If you have spent only one evening in planning your upcoming wedding, you must know what a huge amount of organization it needs. With scores of decisions to make, setting a perfect budget, laying out carefully planned timelines and ultimately making the event successful can be extremely challenging for a first-timer bride-to-be. There is a really high scope for mistakes. Surely you want to avoid them. Go through this list and take the due precautions.
1. Eliminating a Wedding Planner Altogether
Do you know which the most stressful time of wedding planning is? It’s the week just before your big day. It’s when several of unpredicted issues come up, that may leave you sitting with your spreadsheet when it’s time to meet your friends and family, and enjoy. If you think you can’t afford a wedding planner, at least consider hiring a week or even day planner. This will rid you from the last-minute tasks and give you the much-desired free time to connect to your near and dear ones. If still it doesn’t suit your budget, you can even hire a planner who offers services on an hourly basis.
2. Not Considering Your Venue while Choosing Your Wedding Theme and Décor
You’ve always dreamed of a fairytale wedding and now you are eager to make it come true. But hold on! Have you thought of whether your venue is suitable to the theme and décor you have in mind? Be a little practical and first consider your reception space, and then plan your décor according to what best features it has. For example, it may have a series of windows offering some stunning views. In that case, you can make it a main part of your décor. Also, if your venue is already magnificent, don’t spend money on too many decorative items to make it look overwhelming.
3. Not Considering the Hidden Costs
Most brides have to shell out huge amounts before the wedding in the form of the eleventh-hour seamstress charges, cash tips to delivery people and so on. Although it’s natural to encounter some surprises, take the time to prepare a worksheet of anticipated charges so that you’d have sufficient funds available.
4. Not Talking Openly to Parents in Conflicts
Whether it’s your own parents or your partner’s, it’s almost always possible to have a conflict with them during the process of wedding planning. Keeping it just to yourself and not talking openly to them can be a huge mistake as it will spoil the happy atmosphere. Take the time to talk with them and tell them calmly but firmly how you’re grateful to them for what they’ve done for you but how some of their actions are causing problems. Be careful to avoid an angry tone.
5. Messing Up Your Invites
Brides usually make the mistake of including every fine detail in their invites like maps of their venue for out-of-town guests, hotel contacts etc. Avoid this to save the paper and environment. Consider sending a group mail to your out-of-town guests that should contain all the directions. Better yet, create a wedding website and keep your guests posted. This will minimize messes and confusions.
6. Using Your Wedding Ring Roughly
Although a diamond is one of the toughest materials in the world, it doesn’t mean that its cut, polish and shine cannot be worn out. Sometimes even a cut diamond may be vulnerable to wear and tear. Take care to avoid using your wedding ring rashly to maintain its beauty.
7. Selecting a Bouquet that doesn’t Match Your Dress
Bulky and heavy bouquets cannot be held gracefully. Plus, they cover most of your thousand-dollar dress. To avoid the mistake of choosing an unsuitable bouquet, it’s better to carry a photo of your dress for your floral appointment so that your florist can choose the right size and shape of your bouquet.
8. Not Scheduling Enough Time for Hair and Makeup
It’s your day and you want to look your best. It all depends on your relaxation and happiness. Cramping your hair and makeup appointment in a busy day can be a huge mistake as it can destroy your looks. Give your beauticians enough time to use their skills to their best, and you too be relaxed and enjoy the time.
9. Ignoring Guests’ Comfort
Your guests will likely travel and spend a lot and take out their valuable time to attend your wedding. Assuming that they will understand that you’re too busy to attend them can be a mistake. Take care to make them comfortable by providing good transportation, accommodation, and food and drinks. If you will be having a destination wedding, plan activities ahead of time to keep your guests amused.
10. Inviting Non-wedding Guests to Pre-wedding Parties
If you won’t be inviting a person to your wedding, inviting them to your pre-wedding events such as hen night or bridal shower can be a mistake. Prepare your lists carefully and invite only those guests whom you’ll be inviting to your main event.
11. Mistreating Single Guests
Throwing all your single guest haphazardly at one table can be a mistake. You should seat people according to their shared interests and not marital status. Work with your guest list and connect guests with similar jobs, hobbies or interests and aim at making everyone feel respected, comfortable and entertained.
12. Not Greeting Everyone
Most couples today prefer to skip the formal post-ceremony receiving line. Don’t make the mistake. Instead mingle with your guests after dinner and greet everyone. If you remember the names of each guest, it’s well and good. But if you don’t, at least make it a point to thank them for gracing your event.
13. Envying
Yes, it’s always possible that once you choose your wedding ring, dress and other wedding items, you may feel that your friend’s ring, dress or necklace is more beautiful than yours. Avoid that feeling and be proud of your choice.
14. Not Enjoying
Remember that no matter how careful you do your wedding planning, mistakes are going to happen. You can minimize them but you should also remember that some of them are inevitable. As you’ve done your job as carefully as you can, now you should stop worrying and enjoy the day.
Make a note that the above-mentioned things can happen and try to avoid them. Happy wedding!