Investing in your wedding day

An unforgettable wedding day is a once-in-a-lifetime event that requires an investment of time and money to research and hire the right vendors to ensure your day is everything you have dreamed of! Planning your wedding consists of months of careful planning, endless hours of researching, and considering so many different ideas! Pinterest will most likely be one of your most-used apps along with Instagram and Facebook. Wedding planning will be everything from exciting to overwhelming, but it will be completely worth it when the day comes if you invest the time and money into the right people!

Before you start your research, I recommend thinking about what is super important for you to have on your wedding day. Everyone prioritizes certain elements of their day, so deciding on this ahead of time will be very helpful as you are researching your vendors! I also recommend deciding on an estimated budget with your fiancé and looking at what the average cost of each service/venue is so you have an idea of what you are comfortable with in regards to pricing. After you have an idea of what you are looking for and what your preferences are, the real planning starts!

As you are looking through a few different platforms for vendors (I recommend Google, Instagram, Yelp, Facebook, Zola, The Knot, and even Pinterest), pay attention to not only their work but their reviews as well. Reviews and recommendations are important to read/have because they provide insight into what it looks like to work with vendors professionally! Overall, it is important to feel that the vendors you choose will match your style, communicate well, and will be a good match for you! 

Throughout the process of planning a wedding, you will also be spending time reviewing contracts, putting deposits down, and keeping track of certain timelines for when deposits and bookings are required. When you are reading over contracts, it can be a little overwhelming, and this is completely normal! The main purpose of contracts is to protect both parties when a date is reserved and a deposit is put down. Take your time to read over contracts and always ask questions if you are unsure about something! I also encourage brides to request phone calls or meetings prior to signing a contract to ensure it will be a good match! Good communication will allow for a more seamless and enjoyable wedding planning process!

When you first jump into planning a wedding, it will feel exciting, overwhelming, and maybe even scary! I would first start out with what is important to you and your fiancé and then decide on what you are comfortable with and what you can go without. After that, I would join bridal groups on Facebook! Facebook wedding groups provide a great opportunity to connect with other brides, be a part of a supportive community, and learn how others are approaching the planning process! As a wedding vendor, I cannot recommend enough how important it is to invest the time in researching or investing in a wedding planner to help ensure your wedding is exactly what you envision it to be!