Wedding planning is hard…frustrating…overwhelming…and overall just A LOT to do. So, in this article we are going to talk about 5 tips to make your wedding planning easier when you don’t have wedding planner or coordinator. Of course wedding planning would become 10x or even 100x easier if you had a planner because…well they do most of the hard work for you! But not everyone has a planner to help with their wedding needs so this blog should help those who want to relieve some of that planning stress and get your dream wedding planned in no time!
I want to start off by saying I always recommend hiring a planner or even a coordinator (or both) for your wedding. They do this for a living so they know the ins and outs of wedding planning and may think of things that you would never think of for your wedding! They also have a ton of knowledge, connections, and referrals they can send your way to help you get your other vendors booked. Some planners even find and book your other vendors for you. So having a planning will 100000% help you make wedding planning much easier, but I do understand that it may not fit for every single person to have one. So if that is you, keep on reading!
Let’s get started with the first step that can help you make wedding planning easier and less stressful…
1. Hire Your Photographer & Videographer
Now this may sound a little strange being at number one, but I promise it is super helpful! There is another blog post all about “What to look for when hiring your photographer and videographer”
Depending on who you look at, most wedding photographers and videographers have a lot of experience and can actually help you with your planning! Now this may not be as extensive as hiring a wedding planner, but it will sure help with your planning and stress! Photographers often have timeline examples that can help you build your day of timeline to make sure everything runs smoothly and they get all of their photos without rushing (this also applies to videographers). Since they have also been to a ton of weddings, they can also help you answer most of your questions when it comes to planning.
Booking your photographer and videographer first is super beneficial since they can help you answer questions and even help you plan your timeline.
Learn More: How To Hire Your Photographer & Videographer (Link Coming Soon)
2. Research Before You Start Planning
I know, I know, this doesn’t sound too fun but I promise it’s worth it. Do some research on weddings and what a wedding needs or things you want. Go on Pinterest and find some inspirations, find some online PDF’s, and more. This way you will know what you want or need at your wedding. You would be surprised how many of the “little things” you might forget if you just try to get right into planning without any prior research.
You can also ask your friends who got married and what they almost missed out on or what their favorite small thing (or big) that they had in their wedding that they LOVED was.
Ask around, go on google, Pinterest, and more to find exactly what YOU want at your wedding and write everything down. You can even make a checklist!
Make A Checklist
This is probably going to be your best friend when you are wedding planning. MAKE A CHECKLIST! This can be as short or as detailed as you want to make it but the more detailed the better. You can even download checklists online to give you a starting point.
These checklists could have things like vendors to book, planning ideas, order of things to plan and more. A checklist will help you stay organized and make sure you get everything you want for your wedding.
There are a few places online that will help you create a free checklist such as Zola Wedding Checklist. We have also created a printable checklist for you that you can download below. This wedding planning checklist from venture peak films allows you to check items off your list as you go to make sure you get the basics of wedding planning down.
3. BUDGET, BUDGET, BUDGET
As an avid numbers person, I am all about creating spreadsheets and budgeting. This is SUPER important for your wedding. There is nothing more stressful than finding out you went $15,000 over budget. Whichever way works for you (mine is Excel), create some sort of budget sheet or document where you can keep track of how much you want to or can spend and how much you are spending.
It can be beneficial to write down your biggest costs and how much they will be before booking them. These are generally things like the Venue, Photo/video, flowers, catering, and other vendors. Make sure all of these vendors combined will fit well below your budget. All of the little things will add up to more than you expect and can make you go overbudget. Keeping track of all the spending (even the small things for $10 or so) can really help you stay on track and keep some of that stress away.
Keep in mind it is not uncommon to go overbudget on a wedding. It’s also not a bad thing! You just want to make sure you have comfortable wiggle room in your budget just in case this does happen and not to go over by too much. But having a budget sheet will help you stay on track and make sure everything is visually represented.
So, get a budget, write it out, and keep track of your expenses.
4. Ignore the “RULES”
Many people tend to want to follow the “rules” of a wedding but just remember, this is YOUR wedding. You can do literally anything you want with it! People are coming to celebrate and enjoy spending time with you and your partner, not to critique your wedding. So if you want to have a pink dress or no first dance, or anything nontraditional then just DO IT! Feel free to do anything unique to you or just have fun with it. This is your day and you are spending a lot on it, make it truly YOUR DAY!
5. BE HONEST!
This may be a hard one when you have a lot of people involved in your wedding and the planning but you need to be honest with everyone! Remember the thing above, this is YOUR DAY not theirs so if you don’t like something then be honest about it. Make sure everything at your wedding is the way that you and your partner want it to be.
If there is anything to remember, it’s that this is your day.
Summary
Use these tips to help make your planning easier and less stressful! There are more tips and tricks to come to help you with your wedding needs. If you need a photographer or videographer you can click the links in the menu to learn more!
We are James & Krista, your photo and video team that you’ll get to have an amazing day with! Venture Peak Films has been in business for over 8 years and captured over 200 weddings so far with no intentions on stopping! Let us know if you have any questions about your wedding and we’re happy to help 🤗