Congratulations on getting engaged! Now comes the exciting—and sometimes stressful—process of wedding planning. You’ll spend lots of time in different wedding venues, you’ll pore over hundreds of wedding invite designs, and you’ll probably spend what seems like forever wedding dress shopping before you find your perfect gown. And along the way, there’s a good chance that you’ll fall victim to a few of the most common wedding planning mistakes. But you don’t have to! At Hollywood Banquet Hall, we’re here to help you avoid making those common mistakes. Here’s what not to do during the wedding planning process…
1. Trying To Please Everyone
You simply won’t be able to please everyone. It’s best to know that from the beginning. During the wedding planning process, you’re going to make hundreds of decisions—some big, and some small. And each time you make one of those decisions, you might wonder (and worry) about how others will take it.
But just keep in mind, no matter what decisions you make—the wedding color palette, the officiant, the food, who to invite—there will probably be someone who’s displeased. But don’t let this get to you. Create a mantra: It’s our wedding…It’s our wedding…It’s our wedding.
2. Not Hiring A Videographer
Surprisingly, this is a very common wedding planning mistake. Wedding photos are beautiful, and they’re obviously wonderful to have—but they simply cannot compare with a professionally shot and edited video.
Many couples seem to want to skip hiring a videographer to save money, but that isn’t the place to skimp out on. Years after your wedding, you’ll regret not having a video of your special day. Filming your wedding and reception will ensure that moments are captured in a way that photos just can’t achieve.
3. Not Deciding On Your Guest List Earlier
The guest list is going to largely shape your wedding. Knowing your head count will help you determine the right venue, catering, wedding favors, and so on.
This is why not deciding on your guest list early on is a big mistake. It will make planning the rest of your wedding much more difficult, and can cause a lot of unnecessary wedding planning mistakes.
4. Not Having A Rain Plan
If you’re having an indoor wedding, then obviously you won’t have to worry about not having a rain plan. But in the event that you’re having an outdoor wedding, it’s absolutely crucial that you have a backup plan in the case of rainy weather.
Consider having tents on standby in case it rains. Work with a tent company in advance so that you’re not scrambling the day of to try and find someone with enough tents to cover all your guests. Or, select a venue that provides a backup indoor space in case of rain.
5. Micro-Managing Your Vendors
There’s a fine line between giving adequate direction and micro-managing. You don’t want to fall into the latter. Give your vendors a precise idea of what you want and let them use their expertise to navigate how to get there.
If you absolutely need to direct something very specifically, make sure you’re picking your battles. You don’t want to hover over your vendor’s shoulder as they’re trying to do their work. After all, you’re paying them because they’re experts at what they do. They’ve likely done this hundreds of times before. Offer them your vision and ask how they’ll carry it out. If you disagree with how they’re going to do it, make sure you find out why they made that decision. You might just realize that their experience tells them to do something a certain way.
6. Making Plans Before Deciding On A Budget
This may be the worst of the wedding planning mistakes. It’s common sense to outline a budget before you start making major decisions. However, it seems that far too often, couples start the planning process without thinking this major step through.
You don’t want to start looking into venues and vendors that are entirely out of your price range. It would be unfortunate to start making major decisions only to realize you won’t be able to afford it.
Conclusion
After deciding on a budget and guest list, you can begin the real wedding planning process. Those two decisions will set the rest of your wedding in motion. From there, you’ll be able to narrow down your venue choice and all the other important decisions. The further out you start planning and meeting with vendors, the less stressful it will be by the end. When couples procrastinate, that’s when they’ll fall victim to these common wedding planning mistakes.