It’s safe to say wedding planning isn’t always easy. With so much to consider before the big day arrives, it can be easy to become overwhelmed and get lost in a sea of bookings, phone calls, orders and messages. But fear not – if you’re in dire need of some tried and tested solutions to make your wedding planning easier, we’re here to relieve the stress.
Whether you are still in the early stages of planning or looking for help to pull together the final elements of your wedding day, we’ve researched and compiled these helpful tips to make the process easier for you.
Get out of your head
One of the most common reasons couples become stressed with wedding planning is from the enormity of the task. Trying to keep all your (and your partner’s) ideas about the venue, cake, dress, suits, guests, and a million other areas of your wedding in your head is just not going to work.
Firstly, make yourself a wedding checklist. You can do it on paper, perhaps in a beautiful specific notebook, or get tech savvy and create a detailed spreadsheet. It’s easy enough to do nowadays, with multiple online platforms allowing you to create aesthetically pleasing spreadsheets which will help keep all of your ideas out of your head and in a tangible place to share with your partner.
Whichever method you choose, it’s a good idea to include sections or columns dedicated to each month running up to the wedding, and outline the things that need to be done in time. Make sure you include essential details – contact numbers, addresses, websites etc. – to ensure you’ve got it all in one place. A spreadsheet may sound convoluted and unnecessary, but once you’ve set it up you may wonder just how people get along without them.
Picture Credit: LIT Photography. Featuring black floral Vesper bow tie.
Set a budget – and stick to it
Once you start looking, it can be easy to get carried away purchasing all the beautiful accompaniments and embellishments you come across for your wedding. But before you purchase a single item for your wedding, it’s important to sit down with your partner and agree on your budget.
As you discuss your dreams and what is realistic for you, you can begin to prioritise certain areas and agree on specific allowances for each element of your wedding. That’s not to say this can’t be flexible, but having a number in mind when shopping will help to keep you from burning a large proportion of your wedding funds on an impulse buy.
When it comes to your wedding attire, starting early means you have more creative space to plan. If you want to match your bridal and groomsmen parties seamlessly, ask for fabric samples to perfectly colour match your bridesmaids’ dresses to your groomsmens’ dickie bows or ties. By deciding on your fabrics, colours and textures early on in your planning process, you will find it much easier to decide on your other decorations and floral arrangements. It will also be easier to stay on track with your budget by tackling this important element early.
Pictured: Matching groomsmen attire, including the socks! These Dickie Bow customers settled on matching sage green Harrison bow ties. Photo Credit: Nick Walker Photography.
Sort the bigger things out first
If you leave some important decisions until the last minute, you’ll have that added stress looming over you and effectively make your planning a lot more difficult. Tick off the biggest decisions first, then you’ll be free to contemplate the smaller details with a clearer mind and have a better vision of what else needs to be done.
Consider your venue, guestlist, wedding attire and overall aesthetic or theme early on to ensure you haven’t got any big decisions left to make as the day nears. You also need to factor in that some providers – such as photographers and bands – get booked up months in advance, so choose yours early. You’ll find that once these big decisions are out of the way, the smaller things tend to fall into place much easier.
Pictured: Tetley Brewery Venue Wedding featuring our lovely Dickie Bow customers with the groom choosing to wear our black floral Vesper range. Find a listing of unique UK wedding venues on Hitched. Photo Credit: Lauren Elliot Photography.
Split the workload evenly
Whilst you don’t want wedding planning to become a chore, it’s important to share the load between you both. Sometimes, one person can be more concerned with the details and the other can take a back seat and let them make all the decisions. But this approach can lead to the ‘organiser’ feeling excess pressure and stress and feeling alone in the planning process.
Making it a fun, joint project with an equal split of responsibilities keeps you both in the loop and gives you both a chance to voice your preferences on each element. After all, your wedding is the responsibility of you both, and therefore you should have just as much involvement as each other. Consider which tasks would be more suited to each of you and assign tasks based on your personal preferences. Not only will this make planning easier but also more enjoyable.
Ask your family and friends to help out
Undoubtedly the opinions of your closest family and friends will influence many of your decisions along the way when planning your wedding, so why not spread the workload? You may be surprised just how excited and keen your loved ones are to help out. From picking up supplies to creating table favours and name cards, you’ll likely find people are more than willing to take the weight off your shoulders should they need to – and there’s no harm in asking, at least.
Although you might not want anyone to actually get involved, consider just how much easier things would be if people took even the smallest thing out of your hands. Enlisting the help of family and friends may also save you money, as you can get creative and craft many wedding items yourself rather than buying from suppliers. This also goes a long way towards making your wedding more sustainable and eco-friendly, as well as adding a personal touch to the day.
Pictured: What else are groomsmen for, if not to help out with those last final touches: from helping to decorate the venue, to helping out guests on the day. Groomsmen wearing burnt orange Charlie ties.
Be firm with your boundaries
With so many people involved with the wedding planning process, you need to remember that you are entitled to be firm with your boundaries. If you and your partner agreed to only invite close family and friends, you are within your rights to decline any pressure to invite your distant relatives. Your wedding is all about you and your partner, and you should both support each other in making your decisions and boundaries clear to all who challenge you.
Betty Smith
Betty is a wedding planner extraordinaire who prides herself on making her clients’ dreams come true. Focusing on sustainability and saving as much money as possible whilst not skimping on style or beauty, Betty loves to share her wisdom and tips with couples looking forward to their big day.