HI GUYS, I’M BACK after what seems like such a long time! I’ve been wedding planning our stunning wedding that happened just a couple months back and am here with all the tea! Planning a wedding can be one of the most exciting and memorable times in your life, but surprise, it can also be overwhelming and stressful with the countless decisions and details involved. I’m here to share all the lessons learned from planning our own wedding!
**All photos by IAmJohnYoo Photography
Here are 8 tips for stress-free wedding planning:
Start Early, Make a List, and Prioritize
The key to stress-free wedding planning experience is to start early.
Prior to deciding to not have a wedding planner (they are expensive), I made sure to do a ton of research beforehand. We were lucky as our top venue choice had the best wedding package—one that included a wedding day-of coordinator.
Plus, I’d call myself pretty Type A, and organized, and I love planning parties, so figured WHY NOT! The biggest takeaway for me is to allow yourself ample time to make decisions without rushing. This is also key so that you don’t get stressed out and overwhelmed.
Start by setting your priorities and deciding on the non-negotiable elements of your wedding: such as the venue, date, and guest list.
We sat down and had a conversation about what we wanted, and then I broke my full list of to-dos into time frames. This helped so much as it allowed us to prioritize what needed to be done first, and made it way more manageable (and less scary).
Create a Budget and Stick to It
Establishing a realistic budget is crucial to avoid overspending and potential financial stress.
Elbert’s contribution, and honestly one of the most important things, was to manage the budget. We organized everything digitally, utilizing Excel for all needed calculations and to ensure that all our deadlines for payments were in one place.
We found that having a budget as a reference throughout the planning process really helped to keep us on track because it’s really easy to keep adding things to the list (like decor and flowers), without knowing how it all adds up.
Further down the line, having a budget really helps in making decisions as well, and is very telling at what you truly value, and what are just nice-to-haves!
Delegate Responsibilities— but not everything!
Wedding planning is a collaborative effort, so don’t hesitate to delegate tasks to your partner, bridal party, or family members.
Now, I’m going to share a very important piece of advice here!
Too many cooks in the kitchen will bring you stress.
A key thing that we did, and totally appreciate is that while our families provided suggestions, nobody felt the need to take charge. We appreciated that so much because alot of the stress surrounding wedding planning is emotional management. Lots of people, with lots of different opinions.
Something to keep in mind through the whole process is that your wedding day is for you and your partner, and nobody else.
Divide responsibilities according to each person’s strengths and interests where it fits. For us, we kept most of the decisions between the both of us! Things like flowers, and venue, and colours were solely on me.
This said, my bridesmaids were THE BEST on the wedding day, which was one of the biggest reasons I felt almost no stress on the day of.
Prior to it, I had created timelines, and a full PDF that outlined everything from phone numbers, how the decor and flowers would look, and delegated the responsibilities to my bridal party.
Choose Vendors Wisely
Selecting reputable and dependable vendors is crucial to ensure a smooth and stress-free wedding day. Read reviews, ask for recommendations, and conduct thorough research beforehand!
Compatibility here in style, and communication techniques is SO IMPORTANT. You guys, the vendors I chose are just the best people. I found this to be incredibly important because at the end of the day, you’re relying on your vendors and the relationship you built with them.
Right off the bat, we selected a venue that already had a great package that included their vendors for decor, cake, music and F&B was in-house. This was AMAZING because it cut down the amount of research and communication I had to do by so much.
I already knew that the vendors would be reliable as they work with the venue so often, and hence, I didn’t need to worry about the logistics as much. As well, I followed the word of mouth of my earlier vendors: my decor vendor recommended a floral designer they do weddings with all the time, and she ended up being ours as well.
Also research your vendors thoroughly, and have phone conversations with them! I found this extremely telling of how the relationship would be solely through phone and email conversations, as I was looking for vendors that were kind, open, and communicative. I share all my wedding vendors in my Wedding Day post!
Stay Organized Right off the Bat
Keeping everything organized is vital for an efficient planning process. Utilize tools at your disposal like spreadsheets, digital planners, or wedding planning apps to maintain a detailed checklist, budget tracker, and calendar of important dates.
We used Google Drive with organized folders to store invoices, contracts and timelines! For inspiration, Pinterest was our best friend—you can find my wedding boards here!
Practice Self-Care
With all the excitement and pressure of wedding planning, it’s easy to neglect self-care. Set aside time to relax, exercise, and spend quality moments with your partner away from wedding discussions. Taking care of yourself emotionally and physically will keep you rejuvenated throughout the planning process.
I cannot stress enough how important self-care is for a bride! One thing that I tried to be very mindful of, is that when we felt really overwhelmed, I’d stop wedding planning. Stop and take a break, and then get back to it when you’ve had a breather.
Be Flexible with Your Ideas
You win some, and you lose some. That’s just the nature of wedding planning, and unless you have an unlimited amount of money, there will be some things that you’ll have to compromise on.
As much fun as Pinterest is with wedding inspo, I really wanted to stay aware of our personal wants/needs, and financial budget. You can still achieve your dream wedding look without fully throwing in the towel.
We opted to really lower our budget on flowers because our priority was more food, and it was the best decision. A fun activity we did as a couple was also brainstorming different ways to achieve the emotion or feeling we wanted to leave our guests with, and that really opened the door for alot of different ways of doing things, and some fun DIY!
I made our wedding signs on Canva, we ordered affordable wedding bubble wands and filled it up with bubble solution, and found alternatives that fit our budget, without neglecting the ideas we had!
Have Fun the Day Of: Embrace the Moment
Amidst the whirlwind of wedding planning, it’s easy to forget to fully enjoy the day of your wedding. Your big day is a celebration of love and commitment, so take the time to savour each moment. Be present in the here and now, focusing on the joy of exchanging vows with your partner and sharing this milestone with your loved ones.
Elbert and I made a pact early on in the wedding planning that we would do our best to plan it, but on the day of our wedding, we had one rule: JUST HAVE FUN. We were going to roll with anything and everything, because at the end of the day, if you spend all this money and don’t have fun, it really isn’t worth it.
The day was perfect, and we’re so glad we just took it easy!
I hope you guys enjoyed this blog post, and that you find the joy in planning your wedding!
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till next time,
xoxo Sam
