Wedding Planning 101: Common Mistakes to Avoid
Updated: May 23, 2019
No matter how prepared you are for your big day, mistakes are inevitable. However, a lot of these mistakes can be avoided. These issues shouldn't be something you have to deal with on your wedding day. Which is why a professional should be running the day for you.
Story time! We did a wedding a two years ago for a client and we spent the week before the wedding trying to connect with all of the vendors. However, the Cake Vendor was unreachable. We've sent emails, left countless voicemails - there was even a point where their phones were out of service and we had no way of contacting them. We tried calling them a few more times the night before and the day of and I knew from there that was going to happen. However, chasing a cake vendor wasn't a priority, my BRIDE and GROOM were my priority. Now, the ceremony has finished, and here we are setting everything up at the reception hall, and all the vendors have arrived and set their stations up except for the cake vendor. They were still a no show. So it came down to two final decisions. We either use the additional desserts that was ordered to create some kind of substitute for the cake or we drive down to the cake shop to try and rectify the situation. There were pros and cons to both decisions, but I went with the decision that would make my bride happier (she wasn't too pleased with the lack of professionalism from this cake vendor) and that was to get the cake. Thank goodness she had me as her wedding planner, because I was able to drive to this cake shop and do whatever it takes to make sure that there was a cake in my car when I make my way back to the wedding. You wouldn't want one of your guests or anyone in bridal party of family dealing with a situation like this, spending time away from your big day, so leave it to the professionals to deal with these mishaps! You're spending so much money on your big day, so you deserve to enjoy every single minute of it!
Here are 9 Common Mistakes to avoid when planning a wedding!
1. Hire a professional to run the day! We get it, wedding planners aren't cheap. You definitely do NOT have to hire a wedding planner from the beginning. If you're a bride who has the ability to plan you're own wedding, then big applause to you! However, hire someone a month before to bring all your vendors together, run the show and troubleshoot! That way you can spend that month preparing yourself as a bride and spending time with family.
2. DIY: Yay or nay? It's not always the best idea, however some people are really talented when it comes to arts and crafts. If you plan on creating your own decor pieces, then we recommend you start EARLY. That way, if it does not work out, you can quickly look into other alternatives. Don't settle for last minute centrepieces you won't be happy with (example: getting a random glass jar and throwing fake flowers or candy in it).
3.Music - We recommend to our clients to hire a DJ because how do you know what guests would want to dance to? Some songs make the dance floor a ghost town and will bring people straight to the bar, overwhelming the bartender and forcing the reception coordinators to provide insufficient service.
4. Alcohol and preventing overspending - You have different options. You can request to be charged on consumption, that way you pay for what actually gets consumed by your guests. You can also limit certain drinks from the bar for example: Martinis, premium liquor etc. Or you can find a venue to bring your own alcohol. Then, whatever is not consumed can be returned.
5. Booking Venue before finalizing certain details - Make sure to set your budget and create a guest list. Some venues cannot accommodate more than a certain amount of people. So, if you're planning to invite 250 people and your venue can only accommodate 200, then that would be 50 awkward conversations you might have to have.
6. PLUS ONE policy - If you’re inviting a guest that doesn’t know anyone at the wedding, give them with a +1. It’s nice to enjoy the event with someone you can enjoy it with.
7. Impulsively sending your save-the-dates - Be mindful of certain time frames throughout the year. For example, December is a really bad month and thanksgiving to send out SAVE THE DATES, which may get lost within the piles of holiday cards and mail.
8. If you received a gift, say thank you. - It's always polite to thank those who made the effort to show up to your big day and provide a gift on top of that! Make sure to reach out and say THANK YOU!
9. Wedding Photography - I have witnessed way too many situations where couples blame the photographer for photos that didn't turn out the way they imagine. However, that was it, they left their vision to their imagination and didn't bother to provide instructions to the wedding photographer. To avoid miscommunication, provide a shot list and details of your expectations to your photographer ahead of time. Doing this will prevent this disappointment from happening.
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