OUR FIRST TO DO'S & PRIORITIES

April 22nd, 2023

1. BUDGET

Hands down this needs to be the first step of your planning process. I sat down with my parents and my fiance to discuss exactly who was contributing and how much right away. Even knowing all the in’s and out’s of a wedding budget, this was crucial so that everyone was on the same page from the beginning. This was also helpful ultimately when we made a venue decision. Even though in our hearts we had already decided on a venue, we would have not been able to financially afford the other venue we had been considering. You need to look at the budget holistically, to know how far your money will go.

2. GUEST COUNT

You guest count goes hand in hand with not only your venue capacity, but the overall toggle of your budget. If you take into consideration how much it costs per person for food, alcohol, dessert (some caterers charge a cake cutting fee per person), any tabletop upgrades, invitations and save the dates, favors, etc you should estimate the total cost per person. Each time you opt into upgrading an element of your day, that will multiply by the number of guests you are inviting. You also want to keep in mind how comfortably your venue will fit that guest count. If you want a dance floor or need to execute a room flip, this could affect how many fit in the space. Also keep in mind that about 80% of the guests you invite will RSVP yes, but there is always a chance depending on location and how far in advance you send the invites, that everyone will come. 

3. WEDDING EMAIL

This is not only a great idea to separate all the important emails you will be receiving about your wedding from vendors, your planner, etc. But it is also a fun way to start a family email. A home base for you and your fiance's future communication. I created a gmail account, so that I could utilize all that google had to offer for planning purposes. We created a google sheets for our budget as well as our planning spreadsheet, and it was nice to have it linked to our shared google account. 

4. RESEARCH VENUES & SCHEDULE TOURS

I spoke a little bit about this in the previous blogpost, but it is important to research venue options, inquire, and schedule venue tours! By touring each venue and meeting with them, you are able to ask questions, receive more information, and see what it is like to be in the space. I really encourage you to imagine yourself getting married in this space. It sounds silly, but when we did this we knew in our guts that our venue was the one.

5. REACH OUT TO WEDDING PLANNERS

I also spoke about this in the previous blogpost, but I highly recommend researching and finding a planner and service that is the perfect fit for you and your fiance.

6. MEMORY BOX

Immediately after our engagement weekend, and time home where we celebrated with friends and family, I ran out to get a box that would store all the little things from cards, to polaroid pictures, to seashells from our beach walk with my family. I don’t want anything to get lost or forgotten when things start to get busy. 

7. FLESH OUT YOUR CHILDHOOD DREAM WEDDING

You know you’ve been envisioning this your whole life, let’s assess and organize all those thoughts + dreams! I personally had a notes on my notes app where every wedding I went to or worked I would jot down things I absolutely LOVED! This accumulated over years and by the time I got engaged, it needed to be fleshed out a bit. Others may have a Pinterest board that has been running for years and gone through a quite few trends. Solidify and narrow down what you still love + what feels relevant to today! If you did not grow up doing this, feel free to scroll through my Pinterest board for reference on how to organize your vision the best!

8. PRIORITIZE

The first question I ask every couple who I work with is, “What is most important to you?” That may help when you are deciding on the details of the day and what to budget for. This could be anything from food, design, guest experience, dj or band. But when you are in the early stages of planning it is helpful to discuss with your fiance about what you both care about the most!

WHAT WE PRIORITIZED:

• Sentiment- I wanted a lot of intentionality in our wedding, so I focused on including heirloom pieces and meaning throughout the day. For example, we are getting married in the church my parents got married in almost 30 years to the day. Also, I am including my mom's dress in my bridal look. While not everyone will know or understand the backstory in these small details, I truly believe that these will be some of my favorite parts of the day!

• Guest experience- With so many of our guests traveling from out of state we wanted their experience to be easy, transportive, and memorable. We are prioritizing this through a welcome party, transportation, and a few unique ideas to help keep them engaged during the wedding itself.

• Flow- I cared a lot about how every design element, and functionality of the day flowed. So we have planned our day around important moments, timeline priorities, as well as the design of our reception.