too many couples saddened by poor wedding photos. Nothing can fix bad photos. You could get a refund, but that still doesn't bring the photos back. Know that the most important thing you can do for yourself is to hire an outstanding photographer. Don't trust Uncle Bob to do the job. Hire a professional. Even if it requires sacrificing in other areas of your wedding, this is the most important thing you can do for yourselves. Skip the limo, cut back on the menu, scale back on a full bar or have fewer bridal attendants - do whatever it takes to squeeze enough out of your budget to hire someone you can rely on.

Did you notice that "hire a wedding planner" isn't on my list of Top 5 Tips? No, it isn't. But if I had to put it on the list, it would hit the #6 spot. Many brides are perfectly capable of planning her entire wedding without a hitch and I highly recommend that she do it. However, if she were to hire a professional wedding planner at any stage of her planning process, I would suggest she hire someone to be her "Day-Of Coordinator".

A wedding planner can be hired to deal with all the details and minor tasks that need attention on the actual wedding day. She is the eyes and ears of the bride, she conveys the brides wishes and is there to make sure that all the hired vendors are on time, in place and doing their jobs properly. She'll handle any last minute emergencies and ensure that the day's schedule runs on time and without any complications. Hiring a wedding planner is a good idea for many brides. However, assigning a close friend that you trust as your Personal Attendant for the day will also do the trick.

Above and beyond all these planning tips I would like to add one more thing. Enjoy your day! Consciously take the time to look around and remember what's happening throughout your day. Take the time to breath and relax. You've worked hard to plan this wedding, you deserve the chance to enjoy it.