Their wedding day is the biggest event any person will celebrate in their life. An affirmation of your deep and unconditional love for another human being, it deserves to be a celebration remembered for its beauty, rather than for any glaring miscues.
John Kleinheinz remembers his wedding day well. There are elements that he and his wife nailed, but there are also aspects he wish could have been done better.
While attempting to plan the perfect wedding, learn from the mistakes of others by keeping the following points in mind.
1) Start early
This point cannot be emphasized enough. You cannot declare your intention to get married on a certain date, and then begin to pull together venues, caterers, and other matters mere weeks before the big day.
There will be people coming from hundreds or even thousands of miles away to see you and your love joined together, so you need to treat this day with the respect it deserves.
If you are stuck on where to begin, getting the guest list cap and maximum budget established will allow to start planning everything else.
You should also get insured – if anything goes horribly wrong at the reception, it could end with you and your spouse getting sued. This would not be the best way to begin your married life together, so be sure to protect yourself.
2) Don’t let your budget spiral out of control
Ever watched Bridezilla? While the plot revolves around a controlling bride (or groom), most of the tension arises from budgets that balloon well into the tens of thousands of dollars.
There are so many expenses in the average American wedding that your final bill can escalate out on control in a hurry.
Be vigilant about every potential expense, and look for ways to save money without sacrificing too much value.
Realize that there is a lot of bloat in the modern wedding industry – couples married in the 1950s would blush (and not in a good way) at the amount of money spent on ceremonies in 2017.
Just because the Joneses are employing every bell and whistle in their special day doesn’t mean you have to upstage them.
3) Don’t skimp on the photographer
When are in the process of economizing every potential expense, there is one area where you should not be afraid to spend extra money – the photographer.
The pictures taken that day will be the most salient reminder of your wedding day – make sure the quality of photos taken instantly transport you back to the church when you said, “I do”, or to the reception hall when you both cut the wedding cake.
4) Always have a plan B
There is nothing sadder than the wedding in the park that gets rained out without a suitable backup venue in place. While you shouldn’t avoid planning a similar event, it is vital you have a strategy in case Mother Nature decides to throw a wrench in your plans.
Keep an eye on the forecast in the days before the ceremony, and if there is even the smallest possibility of precipitation, have tents ready to go.
If possible, plan your ceremony to be on the grounds of a golf course, community center, or any property which will allow you to move indoors if rain threatens.
By doing this, you’ll avoid having chance play a role in the success of the most important day in your life.