Planning a wedding is one of the most stressful things a couple will go through. After all, it is the biggest day of your lives and requires a lot of time, energy, effort, and attention to detail. Our millennial generation is busier than ever and it can be overwhelming to think about how to squeeze in wedding planning after your #JustSaidYes moment. If nuptials are in your future, we've compiled a list of time-saving hacks that will have you crying tears of happiness versus tears of stress. We teamed up with our friends at WeddingWire to identify time-saving wedding planning tips to help take the weight off your shoulders.
Own the Process - Create a Checklist
You need a clear roadmap of what needs to be done by when. The best way to prioritize your obligations is to create a to-do list that will help you stay on track. From our experience, a written list isn’t going to cut it. Our favorite tool is WeddingWire’s Wedding Checklist which is accessible from anywhere (cell phones, tablet, laptops!). This means you’ll be able to track your progress and cross items off from anywhere you feel like planning.
Use Recommended Vendors
You wouldn’t go to a restaurant without looking at their reviews before booking, why would you do any different with your wedding vendors? Check out the reviews from other couples who have worked with your favorite vendors and set-up in-person meetings or phone calls to make sure it’s a good fit for you and your fiance.
Organize your Outreach
Once you’ve done your vendor research, this is where the need of organization comes into play. Since you’ll probably be using email a great deal during this process, your wedding-related emails will likely get mixed up with your personal email, becoming a confusing and disorganized experience for everyone. By using the WeddingWire Vendor Manager, it will track whether you’ve favorited, contacted, or booked a vendor - keeping everything in one place.
Hire A Wedding Planner
A seasoned wedding planning professional will make the planning process smoother since they know the ins and outs of everything involved in a wedding. If you have the budget, you might as well let someone else take care of all the details.
Make ONE Mood Board And Only One
As much as you love your bridal Pinterest boards, we recommend combining everything into one. Slow your roll on continuously looking for inspiration and define your wedding aesthetic. Coming up with a cohesive theme early on in the process will help you clearly communicate your vision to your vendors. A wedding planner or venue can't work with messy direction, and it'll make the planning process a nightmare if you can't agree on anything.
Don’t DIY
If you've dreamed of making items for your own wedding, but just don't have the time to do so, it's time to accept that this isn't the best idea. DIY projects take up a lot of time, and if you have other things to tend to why put unnecessary stress on yourself? It's not worth it, and a professional can bring all of your creative visions to life. Just trust them!
Have A Small Guest List
Okay, so this can get tricky. If you have a big family and can't scale down on your wedding guest list, consider making your bridal party smaller. On the other hand, if you can make your guest list a bit smaller, then that'll make your life easier. The fewer guests to worry about, the better. You don't have to invite everyone you know, and not all of your friends have to be in your wedding.
Divide Wedding Planning Tasks
If you're hiring a wedding planner and still have tasks that anyone in your bridal party can handle, then delegate those ASAP. If you're not hiring a wedding planner, then ask everyone you know to step up to the plate and pitch in to help where they can. Dividing these tasks early on will determine who does what and avoid any mishaps along the way. You'll also know who to turn to for questions on those delegated areas.
WeddingWire, Inc. is the trusted global online marketplace, connecting consumers with local wedding professionals and a suite of comprehensive tools that make wedding planning easier. Operating within a $200 billion industry, WeddingWire helps 13 million couples every month find the right team of wedding professionals to personalize and pull off their special day. Consumers around the world are able to read more than 5 million vendor reviews and search, compare and book from a directory of over 500,000 vendors local to them. Founded in 2007, the WeddingWire portfolio serves couples and wedding professionals across 15 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Visit WeddingWire online at WeddingWire.com and follow on social media at Facebook.com/WeddingWire and @WeddingWire on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.
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