Category: Wedding Planning

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Time to take it easy – 3 signs that wedding planning is becoming too stressful

wedding jitters

What starts off as a beautiful, romantic engagement soon ends up as a nightmare of planning, arranging and running around for many brides!

Wedding planning is a huge task, one that takes forever to complete and with numerous details that never seem to conclude. Don’t be surprised if you are a bride who feels the wedding is dictating every moment of your life, ever since the engagement.

Unless you have everything figured out, and can keep your cool despite the responsibilities of wedding planning everything perfectly, wedding plans can burn you out. Here are 3 warning signs to look out for, so you do not overwork yourself over the wedding and forget to enjoy it.

  1. You go to bed and wake up thinking of the different wedding tasks to be completed

This is not the same as when you look forward to the day with excitement. Instead, you find yourself tossing and turning at night worrying about the details, and waking up anxious to begin your wedding related tasks. At this point, wedding planning has become a chore. It is no longer fun, and you will soon just want to get over with it. If you are experiencing this already, it is high time your stopped and took a break. Resume planning and organizing after you catch a well-deserved break.

  1. All your free time is occupied with wedding planning

Too much of a good thing can cause it to become boring. If you find yourself constantly writing notes and wedding lists, rushing from vendor to vendor and always on the phone discussing your wedding, it is time to blow off some steam. Many brides are overwhelmed with the very number of things to take care of, that they end up doing nothing else. If you feel tempted to do another teeny-weeny wedding task whenever you have some free time, curb the feeling. You will handle your responsibilities more productively and efficiently, if you get some breathing space in-betweeen.

If you simply have to do something for your peace of mind, pick something that is fun—like shopping for your rehearsal dinner dress, or preparing your honeymoon itinerary. This will get the task completed, but it won’t feel like work.

  1. You no longer feel the excitement, like you did when you got engaged

The wedding dress shopping was fun and exciting, so was picking the invitation and choosing the cake. But, many brides find their excitement to handle wedding tasks waning as time passes. The reason is that they have been over-exerting themselves, that the magic is gone. The solution is to forget the wedding for a bit, and instead focus on being happily engaged. Have a fantastic date night with your groom, or go on a weekend together. Discuss the remaining wedding arrangements, and consider what can be changed to make it more exciting. Reignite the joy of getting married, and you will once again find it interesting to plan your wedding.

Make sure you relax and tackle every wedding task without stressing over it. This will allow you to enjoy the experience and look forward to a memorable wedding day.

For more wedding tips and advice, visit us at Best for Bride.

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The Right steps to finding the Best wedding planner

via pixabay
via pixabay

The term “wedding planner” broadly encompasses a number of services. Who you choose to hire for your wedding, should depend on what you want them to do. You can select between full service wedding planners and partial services. Either way, the final intention is to reduce your stress as the big day approaches, and have everything on track, in time.

We will now look at how you can find the right wedding planner from the numerous options available.

Full-service planner, a “day of” coordinator or Part-time Professional

If you want a professional to handle all the details of your wedding and you can afford it, choose a full-service planner. They will take care of all tasks including hiring and decorating the venue, creating invitations, booking the florists, caterers and band, all the way up to sending your thank you notes.

A day-of coordinator will take charge for everything on your actual wedding day. If you prefer to plan and execute everything yourself, but want help on the day, this is the ideal choice for you. Part-time professionals can help you perform chosen tasks. For example, you can hire them for décor suggestions, assistance with booking vendors etc. They charge a flat fee for the service they provide, and it is hence less expensive than a full-service planner.

Factors to account for when booking the service

The most important factor when booking a planner is your budget. A full-service planner is expensive, and they may cost up to 10 to 20% of your total budget. A “day-of” coordinator charges a flat fee for his job, and relieves you of the pressure of handling things on the day.

Compare costs of various planners and shortlist the option/options that seem ideal. Make sure that the names on the list are all professionals who are experienced and well-trained. The next part is conducting interviews to zero-in on the right choice.

Interviews and decisions

At the interview, obtain references of past weddings your wedding planner has conducted. Ask them how they work, how they handle emergencies and what ideas they can contribute to your wedding. The basic idea of this discussion is to determine how well the two of you can work together.

You will be spending a lot of time with your wedding planner, so it is important that you strike a rapport right from the start. You should be comfortable discussing your ideas, and he/she should welcome your ideas and be ready to build on it. If you are struggling to convince him/her of what you want, it is obviously not the right choice.

Discuss what will be included in the cost and make sure all the terms and conditions are included in the contract. Once you have finalized everything and your wedding planner has begun the planning process, be in touch regularly and ask for updates on the progress. With the right person to help you, you can be certain that your dream of having the perfect wedding will be realized with no difficulty.

Best for Bride has everything you need from wedding dresses, to décor ideas, invitations and more. Visit us today to get started with your wedding plans today.

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The Ultimate Wedding Planning Timeline

Wedding planning can be overwhelming. There are so many decisions and purchases to be made to get ready for the big day. Not all couples have a long engagement for planning a wedding. Whether you have six months or two years, the ultimate wedding planning timeline can assist you by providing a checklist and general times to set up the essential elements for your wedding.
A wedding planning timeline can act as a To-Do list for the happy couple. This helps to ensure that details are not forgotten until the last minute. When looking at the ultimate wedding planning timeline, you may need to make adjustments according to how much time remains before the wedding day. Destination weddings may require additional preparations and travel to secure the venue and documentation.

Up to One Year Before:
Set a date for the wedding.
Discuss the budget and decide on a spending limit.
Announce engagement to family and friends.
Hire a wedding planner if one is being used.
Book a venue.
Choose the members of the wedding party.
Begin the guest list.

8 Months Before:
Hire the necessary professionals such as the officiant, florist, caterer, photographer, and the band or DJ.
Plan the honeymoon.
Register for gifts.
Find the perfect wedding dress, veil, and shoes.
Select the bridesmaids’ dresses and shoes.

6 Months Before:
Order wedding invitations.
Choose the traditions and rituals to be included in the ceremony such as the unity candle and selected readings.
Obtain passports if necessary for the honeymoon.
Purchase wedding night lingerie and any additional clothing and personal care items needed for the honeymoon.
Arrange the music for the ceremony and hire an organist.

4 Months Before:
Finalize the guest list and send out wedding invitations.
Shop for wedding cakes and place the order.
Purchase the cake knife, topper, and stand.
Buy the wedding rings and any additional wedding jewelry.
Create or purchase the centerpieces.
Arrange for parking if extra parking is necessary.
Buy a guest book.

2 Months Before:
Get the marriage license.
Purchase gifts for the bridal party.
Find makeup artist and stylist or do the necessary planning and purchasing to do your own.
Reserve tuxedos for the groom and groomsmen.
Finalize the menu with the caterer and the flowers with the florist.

1 Month Before:
Create a seating chart.
Print seating cards and programs.
Final dress fitting for bride and bridesmaids.
Finalize vows and details for the ceremony.

Days Before:
Have rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.
Get a manicure and pedicure.
Confirm arrival times for the professionals involved with the wedding.

Wedding Day:
Clean engagement ring.
Confirm that the professionals have arrived and are setting up.

This wedding planning timeline can be helpful for any time frame. Though your wedding planning may be rushed, you can still use the list as a basic checklist. Add additional items to this list as needed. Weddings are not one size fits all. Therefore, some weddings may require adjustments to the order of events. For example, a couple who is having a destination wedding would want to give guests extra notice about the wedding date and location. A destination wedding can be a beautiful choice for a memorable wedding, but the process of planning this kind of wedding is more demanding. For tips on planning a destination wedding, please visit this article about destination wedding tips.

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Planning A Non Traditional Wedding

There are so many good reasons why you may be planning a non – traditional wedding. If you are in a same-sex relationship or you just don’t want/need all the girl stuff traditions usually bring with them a non-traditional wedding will make you the happiest.

It’s time to let go of the notion that you are not a real bride unless you wear a shiny new (and no doubt expensive) white dress or even a dress at all. Nowadays you can walk down the aisle in any outfit that makes you feel like the beautiful goddess you should feel like on your wedding day. So don’t feel like you have to choose a white dress or else. Anyone that tells you that you do, you can feel free to ignore. After all, it’s your special day, not theirs.

Depending on how far from tradition you are going in the planning of your wedding you may not even feel the need to have bridesmaids. If you do, there is no wedding law that says they all have to have matching dresses. There is nothing wrong with each bridesmaid choosing her own dress and there is no reason why all of their dresses have to look the same. As long as everyone is considered dressed appropriately for a wedding at the end of the day, which is probably all that matters to you.

Traditionally weddings take months, if not even a full year, to plan. If you don’t want to drag the process out you can plan a non-traditional wedding in a matter of weeks if you choose to. Wedding vendors take forever to book so if you have a talented friend, family member or co-worker ask them to photograph your wedding, cater it or even serve as your wedding DJ for the reception.

As we all know, a traditional wedding usually calls for a bridal shower prior to the big day. If pestering your friends and family to buy gifts that you may or may not like and may or may not use is not your cup of tea you can scrap the bridal shower altogether. If you have a well-meaning friend or relative that insists on throwing you a bridal shower and the thought of opening gifts in front of people makes you want to run screaming into the night there is a unique way around it. Ask your guests to bring their gifts unwrapped and simply display them on a gift table. If you need a justification for this just to shut up opinionated friends and family or to ease any unwarranted guilt you might feel make it all about saving the environment. After all, how much paper gets wasted creating wrapping paper that you’re ultimately just going to rip up and throw away anyway?

These are just a few of the things you can do to plan a non-traditional wedding. For more ideas visit Best For Bride online today.