Hi Everyone! I decided to write this blog post to give some of my own advice from the experiences I’ve had planning my wedding. This is by no means what you must do, and every wedding is different. If this simply doesn’t apply to you or ring true, then skip it! But for those it might help, read on and enjoy 🙂 

EIGHT WAYS TO STICK TO YOUR BUDGET, KEEP YOUR SANITY, AND HAVE A GREAT WEDDING

1) If you can afford it, hire a wedding planner. I know, I know, seems so unnecessary cuz you’re all, “I GOT THIS!”, but in the end, you will be SO grateful to have that extra brain, organization skills, and management that a wedding planner can give. Sure, it’s doable on your own (I did it), but unless you have tons of free time to kill, save yourself from having million things to remember (and forget) and get someone to help you out — you get to make the fun decisions, and let them take care of the actual back and forth with vendors and organization of it all.

2) Budget. Yeah, make one. If you wing it, you’ll most likely go way over. Try to research typical costs and what you can afford and would be willing to pay per each item. There are great budgeting lists you can find for free online, or even theknot.com has one for you when you sign up for their free wedding website and all that jazz (if you choose to go with them for that). You may also want to factor tips into your budget, since tipping on big ticket items adds up to a lot more than you’d expect. Also note: DIY ideas still COST MONEY. Maybe not as much as buying things outright, but it’s gonna add up! Don’t just think DIY = bucket loads of money saved no matter what.

3) CUT COSTS WHERE YOU CAN: What does this really mean? It means: do you reeeeally need the catering staff ALL NIGHT long, or can you get by with having them leave earlier? Do you really need a full bar of all cocktail choices, or can you bring it down to one or two signature drinks? Do you really need the fancy car to drive away at the end of the reception, or will it be dark anyway and you can just make a fun exit? Do you really need those Calvin Klein ties or can you find a similar style for a quarter of the cost? Do you have the ability to get married at your parent’s home, or somewhere that isn’t going to cost an arm and a leg? You get the idea, just think creatively!

4) Registry: I think this is important and different for each couple. But I challenge you to not just sign up for what’s “traditional” and might be expected, and instead think about what YOU REALLY NEED. We chose to make a honeymoon fund that people could give money to so that we could afford a memorable honeymoon. For us, this worked great. But maybe you don’t need that. Maybe it’s a new bed (those are expensive, after all), or maybe it’s help on a downpayment for your new house together! Forget those kitchen knives and blenders (unless that’s what you really need) and think about what will really help you out! People like to know they are helping you get something you will use and need.

5) BOOK VENDERS EARLY: most of my vendors I booked out a year in advance, which seems to be necessary for vendors who are in high demand/have a great reputation. Reading reviews of the vendors is also extremely helpful. Some of my most important items to research and book first were: photographers, caterer, and dj/band. Some of the last things we booked were: wedding cake and tent rental. To me, finding good photographers (within our budget) was one of the most important things to do first. I researched, got pricing, and narrowed down to my two favorites. After some final considerations, I choose the one that would work best for us and we booked immediately. Since our wedding was in June (extremely popular wedding month) I wanted to be sure we booked our date ASAP.

6) Oh the DRESS: start the search pretty much as soon as you are engaged. If you are buying from a bridal shop (and not an off-the-rack dress), you will need to wait approximately 6 months for your dress to be made and arrive, do your fittings, and then another few weeks for any final adjustments. I had no idea about this (and luckily I had plenty of time), but its good to know and NOT wait until the last minute (like I did!). It’s stressful!

7) Book HONEYMOON earlier than you think: many of the more exclusive honeymoon resorts and locations are not filled with hundreds of couples, but instead cater to a smaller (think 20 rooms) crowd. We were shocked to find that most of the less expensive hotels (but with good reviews) were already booked when we went to book ours (six months in advance). We ended up with the last room of a 5-room hotel, and one of the last, non-ridiculously expensive hotel options (we honeymooned in Cinque Terre, Italy). Even if you have a massive budget for somewhere like Saint Lucia (think Jade Mountain), act fast because those hotels have a conservative amount of rooms. Now this is by no means every place, but if you are going to a beautiful destination that differs from the typical family vacation spot, you will benefit from booking well in advance.

8) TIPS and TRICKS: here is a list of a few tips and tricks that we learned along the way.