My family and friends still make fun of me for the nine-page wedding planning master list I sent out to them a couple of days before the wedding.
Was it overkill? 100%.
Was my wedding on time? Absolutely.
So here are three quick wedding planning tips from someone who is chronically prepared.
Tip 1: Wedding Deets for the Spreadsheet Freaks
I am a planner for a living (not a wedding planner, I wish), and know the benefits of a well-constructed and well-communicated plan. You may have the plan in your head broken down minute by minute, but you may be shocked at how much your VIPs are missing!
The Knot has an excellent Free Wedding Planning Spreadsheet. I just used a Word document, so it would be easier when it came to printing. If you are planning to send it out to your family, make sure you go with a font size that is easy to read.
Start by writing a rough list of the day’s events, from rehearsals to when all of the decorations have been taken down and the last guests have crawled home.
After that, for each item, add in the location and who needs to be there, as well as any other pertinent information like tasks that need to be done. Details baby!
Things you should definitely add to your list:
Parking
For all locations, where are guests going to be parking? I took snaps from Google Maps if there was ever anything even slightly complicated to explain.
Preparation
Pass along any information you get for hair and make-up preparation.
Include Travel Time
Plan for travel time, and leave some wiggle room. Write down how long it takes to travel from A to B so your other VIPs are aware.
Visuals
If your venue has a floor plan, pass that information on to anyone who is doing a speech. Show them where they will be standing. It may help calm some nerves and make people look more prepared on the day of.
Tip 2: Wedding Website Wisdom
Even if you want to send out paper invitations, I would highly recommend investing in a wedding website. We used Appy Couple, which cost us a little less than 70 dollars for a year’s subscription (this was less than postage alone would have cost us!).
Having a central hub for all the information was great for guests, and I found it saved a lot of time when it came to the RSVP management and sending out reminders or updates.
They had built in templates for sending out emailed invitations and a ton of customizable options for setting up the events.
While RSVPing, guests can fill out a short questionnaire you create. Ours included dinner choices, dietary restrictions and which hotel they were booked at. All the answers were exported into an Excel sheet. I still had to chase the odd few down, but overall, this made the whole process quick and easy.
The initial set-up did take me a while, but we ended up using it to send out invitations to our Baby Shower. Got our money’s worth out of that one-year subscription!
Tip 3: Add an Extra 15% for Murphy (‘s Law)
When you are creating your budget, which is something you should absolutely do, add in a 15 percent contingency to your total cost. Does this still work for you? If not, it may be worthwhile to adjust.
As you get closer and more details start to come together, you may find a few extra costs adding up. When I was getting quotes from some vendors, I found additional costs buried. For example, our caterer had a 15 percent service fee that we didn’t catch right away.
Having a contingency is not an excuse to go crazy, but it may give you the wiggle room you need to go for a few things you wouldn’t be able to otherwise. Worst case, you don’t spend the money! And it doesn’t have to be 15 percent, any extra wiggle room can help cover unexpected costs.
My confession – I went over budget on my dress (I did love it, but this is probably my one regretful purchase), and we ended up hiring a decorator.
Bonus Tip: Fake Flowers Not Friends
When brides-to-be hear this suggestion, it’s often met with a tight-lipped smile and quick nod.
Or the more direct “Nope, absolutely not.”
When I first saw these flowers, I was very confused as to how they were selling real flower bouquets on Etsy. Yes, they got me that good.
I spent around 600 dollars on various flower arrangements for myself, my husband, four bridesmaids and groomsmen, plus all of our parents. This was about half of the minimum spending request to book at the florists in my area.
Fake flowers come with two big benefits. First, I ordered them well in advance, which meant it was one less thing to worry about on the day of the event.
Second, you can use them afterwards. My daughter’s room is now decorated with a bouquet and boutonniere from our wedding. They can become a pretty sentimental keepsake.
Good luck with wedding planning!
And for those of you who have already said your “I do’s”, did Murphy make an appearance at your wedding?
