15 of the Best Tips for Planning a Wedding

Planning a wedding is a once in a lifetime opportunity—your moment—to celebrate true love in a way that’s meaningful to you.

However, if you type, ‘planning a wedding is…’ into Google, the auto-populated answers are bleak: ‘ruining my relationship,’ ‘stressful,’ and ‘overwhelming.’ Yikes!

Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be this way. We want you to have a fabulous wedding planning experience, and if you follow these 15 tips, you will.

1. Be Intentional about Mindset

By intentionally choosing your mindset—deciding at the onset that you’ll do the best you can not to let wedding planning consume you, command all your time, and stress you out—you’ll actually enjoy the experience.

It’s simple: If you plan your wedding from a place of love, joy, and creativity, you’ll actually enjoy the experience.

2. Give Yourself Enough Time

Most weddings take at least 12 months to plan.

This allows you the space to ensure everything’s just right, and it also gives your guests—especially those who need to travel in order to attend—plenty of time to make arrangements.

It is possible to plan a wedding in less time—you just have to be efficient.

3. Collaborate with your Fiancée

Right from the get-go, it’s important to involve your fiancée.

You’ll need to collaborate on all the important decisions:

• when to have the wedding
• how big of a wedding you want to have
• what kind of a wedding you’d like
• what your wedding budget is

If there’s an aspect of the wedding that your fiancée excels in,  let them plan those details. For example, if they’re a chef, it’s only natural they get to decide on the menu… after they’ve had a taste-test and given it a thumbs up, of course.

4. Establish a Realistic Budget

Establishing and adhering to a budget is incredibly important.

Many people feel as though they need a massive budget in order to have a dream wedding… this simply isn’t true.

Embarking on married life in debt because you overspent on your wedding isn’t worth it.

5. Stay Organized

Are you a paper planner diehard, or are the alerts you get from your Google calendar the driving force behind getting you through the day?

Whatever your preferred method of being organized is, dive into it, head first.

Being organized and having a central hub from which you plan your wedding is crucial.

6. Choose a Theme or Aesthetic

This can be anything, from deciding on the feeling you’re going for—aethereal or romantic, for example—to choosing a full-blown wedding theme.

Having an idea of what you’d like to include and how you’d like things to look ultimately helps in decision making, and leads to a gorgeous cohesive result.

7. Rank Tasks According to Priority

Printable wedding planning timelines are usually structured in a way that provides enough time for all the big decisions.

Be sure to prioritize major tasks. Once they’re secured, focus on the ancillary to-dos.

8. Delegate

Remember, you don’t have to do everything! You have your fiancée, your bridesmaids, your family… maybe even a wedding planner.

Jot down the tasks you’d like assistance with.

Your bridesmaids are the perfect people to help you choose your wedding gown, and they can help decide which style of bridesmaid’s dress seems made for your theme.

9. Be Creative

You, my friend, are a creative being. Use Pinterest for inspiration, and pour some of your creative energy into your big day.

Creativity is an excellent way to combat the seeming restraints of a smaller budget and bless your wedding with something gorgeous and unique.

10. Don’t Give in to Pressure

Be warned: when planning a wedding, prepare yourself for an onslaught of other people’s opinions and expectations.

The antidote to all these is a special two-letter word: No.

Use that word whenever you need to.

11. Make it Yours

This is your wedding, not Beyonce’s. No amount of bling or flash can make your big day any more special than it already is.

Those who embrace the opportunity to make a wedding theirs with the resources available land incredible results, every time.

12. Enjoy Non-Wedding Planning Activities

Spend time with loved ones doing non-wedding related things.

Go to yoga, enjoy picnics, and see live music. Just be warned, inspiration is everywhere. These times away from wedding planning may help inspire you or assist with making a big decision.

13. Be Present

It’s easy to get so caught up in the details that you forget to stop, take stock, and smile.

How incredible. These moments need to be cherished.

14. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

If something doesn’t go to plan, it’s natural to feel frustrated. Just remember there are plenty of alternative solutions.

If you feel stress beginning to creep in, take a deep breath.

Reevaluate. Look at what’s working, and reconfigure what’s not.

15. Keep the Big Picture in Mind

Remember tip #1 about being intentional with your mindset? This tip can help with that. The reason for planning a wedding is so huge, so incredible, that no minor inconveniences can take that away.

Keep the significance of the moment in mind at all times, and everything else simply pales in comparison.

Conclusion:

Yes, the details of your wedding are important, but your mindset? That’s the most important of all.

Choose to prioritize joy and the significance of the moment above all else, and the rest will fall into place.