The Most Common Mistakes That Brides Make

Wedding planning can be stressful and intense from time to time. There are a lot of opinions, a lot of money being spent, and so many decisions to make. However, it doesn’t have to be so intense! Let’s make sure you wedding planning process goes as smoothly as possible. Today we’re sharing 8 common mistakes that brides make and how you can avoid making them.

Not hiring a wedding planner

Photo by: Rafal Bojar

Some of the biggest mistakes that brides make is not hiring a wedding planner. Some couples don’t budget for this and let me tell you, it’s a big misstep! You don’t try and build a house on your own or repair your toilet when it’s broken, you call a specialist. So why not hire someone who knows the ins and the outs of planning a wedding? You need someone who can take over on the day so you and your family can soak in every moment and enjoy it! Therefore, hire a professional so that you, your fiancé and your friends and family can be fully present. I’ve NEVER had a client who said that hiring me was a mistake. In fact, they always tell me that they have no idea how they would have done it without me!

You don’t put you and your fiancé(e) first

Often times in wedding planning, there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen. However, remember this is you and your partners day! Not your mom’s, your great aunt’s and not your maid of honor’s day. Make decisions that serve you two best! I promise these decisions will make you the happiest.

You forget about your guests

Although, I just said to put yourselves first, you also have to remember that you’re hosting a celebration for roughly 100+ people and that’s huge. Remember to keep guests in mind when choosing your menu, picking out your desserts, how easy it is to get to the venue, picking hotels that are in close proximity and cost effective and transportation for guests. Transportation is key if you have guests that have drank at an open bar all night long. There are so many important details to think about when it comes to guest experience and that my friend is where a wedding planner can help.

You don’t set a budget

You set your heart on a venue and all the beautiful decor in the world before you set a budget. Nothing is worse than dreaming up a whole wedding vision just to have it crushed by costs and knowing you can’t afford it. To that I say, be realistic friends. Set a budget first (get help from a wedding planner to help you estimate a realistic budget) and then go from there. This way you don’t look at venues or wedding dresses that you can’t simply afford. This my friend is falling victim to “champagne tastes on a beer budget.” It simply won’t work.

Photo by: Rafal Bojar

You blow your budget on one or two vendors

Again, this comes back to really laying out what you can afford and what’s most important to you. If you want an incredible photographer, a live band or a gorgeous venue. List them out in order of most important to least important and go from there. Sometimes clients blow a huge portion of their budget on the venue and then it leaves little room for other really important things that the couple wants or you end up spending over your budget. Create a list and note things that you’d be ok to not have at your wedding. (i.e. videographer, wedding favors, fancy upgrades, etc.)

You hire a friend instead of a professional

Photo by: Sisterlee Photography 

Often times couples think, I can do that or my cousin Jack can do that, it’ll be easy! News flash: it only makes things harder and they tend to not turn out that great. Friends who are DJing your wedding but are also guests and drinking at an open bar is a recipe for a bad combination. Your best friend who is a photographer but also your maid of honor, not gonna work! Doing your own flowers the morning of your wedding, not realistic and sure won’t look like the bouquet below. If a friend is a professional and they can provide you with some sort of service leading up to the day, by all means. But if it’s a friend who does it as a hobby, I’m politely advising you to hire a professional. That way, your friends can enjoy the day as guests, everything will run smoothly and your friendship will still be in tact all said and done.

You have too tight of a timeline

Lay out a timeline with your wedding planner. They will work closely with all your vendors to create a timeline that works well, allows ample time for getting ready, photos, and enjoying the day and not feeling rushed. Often times, brides get behind with hair/makeup which pushes photos back and then leaves them and their family feeling flustered and rushing the photographer through the photos. Give yourself enough time to get ready in the morning with some time to take a breather here and there. Lay out a timeline that works well for everyone to enjoy the whole day and allows you enough time to actually spend it with your guests.

You don’t let your vendors do their job

You hired professionals (hopefully) right? So let them do their job. You hired them because you trust them, they’re the expert, so let them be the expert. This is where letting go of control happens and the delegation of tasks that you hired people to do happens. There’s nothing worse than a bride or family member who micro manages your vendors. We’ve done triple the amount of weddings you’ve been to, so we know best at the end of the day.

Hopefully these tips of mistakes that brides make will help you enjoy the wedding planning process! Contact me on my homepage here and let’s start planning together! Cheers!