You’re engaged – hooray! Now the fun begins of planning a lovely wedding… trying on wedding dresses, registering for gifts, choosing the perfect party favor and so much more. Then reality sets in, and you discover that planning a wedding takes an incredible amount of work. It requires making countless decisions, handling thousands of details, juggling endless tasks and errands, and doing it all while also maintaining your relationships, job, life and sanity. What’s a stressed-out bride-to-be to do? For starters, take a deep breath, every bride has gone through this process.  By following a couple simple steps you can make the process of planning your wedding much more enjoyable!

Start early. Obviously, the more time you have to plan, the more breathing room you have, and the more options you’ll have for wedding vendors. Give yourselves at least a year if possible, so that you can spread the work out over time, and have the most flexibility in securing your first-choice vendors. If you plan on having a whirlwind wedding we recommend that you hire a planner, their guidance can make the process run smoother if  you getting married in a 2-8 month time frame!

Hire a planner. Your experience will be better and so will your families.  Not everyone can afford to hire a full service coordinator, but at least leave room in your budget for the day of coordinator.  Trust us, someone needs to be guiding and directing wedding vendors, guest, and the bridal party the day of.  You do not want to be left with making all of the decisions…you want to be enjoying your day!

Attend the Premier Bride Expo. The Premier Bride Expo only allows professional wedding vendors to exhibit.  Each exhibitor specializes in weddings and events and they are eager to help you plan your special day.  A bridal expo is a great resource.  Typically there are 60 to 125 different vendors in a wide range of categories.  If you are in the infant stages of planning your wedding, come to the expo to meet your wedding planner, research wedding venues, look at photographers work and set appointments for the dress shops.  If you have those elements planned, then come to the expo to find a videographer, a florist, taste test cakes, check out honeymoon locations, pick out invitations, start your gift registry, find a makeup artist, listen to a live band or DJ or meet décor and rental companies.  And if you have everything planned….there are vendors you can meet with for life after the wedding, like financial planners, home builders, and other service companies!  Our bridal shows are in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Jekyll Island, Savannah and Daphne AL. Click here for upcoming shows!

Stay organized. Here are the basics you’ll need to manage all the details, deadlines and duties: Have one large manila envelope to hold all contracts and receipts. Have another one on hand for all information, ideas, notes and resources. (This could also be a binder, or an accordion file… whatever works for you, just as long as it’s all in one place.) Keep all wedding-related books, papers and other items in one place – the bookshelf in your home office, the corner of the guest bedroom – so that you always know where to find something. And finally, write everything down. Keep a “wedding notebook” and a detailed calendar where you can put everything in writing. Don’t assume you’ll remember – 47 details later it may be gone! Click here for the Premier Bride Planning Guide Tips.

Take breaks. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in all things wedding that you forget to see movies, visit with friends on non-wedding topics, catch up on the world news… Take regular restorative breaks from wedding planning where you don’t think about, talk about, or work on anything wedding-related. And remember there is life beyond the wedding!

Cultivate gratitude. When frustration or stress overwhelms you, take a moment to focus on everything going right, and everything in your life that is good. Write them down, or call a friend to share your ‘gratitude list.’ You’ll feel better in no time and regain your perspective. This is also a good time to take a break – see above! And, call your wedding consultant and let them help.

We hope this tips will help you plan the wedding of your dreams and we hope to see you at the next Premier Bride Expo!