Welcome back to the blog! It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here. Life has been crazy busy lately but in the best way possible! It is officially August which means we get married this month!! Time truly does fly and I have been trying my best to soak up every last moment of the planning process including dress fittings, my bachelorette party, working on seating arrangements for our guests, and everything in between!
When we first got engaged back in June of 2023, I got a few requests on Instagram asking me to share the planning process and all of the details along the way! I loved the enthusiasm and was so excited to get started, but in all honesty, I was hesitant to share things as they were happening. Not because I was trying to “gatekeep” by any means, but when it comes to social media, I know that engagement and wedding content can become overwhelming. Instead, I really wanted to take my time and share my authentic experience closer to the wedding day where I could provide some tips, tricks, and advice for anyone who is currently engaged, may be engaged soon, or is just curious to learn more about my personal process and what it is like to plan a wedding!
So that brings me to today – this post is the first in a five-part series that I am choosing to call “Wedding Planning 101”. Each week I plan to cover a variety of different topics where I will share my personal experience along with all of the important details and any helpful things I’ve learned along the way – all leading up to a recap post of our big day!
I do want to preface this entire series by mentioning that while your wedding is one of the most special and important days of your life, the true focus should be on every day after that – your marriage and building a life together with your future husband. I found that keeping that “big picture” at the forefront of my mind helped me to keep perspective and allowed me to truly have fun throughout the planning process! But with that being said, I hope you enjoy!
Where to Begin?!
If you are like me, you probably approached (or likely will approach) the planning process with one question: “where do I even start?” When you look on Pinterest or think back on weddings you have attended as a guest, you likely remember certain small details like the bride’s dress, the color scheme, the decor, or the food. At first, it seems daunting to put all of the pieces together. But hopefully, through this series, I can make it a little bit easier!
Whenever you decide to start your planning process, the best piece of advice I can give you is do not overthink it. It is very easy to get ahead of yourself or start comparing your ideas to those of other girls or what you see on social media. However, remember that this is your day and it will be special no matter what. If you take things one step at a time and think about what it is that you and your fiancé really want, it will be much easier to make decisions and help to reduce some of the stress. This is such a fun and exciting time, so be sure to enjoy every moment!!
Budget & Guest List
Naturally, the first thing you will want to do is lock down a date and a location. But before you even think about scheduling your first venue tour, I highly recommend you begin by setting a budget and creating your guest list. Whether you choose to set a budget for the entire wedding as a whole, or a maximum amount to spend on each specific aspect (venue, photographer, music, etc.), figuring out some of the financials ahead of time makes the world of difference when you begin booking vendors! There is no right or wrong way to approach this, so do what works best for you, your fiancé, and your families!
Once you have your budget in mind, it is time to start curating your guest list. The first question you will be asked at venues is “how many people are you expecting?” so this is a great place to begin. We chose to create a free wedding website through The Knot which has a very helpful Guest List feature! You can add guests individually or as a household, enter their address(es), keep track of gifts you have received, and whether or not they have RSPVP’d. It truly is a one-stop shop that we now reference multiple times a week as we are working out the final details.
Booking a Venue
Now that you are armed with the two most important pieces of information, it is time to start researching venues! In my mind, the most important thing to me is that everyone has a good time! In order to make sure that happens, you really only need a few things – an open bar, good food, and good music. We also knew that we wanted to get married sometime in the Summer of 2024 which would give us a little over a year to plan. Unfortunately, each venue is different, but in our case we were able to research packages, price per plate, and photos of the venue through their website or with a quick email. In doing this research, we were easily able to narrow down which venues we would like to tour, and which ones we could cross off the list.
After gathering all of our information, we ended up scheduling two venue tours. We are very fortunate that most of the venues in our area are considered “all inclusive” meaning you don’t have to worry about providing table linens, centerpieces, alcohol, or really anything aside from some extra decorations if you choose to do so! Almost everything is taken care of for you which has honestly been a blessing! After taking both tours, we ultimately decided on our second venue. Not only did they have availability within our desired timeframe, but we could clearly envision our wedding being held there which is very important! It is the same feeling you get about an apartment or a house feeling like it could be your home. We both grew up on the Jersey Shore and my fiancé is in the Navy so having a coastal venue on the water felt like the perfect fit! We had also been hearing amazing things from friends and family members who had recently attended weddings there which was a bonus!
During the tour, the venue staff should review most of the logistics with you including the payment plan, what is included in their packages, etc. However, you may want to consider a few additional things when narrowing down your choices:
- Will your ceremony take place at a church or on-site at the venue?
- If you choose to have your ceremony at the venue, do they have a separate space to use in case of inclement weather?
- Where can guests from out of town stay?
- Your venue may have on-site lodging which is super helpful! If not, ask if they can recommend a local hotel that you can contact to reserve a block of rooms.
- Is there parking available on site?
- Does this venue only host one wedding at a time?
- Are there any discounts available?
- Make sure you ask about any potential discounts – depending on the day of the week or time of year, you may be able to get a discount on the price per plate which can be very helpful! For example, a Friday wedding is typically less expensive than a Saturday. Many venues also offer discounts during “off season” times, which typically fall between January and March.
- We also made sure to ask about any available military discounts! Most venues have them but won’t always advertise it up front. In our case, we were able to add an ice cream sundae bar to our reception 🙂
I am sure there are a million more questions that you could think of, but these were the biggest ones that came time to mind when we were looking at venues!
Next Steps
Now that you have your location and a date, you can start to think about different vendors to book! While it is definitely not required at this stage, you may also want to start gathering a general idea of certain color schemes that you may want to incorporate. But we’ll cover all of that and more in next week’s post!
Thank you so much for reading!
