Perfect Wedding Planning: Avoid Common Problems

 
A perfect wedding planning process is definitely not normal. You’re not alone if you feel like pulling your hair out! Reading blogs like this is the best way to prepare for situations that may go wrong when planning your special day, and how to adjust your expectations.  Don’t worry, also included is great advice to calm your nerves during an intensely stressful time.

1. So Many Opinions

Planning a wedding is an emotional process that usually involves an abundance of opinions from yourself, your fiancé, friends and family members. There’s bound to be a difference of opinion on some topics that come up during the planning process. 

While this can be frustrating, it should be expected and you must be prepared. Clear communication and clear boundaries must be set. While these conversations can be difficult to navigate, it is important to hear the opinions of those who matter most. Let them know their support is important however it is your day and you and your fiancé will have the final say.

If your family dynamics are too much for you to handle, give serious consideration to hiring a professional wedding planner. Your planner will make sure that your wedding is exactly what you want. A seasoned wedding planner knows how to balance difficult decisions and family expectations.

2. Vendor Issues

Choosing the right vendors is a must. Do your research, read reviews, reach out to previous brides and ask for their experience. Unreliable vendors can cause some of your biggest problems! 

One of the biggest challenges of wedding planning is vendor coordination. Some vendors are very difficult to communicate with, some may be out of your budget or booked on your wedding day. To avoid these types of issues, start planning early! Make sure to maintain open communication and give them multiple ways to contact you. It is also a good idea to have additional vendors as backups in case of vendor cancellations, or other unforeseen circumstances.

3. Wedding Planning Anxiety and Emotions

Wedding planning is incredibly exciting! It also will run through the gamut of your emotions. 

It is a lot of work with so many unpredictable factors that it’s hard to keep everything straight sometimes. One of the best ways we know to help is an organizer. There are many wedding apps and calendars available to keep you on track, and a ton of very useful AI tools! When you start to spiral, go back to your organizer and you can see exactly where you are. If you are behind, catch up! If you are on schedule, breathe! When you can see on paper (or screen) exactly where you are it will give you great peace of mind.

Aside from the daunting task of staying on track, small stuff like the decoration of the venue, seating chart, wedding cake, song list, or even details regarding the wedding ceremony itself can be causes of anxiety. This can be where the outside opinions start up again. It is completely normal to have disagreements, become frustrated, and have a few meltdowns. If you become emotional, reach out to a trusted friend. Talk it through before reacting or overreacting. You don’t want to be a bridezilla, however, it is normal to feel like one now and then through your wedding planning journey!

4. The Wedding Planning Timeline

The planning timeline is usually broken out over a year with plenty of time to perform certain tasks. For instance, purchase your wedding dress 9 to 12 months prior to the wedding, book the wedding photographer nine months prior, etc. What you may experience is different for your timeline. If you decide to have a wedding in six months, your timeline will be much different than a bride who has 18 months to plan.

For brides with less time to plan, time management is incredibly important. Many more tasks will need to be done immediately, and you may need a good wedding planner to help with this. If this vendor is not in your wedding budget, consider asking those in your bridal party for help. Download a wedding app to make sure you are not forgetting anything.

Wedding planning requires a lot of patience as there are so many small details that pop up or vendors running behind schedule, but remember everything will work out! Stay calm and take care of yourself during the stressful times.

5. The Budget

Budget management is a crucial aspect of your wedding plans. Somethings may come in under budget while others can be far more expensive than expected.

If you are a bride on a budget, we have some budgeting tips:

  • Ask if your preferred wedding venue has discounted rates for certain days or times of the year
  • Consider limiting the number of guests
  • Ask a travel agent about a destination wedding with just close friends and immediate family, there are often specials being offered that may be less expensive than a traditional wedding
  • Think about hiring a food truck and having an outdoor wedding reception in your backyard
  • For your wedding dress, look for sample sales

There are many practical solutions to overcome budget constraints.

It is important to think about exactly what you want, not what you think is expected of you. This is a conversation to have with your fiancé as well. Whatever you decide to do, however, be prepared to be flexible with your budget or have a back up plan for last-minute changes or sacrifices you may need to make. Going over budget can be a huge problem.

6. Your Fiancé’s Opinions

Many brides find that while they thought their groom wouldn’t have strong opinions about certain things pertaining to the wedding day, they couldn’t have been more wrong. Be prepared to hear out your groom’s opinions and stances on the wedding details. It’s a big day for him, too, so you want to be sensitive to letting him have a say in he final decision.

This is especially true when it comes to his attire. It is a day for him to show his personal preferences and style so be sure to search out a vendor (like Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo!) that will offer him over 60 different suit and tuxedo options, help style everyone, match the color pallet, and offer the best possible service to him and his party.

7. RSVP Issues

Every couple experiences RSVP issues. Some guests are not prompt or on time in letting you know whether they’ll attend the event. Some guests will ask to come after replying no at the last minute; some may reply yes and not show. The guest list will even itself out so try to go with the flow of these delays in communication or last-minute changes.

Remember to number your rsvp cards to correspond to the guest list in case a guest forgets to put his/her name on the reply card… that way you can look up the number and see who it is!

8. Last-Minute Chaos

Even if you’re the most proactive bride out there, there’s bound to be last-minute chaos in the days leading up to your event. 

Even with the most meticulous planning, something will go wrong. Things like final fitting schedules, deliveries, even the weather. Again, this is normal and pretty much unavoidable. Go into the week of your wedding expecting minor hiccups and going by the mantra that you’re not going to let anything ruin your perfect day.

Planning your dream wedding is an incredibly exciting time. We hope this blog gave some valuable insights regarding some common wedding planning challenges! If you have a question regarding the wedding industry, send us a message with your question and we will be happy to write a blog, just for you addressing it!