The Most Common Mistakes Couples Make While Planning Their Wedding
If there wasn’t enough stress already. As you get into wedding planning you will quickly realize; it’s not the fairytale fantasy the movies describes. Let’s go over the most common mistakes couples have made during their planning process and how you can avoid them.
Setting Your Budget On Day One: Everyone should have a budget in mind. The mistake couples make is allowing the industry to push their budget too far past what they had anticipated. Proper research ahead of time can create a more attainable budget. Depending on your regional location, the average price range can drastically change. Understanding your area’s average price ranges for vendors you are interested in is the best bit of research you can prepare yourself for. For example, the average total wedding cost in the state of Virginia is just over 28K. Though as you get closer to the DC area the average total cost jumps to 44k.
Wedding Dress Trouble: When shopping for your dress be prepared for the price tag. Set your budget ahead of time and don’t forget about things like tax and what alterations will likely cost. Luckily, these days getting outstanding wedding dresses under 3k is more feasible than ever. Between online shopping, in-store small businesses, bridal shops, and custom made dresses you can find the perfect dress in your price range! It’s also never too early! Once you order your wedding dress it can take an easy 6-8 months to arrive and with alterations on top it can sometimes take almost 10 months to have it ready in hand. Off the rack dresses can be the quick fix to this so you don’t have to wait the 6-8 months and get right to any alterations needed.
Letting Other People Choose For You: As much as you might want people to please the attending family, friends, loved ones, and guests it is not their day! This is all about you and your partner celebrating the love and commitment you have for one another. Ultimately, the more you fall into reluctantly saying “yes” the uglier the situation becomes. The drama won’t fade away by those “yeses” so try to learn how to say no earlier on. Make sure your wedding party is only made up of people you know will support you and your partner in this journey. The same goes for your guest list! Do not feel pressured to bring childhood friends you lost touch with or a family friend of your mother’s you have never spoken to. Surround yourself with people who have actively been a part of you and your partner's journey and show they care.
Hiring The Friend Over The Pro: You might have people offering help for when your wedding day comes and feel free to use your resources to the fullest! Make sure you keep in mind that even if you have a friend who is great with music, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are prepared for what a wedding day DJ holds. The same goes for that friend who takes photos for fun, it does not mean they can do all a professional photographer can do for your wedding day. Friends and family can greatly help with financial stress, but it doesn’t have to be replacing wedding vendors.
Doing It On Your Own: As much as you may want to handle all the details, take up those favors people offer you! Believe it or not, other people love being involved in wedding planning too. So leave those smaller tasks to someone else! Another great way to relieve your stress of planning is to just share your time with others. Have coffee dates with friends and family to balance your life and focus on something besides the stress of the wedding.
Forgetting What to Focus On: Yeah, this is where the term “Bridezillas” come from. Don’t let yourself be consumed by the wedding details 24/7. This still is a ceremony bringing you and the love of your life together. There will be tension almost guaranteed, either with your partner or with the family and friends involved in the wedding. Don’t forget to focus on why you and your partner said yes to one another. Go on those fun date nights again. Spend time away from wedding details. Indulge in your partner's love languages. Focus on each other.
Mistakes will happen! If you accept that fact early on you won’t be so surprised when it happens. Don’t let it ruin the experience, try your best to be flexible. If your budget allows for it, hiring a wedding coordinator/planner is the perfect way to avoid these mistakes and have support from a professional from start to finish.
