Happy Monday, friends! As you know Rick and I are off enjoying newlywed life and our honeymoon in the gorgeous British Virgin Islands. I’ve asked a few blogger gal pals to guest post while we travel. I’m excited to introduce to you Laura Leigh, whom is an absolute sweetheart and a recent newlywed, behind the blog Louella Reese. She’s here today sharing 10 tips for you gals who are in the wedding planning process and how to survive wedding planning. I call these the survival tips for keeping your wedding planning sanity!
Hope you enjoy, and as always, reach out if you have any specific questions or thoughts via email or in the comments below. xx
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Hey y’all! It is Laura Leigh here from the fashion & lifestyle blog Louella Reese. I currently live in Charlotte, NC with my husband and little yorkie, Reese. If you check out my blog you’ll find I’m a huge lover of the color blue, dresses, and sweet treats. I am also a newlywed so while Alex went off to get married, I’m here to share some tips for all of you brides to be.My husband and I recently tied the knot, October 2016. Through that process I learned a lot from experience as well as talking with some of my best gal pals. The engagement period is incredible and planning your wedding is the most amazing event you’ll ever execute. But, it can be a very stressful one as well. There are lots of decisions to be made, money to be spent, and people that want to weight in. So below you’ll find my tips for not only surviving wedding planning but also how to enjoy it eve more.
1. Stay true to your personal style {you & your fiancé’s}
I’m going to break this one down a bit more below but it’s important to involve both of your styles. Your big day should be a true reflection of both of your personalities and style. Remember to involve your fiancé when you’re making big decisions and throw in a few things he’ll really love. Whether it’s a song, decoration, type of food, the color choices, etc. Also make sure you truly love the theme/style of your wedding, as again your personality should be very apparent on the day of. It’s also important to ask him what part of the wedding is most important to him. That way you’re sure to get him involved when it comes time to plan, decide, and/or organize that.
2. Use Pinterest, but don’t OVER use Pinterest
Pinterest is an AMAZING inspiration source, I will be the first to admit that. I went to Pinterest for inspiration constantly. Even well before getting engaged {tell me you haven’t done the same}. While Pinterest is fabulous, it can also provide too much inspiration. There are only so many things you can do at your wedding and only so much will fit inside of your budget. I’d say use it for your initial inspiration, draw from those images, and then back away! It can be extremely easy to become overwhelmed by all of the beautiful photos and ideas.
3. Don’t let others influence your choices
Allowing others to influence your choices can also be extremely easy. It’s important {as stated in #1} to stay true to y’all’s personal style and what you both truly want. I’ve talked to many brides who say their biggest regret is allowing their families or friends to influence way too many decisions that surrounded their big day. It’s great to ask for opinions or advice but don’t allow that to sway you too much! What you and your fiancé want is most important. At the end of the day, it’s YOUR wedding.
4. Be extremely organized
There are SO many different items, times, dates, and people that go into creating your big day. Therefore it’s incredibly important to be VERY organized. Once you’ve locked down your vendors you’ll then have to start a calendar to list meetings, payment due dates, and time of delivery for day of. Of course if you have a wedding planner this is far easier, but being organized really helps with your sanity! I recommend having a planner that is specific for your wedding. I used the Southern Weddings Planner and would highly recommend it to any and every bride. This planner was a lifesaver.
5. Star five items that are most important to you
If you don’t have an unlimited budget you’ll need to decide what items are most important to you. This is where you’ll need to allocate more money and then decide what other items you want to spend less on. For me flowers and photography were extremely important. Therefore we spent less on the band {lucky for us the band were close family friends and we received a family & friend discount} and stationery. When making this list, sit down with your fiancé so you two are on the same page. You want him to understand why you’re spending more on certain items and budgeting tighter on others. Also, a great time to make #1 happen.
6. Remember what the wedding day is all about
It can be extremely easy to become swept up in wedding planning and completely forget what the big day is all about. You’re marrying the love of your life. You’re saying I do, to enter into a lifetime of marriage with your partner. Remember it is simply a day, while it will be one of the best days of your life, it’s ultimately just another special day of thousands more with your partner. So don’t forget to prepare for that as well. Marriage counseling is kind of the bomb! And by kind of, I mean it is the best thing ever. I could not sing the praises of our marriage counseling enough. Those sessions are times I will cherish forever. While they could not prepare for everything marriage will throw our way, it did prepare us for quite a bit! I also feel counseling taught us how to have very serious conversations and be completely open with one another. Trust me, your bond will be stronger afterwards.
7. Let others help you cross items off your to do list
If you’re anything like me, you like to cross everything off your to do list yourself. That way you know it’s done “right” and how you like it. Letting others help you cross items off the list can be very hard, especially when it comes to your big day. BUT remember you’re marrying your best friend, the person that knows you better than anyone else, if you’re lucky enough to have a partner that wants to be involved give them a couple items here and there and allow them to help you! Mothers {& mother in laws} are great for this as well. Also, bridesmaids are often eager to help. Don’t be afraid to throw a task or two their way. They’re your girls, they have your back!
8. Choose specific times to talk about the wedding with your fiancé
Wedding planning is stressful; there is not doubt about that. There’s a million and a half things to do, and between work and whatever other commitments you have there is definitely not enough time in the day. Therefore allocate specific times with your fiancé to talk about the wedding. When you’re super overwhelmed and stressed, talking wedding might not be the best idea. Joshua is the best at calming me down, but wedding talk when I’m all stressed, just makes me more stressed and emotional {girls, be prepared to cry occasionally when wedding planning, it’s bound to happen}. We realized we needed to plan exactly when we were going to talk about it and it was amazingly helpful!
9. Celebrate each decision
Each decision you make towards your big day is a BIG deal so act like it! Celebrate! Do a little dance, cheers with a glass of champagne, high five with your partner, whatever it is you do to celebrate, do it! It’ll make the process even more fun and exciting.
10. Breathe
Again, it is simply one day when you have a whole lifetime ahead of you. Remember that if something goes wrong or the napkins don’t match the flowers just right, it’s going to be okay! Plus on the day of, I promise you will NOT notice those little things. You will be so in the moment that nothing will truly matter besides your new husband and enjoying the night!
I hope these little tips help all of you brides to be! They may seem small but I promise, they’ll make the whole process that much more enjoyable. Now soak in this time and relish in being a bride to be. It’s an extremely exciting time!
Laura Leigh says
Thanks so much for asking me to be a part of this series! I hope you two are having the absolute best time.
xo Laura Leigh
http://www.louellareese.com