For many people, weddings are an understandably big affair, and there is a lot of planning that goes into making sure everything is smooth sailing for the big day. Why wouldn’t there be? Someone is getting married, after all! It should be as perfect as it can be.

But as happy as the occasion is, the large amount of wedding preparations to take care of can make it rather easy to overlook something important. Whether you’re a couple looking to plan your upcoming wedding or just looking to make sure you’ve got everything covered, here are some essential wedding planning tips that every bride and groom needs to know!

Tip 1: Have a plan and wedding budget (and stick to it!)

If there’s one thing that you don’t want to plan at the last minute, it’s your wedding. Expenses, venue, food, transport, wedding attire, guests… all these can take a lot of time and money to prepare for, so unless you’re planning on having a simple and low-profile ceremony, you should definitely have a proper wedding plan and budget early on.

When planning your wedding, having a wedding checklist can help you stay on track with how the wedding will take place, where it’s hosted, who’s coming, and other important details. This goes for the wedding budget too – once you have a budget in mind, you should carefully plan how that money will be spent. In practice, it’s best to prioritize handling the more important wedding elements like the wedding reception over wedding favours.

By planning early, this can save you a lot of headache in case things go wrong. But most importantly, be sure to stick to all your outlined plans and budget because nothing kills a wedding mood faster than planning mishaps and money troubles!

Tip 2: Utilize online tools & applications

The Internet is pretty massive nowadays, and there are plenty of online tools and applications that can be well-utilized for your wedding. Whether it’s for creating planners or tracking expenses, these are great additions to make your wedding planning experience a lot smoother.

Depending on your needs and preferences, you can readily find these applications on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, or standalone websites. For example, WeddingHappy allows you to plan all of your wedding’s elements in an organized fashion. On the other hand, Mint lets you easily keep track of all your expenses and spending in a single app.

But of course, there are loads of other tools and apps out there too so go ahead and make use of them! With a little bit of digging, you can find some useful ones that will help you greatly.

Tip 3: Join the wedding community

With how much prep a wedding needs, it’s normal for couples to have some uncertainties here and there. In cases like these, it can be quite helpful to leverage the Internet to your advantage by joining Facebook groups and connecting with wedding communities online for getting some good insight from others.

From answers and suggestions to your second opinions and personal thoughts, these online groups and communities have plenty to share to help point you in the right direction. Wedding vendors and other married couples can be easily found on these platforms, so ask around for recommendations to get the best ones for your wedding.

On a side note, if you’re looking for a more comprehensive platform to connect with the wedding community, wedding fairs are awesome places to visit that have pretty much everything you need. Just be sure to check out some of these tips before attending one.

Tip 4: Refine the wedding menu to your own tastes

More often than not, many couples tend to be so caught up in their guests’ food preferences and dietary requirements that they end up with a menu that others would enjoy more than themselves. While it’s certainly nice to be considerate, you should definitely have some of you and your partner’s favourite dishes on the menu.

The best way to create a menu that everyone can enjoy is to diversify your menu options. For instance, including different cultural dishes in your menu is great for appealing to your guests’ tastes. But try not to stress too much on this, though! C’mon, this is your wedding, not a food drive, so go ahead and create a menu that you and your partner will enjoy.

Tip 5: Don’t be shy to ask for help

Sometimes, you just can’t handle planning an entire wedding all on your own! If the enormous number of things to handle doesn’t overwhelm you first, the stress and pressure likely will. For this reason, getting some assistance from friends, family, and even wedding experts can really help ease the burden off your shoulders.

With everyone by your side, it can be a good idea to delegate tasks to split the effort and get things quicker. Looking for wedding suppliers, handling wedding errands, setup… these can all be handled together with your wedding party and family members for better efficiency. It’ll be even better if they happen to specialize in handling such things!

Alternatively, you can also consider hiring a wedding planner (here’s why you should!). They have the expertise to help oversee your wedding’s preparations, offer valuable input, and ensure that everything is going smoothly. While this might cost extra, the peace of mind a wedding planner can provide is definitely well worth the price.

Tip 6: Settle on a good wedding theme

In wedding planning, having a theme is a good basis for deciding your wedding’s concept. There are quite a few popular themes out there, which include modern, traditional, rustic, and outdoor ones.

Since a wedding theme cohesively ties your wedding’s colours, aesthetic elements, and décor together, you should settle on one that resonates with your personality.

When it comes to choosing a theme, dreams are a good place to start brainstorming in as many people have their own ideal vision of their wedding. You can even draw inspiration from your hobbies and personal interests; Interested in magic? Fairytale wedding it is, then. Outdoor life is more your thing? Marrying in a luscious forest sounds perfect.

If all else fails, giving a common wedding theme your own personal touches is always a solid idea.

Tip 7: Be selective and realistic

It’s easy to get carried away with planning a wedding, especially if you have a grand ceremony in mind. But unless funds and logistics are not a concern for you, you should definitely try to be realistic when planning what you want your wedding to have.

One thing that you should always be selective with is the guest list – try to ensure that the number of people attending is one that you can handle, even if it means having a smaller list. Furthermore, this also applies to wedding preparations as well, so don’t bother yourself with DIY elements, meal requests, or décor ideas that are too time-consuming or exotic.

Bottom line: be smart and practical with the things your wedding will have as you really don’t want to be burning all your energy on something like creating 1,000 handcrafted invitations.

Tip 8: Hand out e-invitations instead

Every wedding needs its invitations, but you don’t necessarily have to invite all your guests with expensive cardstock. Consider helping save the environment (and money too!) by using e-invitations instead!

In comparison, e-invitations have a much greater advantage over paper invitations in terms of functionality. Image galleries, RSVP functions, and additional buttons can all be easily added, but the biggest benefit is flexibility – you can readily make any changes as needed without having to reprint the paper invitation card!

Plus, e-invitations can look super stunning too without the constraints of paper, and here you can find some professionally-made e-invitations by Artisense.

Tip 9: Go easy on following trends and traditions

Always remember the number one rule about weddings: they are meant to celebrate your marriage. For this reason alone, you should be planning your wedding your way, so don’t jump on wedding trends at random just because other people do it.

Don’t take this the wrong way, basing your wedding style on trends and traditions can be good, but your wedding should be reflecting you and your partner. So, rather than sticking to an uninspired wedding style that everyone has seen before, add your own personal touches that meaningfully sets your wedding apart from others.

By having a well-thought-out ceremony, you and your guests will have a much more fun and memorable time.

Tip 10: Relax and unwind before the big day

While it’s normal to stress over getting your wedding to be perfect, you definitely should not forget to take care of yourself too!

Wedding planning can be emotionally draining and tiring, and all that stress can really get to you, so go ahead and treat yourself to some well-deserved rest and relaxation before the wedding day comes.

Whether it’s a trip to the spa or just a quick getaway, the key point here is to take a break and refresh yourself. Taking a break around a week or two before the wedding is a good time to do this; anything to take your mind off the wedding. This way, you’ll be more rested and much less stressed as the big day approaches.

No doubt, weddings are pretty big affairs that can leave just about any couple stressed, but these wedding planning tips above should come in handy when you get around to planning.

Just remember, weddings are meant to be a happy celebration of you and your beloved partner’s marriage, and that should be the primary motivation that guides you in how you choose to plan the ceremony. With all that being said, go on ahead and plan your wedding the way you’ve always wanted to!

10 Wedding Planning Tips Couples Need to Know