Were you recently engaged? Starting to make plans for your wedding? Unsure how to plan all the details of your wedding? Today I’m turning my blog over to my friend and award-winning Minneapolis wedding planner Maddie Huntwork. Maddie is owner and lead planner of Ask for the Moon Events, a top-rated wedding planning and design company in the Twin Cities area. Maddie wanted to share the Top 5 Wedding Planning Mistakes she has seen during her wedding planning career. Take it away Maddie and Ask for the Moon Events!
Top 5 Wedding Planning Mistakes
1. Planning Before Having a Guest List
You’re excited to get the wedding planning started. The save the dates, flowers, cake, venue–stop! Do not do anything until you have a realistic guest count. It may not be the most interesting part of the wedding planning, but it is crucial to know approximately how many guests will be invited. Once you’ve chatted with your fiancé(e), your parents, and future in-laws about their guest list THEN you are free to start searching for venues that can accommodate that amount. Side Note: Make sure to not invite more guests than the venue can hold. Most of the time 80% of guest lists do attend, but every wedding is different and there is always a chance that everyone will be able to share in your special day.
2. Hiring a Friend, Not a Vendor
Chances are, you’re hiring your friend because you feel comfortable with them and they’ve offered you a great deal. However just because he has a killer work-out playlist, or she has a ‘really good’ camera, doesn’t make them professional wedding vendors.
Professional wedding vendors have the experience to keep the big day running smoothly and keep the stress levels down. And while the pros may cost more than a friend, you get what you pay for. A contract will ensure that they will give you the top-knock services you expect.
Finally, having a friend as a vendor could potentially ruin your friendship if anything were to go awry. How much better to let them enjoy your wedding as a guest and not to work it!
3. Ordering the Dress Too Small
You’ve found your wedding dress! And like most brides you plan on losing weight before the big day. How about ordering the dress two sizes too small, and then doing whatever it takes to make it fit? No!!! Working-out and eating right are terrific lifestyle choices, but insane crash-diets and compulsive exercising are unhealthy and are sure ways not meet your goals. And while it is possible to alter a dress up or down a size, don’t count on being able to take in or let out a dress much more than one (maybe two) sizes. Instead find a gown you love and order it in your current size. This way you won’t give yourself unnecessary stress and the alteration fees will still be reasonable. The perfect dress should be adjusted to fit your figure. Not the other way around.
4. DIY Overboard
Doing it yourself can be a great way to save money and profile your creative side. However viewing every wedding aspect as a DIY opportunity is a recipe for stress.
There are certain wedding planning details that should be left to professionals. For example, putting together all the bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, etc. is a major project that unfortunately needs to be left until the day before (or possibly the morning of) the wedding to keep the floral as fresh as possible. As a bride, you’ll be distracted with guests in from out of town, the rehearsal, and last minute items before the big day. Any DIY project, big or small, comes down to two things: staying organized and not procrastinating.
Don’t forget that any DIY items will need to be setup at the venue that day and naturally many brides do not wish to bother their moms or bridesmaids for this. This is where a day-of coordinator is essential to the success of a wedding day. Setting up décor, keeping to the schedule, and assisting with tear down at the end of the night are just a few of the tasks that a day-of coordinator performs.
5. Losing Perspective
Yes, wedding planning is a lot of work, but it SHOULD also be a lot of fun! So often brides say “I can’t wait for the wedding to be over” instead of “I can’t wait for the wedding”. Don’t forget why you’re doing this. Try not to get upset over little things like the perfect shade of gold napkin or why your preferred roses aren’t in season. While these are fun details, they are just that–details. The main reason is to marry the one you love! The rest is just icing on the cake.
So there you have it, some great advice from Minneapolis wedding planner Maddie Huntwork of Ask for the Moon Events! Feel free to contact me as a wedding photographer if you’d like to discuss my thoughts about Maddie’s advice too!
Looking for more wedding planning advice? Check out my other wedding planner guest blog posts:
How to Plan Your Wedding Day Timeline from Josey Stafford of Sixpence Events
Top 10 Tips for Barn Weddings from Kellie Heinen of Rustic Elegance
And also an article by me:
Hiring a Professional Wedding Planner
