I am very happy today to share some wedding planning advice from wedding planner extraordinaire, Melissa DiStefano. Melissa is the head of MasterPiece Weddings, and has tons of experience that helps her understand the best ways to deal with pre-wedding stress. Check out her tips below and leave her some comments or questions! Then, head over to her blog to read some of IC's advice for wedding invitation wording!
I am so excited that Invitation Consultants asked me to Guest Blog for them! I know how stressful it can be to plan a wedding, and the sheer excitement that you feel as soon as that ring is on your finger, and the wheels start turning about that big day!
But, now you do have a ring on your finger and you’ve been planning your wedding since you were 5 years old this should be easy, you’re only getting married. You’re only planning a party for 200 of your closest friends and family, and there are only 972,000 books to tell you how to get it all done , and you are only trying to please everyone, while remaining calm and pretending that you have it all together… What did you get yourself into?
There is this strange phenomenon that occurs during the wedding planning process, it is yet un-named, but basically, during the planning of a wedding, something happens that drives even the sanest and sweetest brides to the brink of despair.
It is not unusual to feel exhausted by the sheer amount of labor and emotional negotiating that goes on around planning a wedding. It’s supposed to be the happiest time of your life… and you want it to be, and it can be!
Don’t worry! Take a deep breath, it’s going to be amazing, I promise! If you follow these 5 steps and your life will be so much easier, I promise!
1. Keep all of your wedding related “stuff” in one place. All of those magazine clippings, keep them in a file {one file}, don’t have a pile in the kitchen, one in the bedroom, and one at the office. And try to keep all of your favorite blogs, or wedding pictures you like online, in one file as well. Then, once you start to dwindle those down, don’t feel like you need to delete them, you can just find another folder to keep them in, or just throw them out. Once you know what you love, stop buying wedding magazines, you’ll drive yourself crazy!
2. Listen to what your family has to say. I am not saying to follow every tradition that Aunt Martha or Aunt Phyllis has to inform you of. But listen politely, and nod your head graciously. Let them know that you appreciate their advice and you’ll talk to your fiancée about that. Don’t go postal on them, but take a deep breath and listen.
3. Know your budget. Frankly every bride has a budget, whether it is $5,000 or $500,000, there’s always a number. Make sure you know where you need to be. That will determine what vendors you use. I’d hate for you to fall in love with a photographer that starts at $10,000 and your budget is $15,000, that would totally ruin your day. {maybe your week}
4. Take some YOU time. Take time for you and your fiancée, be together, remember you are getting married, that is the important thing. It’s all about you and the person you love being together forever. The details you are planning are going to be amazing, but keeping in mind that you both are each other’s biggest fans, and if you are stressing out too much, you can add pressure to your relationship.
5. This is going to sound totally cliché, but hire a wedding consultant. You can’t be in 300 places at one time on your wedding day, so whether you have someone to help you on your wedding day, or through the entire planning process. Having someone there to talk with your wedding vendors, be your advocate in case something comes up (the flowers are the wrong color, there is the wrong starch on the buffet) Those are things that you or your parents don’t need to worry about on the day of – let someone else handle the details, you enjoy your wedding day!
Thank you so much for allowing me to be here! Invitation Consultants has some great advice over at my blog too, so feel free to check it out!