Planning Advice from Real Brides
It’s always great to learn from the pros, but sometimes it’s nice to hear from someone who has just walked the same path that you are currently on. Today we are sharing advice directly from our brides about what they found most surprising when planning their wedding.
“Remember to factor in vendor gratuity when thinking about money and budget”
- When getting a quote from your vendor, make sure to add whatever gratuity you choose to before deciding if they are in your budget. Nothing sounds worse than having to pull cash out of your honeymoon fund the week of your wedding to fill gratuity envelopes for all of your vendors. Plan ahead and you will thank you future self!
“Florals are more expensive than you might expect”
- Trader Joe’s has spoiled us with beautiful bouquets of flowers for just $8. Your wedding flowers will take up much more of your budget than most people expect. These flowers will be hand selected and arranged just for you, including all bouquets, corsages, centerpieces, and ceremony backdrops. There are ways to cut costs like renting/buying silk flowers, getting married in a garden that is already covers in flowers, or (the most time consuming) putting together your own flower arrangements.
“Planning a surprise elopement (where family comes and they just don’t know it’s a wedding) is maybe as stressful as a traditional wedding, just way cheaper”
- Doing this will insure that you have minimal opinions being thrown at you at all times, but it also means you have to do everything by yourself (or hire a planner to help!). This is something that you will have to decide what is most important to you. If you thrive on surprises this is definitely for you!
“Vendors can easily take a week to get back to you with initial info (before even booking).”
- Start reaching out to vendors as soon as possible so that you have as much time as possible to break down all of the details. The best vendors book up very far in advance and have a never ending stream of communication happening with their current and future couples, so you have to give them some grace if you hope to be one of the couples they are giving all of their attention to.
“When COVID happens 3 weeks before your wedding date, don’t try to reschedule. Just cancel and elope”
- She said what she said 🤣 (don’t forget to have us sketch the beautiful memory for you after to gift to anyone who couldn’t be there!). Obviously, everyone’s situation is different, but definitely do not knock this option.
“I was really happy to have done premarital counseling!”
- Some churches require this if you choose to get married there, but counseling is never a bad idea! Even if you already live with your significant other, choosing to legally bind yourselves together is still a huge change. Having a 3rd (non bias) party can help sort through things you two might never have thought of! Being mentally prepared for this would start your marriage off on the right foot.
“Do whatever the fuck you want for your day. Don’t invite people for the sake of it. You can have the humblest and lowest budget wedding, but a good photographer and videographer will make it look like a million dollars”
- Before reaching out to any vendors or making any plans, the most important part of wedding planning is to decide what is top priority to you. For many people it’s the photographer, or the entertainment, or the dress. From there you decide what to cut costs on. The easiest way to dial back is by shrinking the guest list! There are so many pieces of your wedding are charged on a per-person basis, so less people = less money spent. We like to think of it as “if I wouldn’t want to take you to dinner on a regular basis, I don’t want to pay for your dinner at my wedding (respectfully)”.
Add your tips in the comments below to help other others that are getting married!
Samantha Shammas, Author and Owner of SamiaLynn
