Are you in the process of already planning your wedding? If so, you may be making some of these mistakes already. Take a read below to see if you are and how you can avoid them!
1. Dreaming, But Not Budgeting
We know weddings are expensive. In fact, the average cost of a wedding in Canada is $27,000 (you can read more about this in my FAQs. We also know newly engaged couples can get very excited and immediately begin booking their vendors without setting realistic expectations. Before proceeding with anything wedding-related, it’s important to understand what your budget is. I would also take it a step further and evaluate how much you are willing to spend in each aspect of your wedding. For example, what’s your budget for the venue? What’s your budget for florals? For the dress? From there, begin researching vendors who fit your respective budgets. This will help keep you on track and keep you relaxed throughout the entire process.
2. Underestimating the Beauty of Stationery
The first engagement your guests have with your wedding begins with invitations. With that said, this is where you can get very creative and set the tone for your big day. But before sending out your invitations, you can set the tone even earlier on. How? I strongly recommend sending out save the date cards. Not only because they look cute, but because it’s courteous. Especially if you are planning a destination wedding, allowing your guests have time to plan in advance and know the dates they need to save in their calendars is key. I recommend sending out save the date cards ten to twelve months in advance.
3. Hiring a Friend, Not a Pro
You may have friends who can spin a track or two, beautifully glam their face, or take stellar pictures on Instagram. But this doesn’t mean they are professional DJs, makeup artists or photographers, right? Correct! Make sure you are hiring professionals who have the experience and understand the industry and environment. At the end of the day, you wouldn’t want to argue with your friends throughout the planning and most importantly, you’d want them to enjoy your special day with you.
4. Buying the First Dress
Even if you are completely in love with the very first dress you try on, you need to walk away! Why? Simple. You haven’t explored anything else. What if you made the purchase but found something else through window shopping? Make sure you give yourself enough time to shop around before making the final decision. If you find yourself going back to the very first dress later on, then that’s completely fine because you gave yourself the chance to browse around for anything that could have been better.
5. Stressing, Not Enjoying
You only get this experience once so it’s better to enjoy rather than stress over the little details. Trust me when I say no one is going to notice if your table napkins come out a shade lighter than expected or if your 3-tiered cake is not tall enough. Follow your budget and lead with your heart. It’s important to have your personality shine through on your big day as opposed to pleasing your guests. If you still feel your constantly overwhelmed and nothing seems to be helping, consider hiring a planner or day-of coordinator.
6. Assuming 10% of Your Guests Will Not Attend
Assuming 10% of your guests will RSVP no has been a rule of thumb many couples have followed over the years. However, just because it’s a rule of thumb, it doesn’t mean this will be your result. If you plan on inviting 200 people, you can make the assumption that 20 of your guests will not attend, but what if they RSVP yes? Can your venue accommodate 20 extra guests, does your budget allow for extra catering and can your decor vendor source extra material for the additional centrepieces? You can forgo all of this stress by expecting all 200 of your guests will be in attendance or you can simply invite only 180 guests.
7. Neglecting Mother Nature
Hosting your ceremony in the courtyard of your venue or having a backyard wedding? If so, you must have a plan B in place for rain. You wouldn’t want to arrive on your wedding day to heavy rainfall on your decor and guest chairs would you? When searching for your venue, make sure to ask them if there would be a room available to use in the event of rainfall and if your hosting a backyard wedding, think about having a tented backyard wedding or have a tent on hold just to be safe.
8. Forgoing Your Hair & Makeup Trial
We’ve all been there – scrolling on Instagram for hours at a time trying to find the makeup artist who draws the sharpest eyeliner wing and the hairstylist who can style a messy updo without having it look perfect, but it really does look perfect. If you’ve found your favourite stylists for hair and makeup, that’s great news! But make sure you get those trials done. Why? Simple. You don’t want to look like what you did not expect on one of the most important days of your life, would you? What if the makeup is too heavy or what if you realized you wanted hair extensions? Trials are an opportunity for your stylists to understand what you prefer and a chance for you to fix anything you don’t like! Typically, you do have to pay an additional fee for trials so I recommend having the trials done on days where you already have something planned such as your engagement shoot or a party.
9. Saving by Not Hiring a Videographer
You may feel that having photos will be enough to relive your special day. Think again! Your wedding is just for one day and that one day flies by very quickly. Unfortunately, your photos cannot capture loving vows, hilarious toasts and great music. As the couple, you will be extremely busy that day and may miss details and expressions you wish you could have seen. For these reasons, and many more, I strongly recommend hiring a videographer to capture the moments that photos cannot.
10. Lack of Knowledge Surrounding the Marriage License
Depending on where you get married, a marriage license is only valid for a specific period of time. For example, a marriage license in the province of Ontario is only valid for 90 days. This means that if you obtain your marriage license 91 days before your wedding day, you won’t be able to legally get married! And if you obtain your marriage license just a couple of days before, you may encounter delays so make sure you know the rules surrounding a marriage license in your area. If you are getting married in Ontario and are unsure of the process, click here for more information.
I hope I’ve helped you understand the most common wedding planning mistakes or better yet, helped you realize you may be making some of these already! Still overwhelmed and feel like you need professional help? Get in touch with me today and I can set up a complimentary initial meeting with you and your fiancé.
