
As a wedding planner, I’ve spent a lot of time helping couples plan their big day! But this past year I have been also been planning my own wedding!! It has truly been an amazing, eye opening, sometimes frusting, but most of the time incredible experience that I am so thankful for! I’ve gained such a deeper appreciation for the emotional and logistical challenges my clients face, and I’ve learned lessons that I now will pass on to every couple I work with. Here are some key takeaways from my own experience:
Lesson 1: Start With Your Guest List
I’ve always told couples to start with their guest list and budget before booking venues or setting dates, but experiencing this for myself truly emphasized its importance. Choosing who to invite is hard—deciding on plus-ones, kids, all while sticking to a venue’s capacity limit seriosuly takes some discipline. My fiancé and I set rules early on and frequently had to refer back to them to make sure we stuck to them. Even then, we had to have difficult conversations about saying no to extra guests. Even still, we ended up with more people than we had originally planned. But we both know that whoever shows up on our big day is meant to be there and we will be so thankful to be surrounded by our friends and family!
Lesson 2: Budget First, Venue Second
It’s amazing how quickly costs add up, even as a planner! This experience reinforced how important it is to set a realistic budget before booking anything. Couples often feel pressure to secure their dream venue and then figure out the rest, but knowing your financial limits upfront helps you avoid heartbreak and tough decisions later. For our wedding, we set a budget before signing any contracts and we've been pretty good about sticking to it. For future clients, while planners can’t guarantee you’ll stay perfectly within budget, we can help guide you, prioritize expenses, and provide alternatives to keep costs under control.
Lesson 3: Don’t Wait to Try on Dresses
I made the mistake of thinking I had plenty of time and ended up trying on over 70 dresses across seven boutiques! The dress I chose was somewhere in the middle of my search, but I’m glad I started early. My dress took six months to arrive, followed by three months of alterations, leaving me with just three months to spare before the wedding. And then accessories took time to decide on and order as well. My advice- start early and stop looking once you’ve found the one. Also, take videos of your dress to remind yourself why you fell in love with it. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later during the long wait for it to arrive and when it's being altered.
Lesson 4: Book Beauty Appointments Early and Strategically
Your month-of beauty prep requires serious planning. From facials to nails, tans, and hair, each step needs to happen in the right sequence. I recommend using your bachelorette weekend as a trial run for your beauty routine—test your hair, makeup, and spray tan so you know what to expect. When the wedding approaches, plan your facials and other treatments weeks in advance, and save your spray tan for last, just a couple of days before the big day. This ensures you’ll look flawless without any last-minute stress.
Being on this side of wedding planning has given me a whole new level of empathy for my clients and a wealth of insights to share. I hope these lessons help other brides feel more confident and prepared as they navigate their own wedding journeys!
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