Wedding Planning Advice: No Better Time to Network

You've been hearing about the importance and value of networking your whole life or throughout school. Most of us have heard that infamous phrase "It's all about who you know" too many times to count.

There will probably be many times during your life that you discover there really is some truth to this statement. While success is not always completely about who you know, networking with your various contacts and acquaintances certainly can be a big help in finding resources; for anything. Networking is one of the most effective actions you can perform during the wedding planning process. There are endless reasons to do it and few not to. Most importantly, networking can not only help you achieve the wedding you've been longing for but it can also save you quite a bit of money.

Think about where you obtain most of your knowledge, about all things that come up in your life. Where do you learn about new products, services, where to shop, health care, the best place to go out for dinner, what movies to see, etc?

It is very likely that a major source of information you collect is already through word of mouth. Networking, with a purpose in this case to plan a wedding, isn't really much different than your everyday casual conversations. The only real unique change you might want to make for the wedding planning motivation is perhaps to take a more proactive approach to your social interactions. That and no zoning out during long conversations. You need to take lots of mental notes!

Though many people find the thought of networking to be very intimidating, there really isn't much to it. Once you get the hang of it in fact it will probably start to feel rather natural, just a normal part of your everyday routine. Then, after a little while, you may, like many people find it to actually be kind of fun. And if you start paying attention to the opportunities to use your networking skills, you'll see that that the possibilities are all around you and endless.

Consider for a moment the various people you know and have contact information for. Everyone from your favorite employee at your favorite designer store to someone more obvious such as your boss. Flip through your address book and you might even find that one name will lead you to make an association with another name and then that one with yet another, and the list can go on and on until miraculously you just may come to remember someone who would be a perfect networking contact at this moment who you for one reason or another just never thought to put in your personal phone book.

Spend some spare time between other wedding planning ventures to brainstorm about these people you know and what they do. Think about what they do in terms of their career as well as their personal hobbies and talents. Allow yourself to daydream nostalgically about times spent with these individuals in the past and conversations that have made some kind of impression in you. What do these contacts of yours talk about, what do they like to do in their spare time, what special gifts or personality strengths do they feel proud to define themselves by?

People love to be experts. Ask your friends and acquaintances for help, advice suggestions, etc.

Perhaps you have a friend who is really into arts and crafts. You might want to ask her for cheap centerpiece ideas for the wedding reception or unique decoration ideas.

Do you have a particular salon in the area you really respect? Ask them if they do weddings. Maybe they can give you a special discounted group price for hair, makeup and/or nails for the bride and bride's maids the day of the wedding. If they don't offer this service they most surely will have some place elsewhere they can recommend to you.

Again, just spend some time pondering the people you know and who may have experience in what area. It doesn't mean you have to pay them for their specialty but maybe they'll have some money saving tips or creative brainstorming ideas that you otherwise never would have thought of on your own.

So dive in, use your personal resources. It's never too early in the wedding planning process to start networking.