How to Plan a Wedding in Less Than 12 Months
Doing it all yourself? You may want to read this article…
Are you planning your wedding in less than a year but need help figuring out where to start? Here are some tips to help you plan your own unforgettable experience of a lifetime!
1. Research the area you’d like to have your wedding.
This is the most underrated step most couples make when beginning to make wedding plans or deciding to plan it themselves. Before setting your budget, you want to know the average price ranges for wedding vendors in the desired area you wish to have your wedding. Taking this extra step before the deep dive will not only help you set a realistic budget, it will help you manage your budget and even stay on budget. It will also help you narrow down your choices to choose the right vendors available to you.
2. Define, prioritize, and allocate your budget
This is very important to planning your wedding. If you’re looking for a seamless, stress-free, luxury planner without the hassle of planning, prioritize a full-service wedding planner and factor that cost into your overall budget. Although wedding planners can be pricey, they are worth every penny. They can likely define, prioritize, and allocate your budget more efficiently and accurately than you can. They usually negotiate the best deals to save you the most money. They also streamline logistics to make your wedding planning experience a breeze. The other option is a wedding day manager, commonly known as the “Day-of” coordinator. Most DIY couples never factor a coordinator into their wedding budget until after they have set a budget, begun planning, and realized they need one. Suppose that cost wasn’t prioritized and allocated when the budget was first created. In that case, it will be pretty difficult to find a qualified wedding coordinator in such a short time without the fear of going over your budget. The right coordinator will be a great investment! This is why it’s best to define costs early on and factor in wedding coordinators or planners before securing other vendors.
3. Organize, over-communicate, and delegate
I cannot stress enough that taking on planning a wedding by yourself in less than twelve months is already stressful. You end up doing multiple jobs to plan your day and stress yourself out in the process. Shall you choose to go this route, you need to be organized. Create a wedding binder to keep track of all your plans, vendors, rentals, expenses, and tiny details. Set deadlines too. Also, over-communicate with everyone to make sure things are as close to perfect as they’ll get. Check in with vendors regularly for communication updates, inform the bridal party and wedding guests of wedding details, and send them updates regularly. Also, assign a few people you trust to help you organize and over-communicate. That way, you’re not overworking yourself and can enjoy your wedding.
