Planning Tips

How to plan a wedding stress-free

How to plan a stress free wedding

 

January 2020 is not only the start of a new year, but the beginning of a brand new decade. Which for many will be a fresh opportunity to really maximise productivity, improve organisation and be much more decisive, committed and engaged, particularly with wedding planning. It’s important to remember to schedule your time well, plan with intent, and truly enjoy what should be a really exciting and enjoyable journey. However, I know that’s not always as easy as it sounds, and you may be feeling completely overwhelmed with the journey that lies ahead. Particularly once you begin planning and realise just how much of a mammoth task organising such an event can be. It has the potential to be extremely stressful, as it’s likely you’ve never planned an event as big as this before.

If you get to the point where you’re feeling a little lost, stuck or panicked, you might even feel embarrassed or ashamed that you’re feeling stressed about what should be one of the most exciting times of your life. You may not feel able to ask for help or admit to your concerns. I wanted to put together some tips and advice on how to mastermind your way through the planning journey to ensure you’re able to plan a stress free wedding, or ease them if you’re already experiencing a little stress.

Self-Care

I’m going to list this one at the top, because it’s something we’re all guilty of. Allowing looking after ourselves to slip down the To Do list as life takes over. Even if it’s something as small as stopping what you’re doing. Maybe taking a soak in the bath with a book. Or listening to an uplifting Podcast. Just taking those few moments for yourself will really raise your spirits. They will set you on the right path for your plans when you decide to resume. Make time for yourselves as a couple too, and schedule an evening in your diaries for a date night. Set a rule where you’re not allowed to discuss wedding plans at all. I promise it will do wonders for both your relationship and the soul!

Share your Worries and Ideas

Planning a wedding can be an incredibly busy time, with lots of plates to spin and balls to juggle. If there’s a topic that seems to keep rearing its ugly head, and you’re struggling to see past it, it may be a good idea to discuss it with someone who will listen. They could even be able to help solve the worry. This might your fiancé. Or your parents. Perhaps a close friend. Even a colleague at work. Think about who might be the most uplifting person for you to discuss the topic with in this situation and reach out to them. More often than not, they’ll be delighted to be involved and can help you overcome the issue.

Stay Organised

Try to keep everything in one place. Whether that’s a physical folder, notebook, a Dropbox/Google Drive or an email folder – whichever works best for you. Each time you confirm a supplier, keep copies of their contract and invoices together in one place. Then they’re readily available for you then whenever you need to go back and check a detail. With my clients, I create a shared Dropbox folder which is split into categories. That folder contains absolutely everything; from contracts and invoices, to stationery proofs, budget spreadsheets and floor plans. It makes all of our lives a lot easier, and allows my clients to have a stress free wedding planning experience. We don’t want to be scouring our email inboxes searching for something from months ago!

Keep a Checklist

At the beginning of your planning journey, I would recommend creating a checklist of tasks for you to complete from beginning to end. Right from writing your guest list and selecting a venue, all the way through to finalising deliveries and collections and packing any items ready to take to your venue. It might be a bit of a work in progress for a month or so whilst you find your feet with the plans, and learn which tasks you’ll need to complete. However, it will keep you on the right track and ensure nothing is forgotten. Some of my previous posts on a Wedding Planning Timeline may be helpful for you:

Kickstart your Wedding Plans

9-11 months to go

6-8 months to go

2-5 months to go

Keep Track of your Budget

Make sure you create a budget plan when you know how much you have to allocate to your wedding celebrations. Break this down into the various elements of your wedding, and then keep it updated as and when you make a purchase or confirm a supplier. It’ll ensure you’re always aware of how much you’ve spent to date, and how much of your budget is remaining. It will show where you may have overspent a little, and so allow you to reign in the expenses somewhere else. Hugely helpful!

Delegate

If you’ve been managing the majority of wedding planning by yourself, you may feel like you’re beginning to burn out! They say on average a wedding takes around 300 hours to plan. That’s a whole lot to manage on your own! So allow yourself to delegate some tasks that you feel comfortable with doing so, to someone you trust. Don’t let go of anything that means so much to you. If you have your heart set on a particular style of cake, don’t delegate this task to a relative. Unless you are 100% confident that they’re able to create that certain look for you, this wouldn’t be a good idea! This is so important to keep allow you to have a stress free wedding.

Take Advice from Professionals

Many of us have been working in the wedding industry for a long time. So if you’re looking for some guidance, recommendations or advice on a particular element of your wedding, don’t be afraid to ask some of your confirmed suppliers for their help. It’s likely that your suppliers will have worked with hundreds of other wedding suppliers over the years, so they should be more than happy to provide a recommendation for you if you ask. It also helps them if you have other suppliers on board with your wedding that they’ve worked with before and loved.

Purchase Insurance

I’ve had many couples over the years who I’ve discovered have had no wedding insurance at the point of booking my services. It’s one of the first things you should do after getting engaged and beginning your wedding plans. There are lots of insurers out there, with a wide variety of policies. But it’s important to select one which works for you and covers everything you may need. This is an important peace of mind, knowing that in the event of something going wrong, that your insurance are able to help in the first instance. If there’s anything that Coronavirus has shown us, it’s that insurance is vital to ensuring a stress free wedding experience, if a situation beyond our control were to happen.

Hire a Wedding Planner

Now I know this one is biased, as I am a Wedding Planner! But in truth I have lost count of the number of clients I’ve had that have said they wished they had booked me right from the start of their wedding planning journey. Wedding Planners are there to save you time. They’re there to elevate your ideas and create inspirational celebrations for you. I don’t create my dream wedding, or recreate the same weddings again and again. As a professional Wedding Planner, I work for you – designing and creating to build the wedding you desire. I revel in designing something special that highlights the best of your personalities and style as a couple. Honestly, I love nothing more than the challenge of creating something new, unique and adventurous.

Are you feeling totally overwhelmed at the thought of where to go from here? Would you like to schedule an initial consultation to see how I’m able to help with your plans and create that dream wedding that you desire? Then get in touch here. I’d love to hear from you and make those dreams a reality!

 

Jeni x

 

Photography Credits

Helen Warner Photography | Chloe Ely Photography | Cecelina Photography