First and foremost, congratulations. If you have found your way here, you or someone you know got engaged, and it’s time to start planning a wedding. We are so happy for you!
Planning should be a joyful time in your journey. After all, this is the start of your happily ever after. So, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you are planning a wedding as a celebration of love, a celebration of your love.
On top of that, all the people who love you will gather under one roof (or tent or beach canopy) to celebrate your love with you ~ the happy couple ~ how special is that?!
Weddings come in many different styles, traditions, sizes, and budgets. And certainly, there is no one specific, right way to plan a wedding; however, there are steps you can take that will help you organize and plan and keep you on track with your wedding budget, your wedding vision, and the many decisions you have to make, all while maintaining your sanity.
Your celebration should reflect who you are as a couple. Whether you are daydreaming about a simple and small celebration or one that is lavish and large, the steps are the same, and staying organized and true to your vision are the keys to your success!
As a couple, you will need to discuss and agree on the vision you have for your special day. And once you dream up your vision together, a budget and a guest list are your priorities. So, let’s start there and you will see that the rest falls into place.
Create a vision that reflects you as a couple and stick to it
Here is where the fun begins! When you and your partner became engaged, you started the beginning of your dream life together. Now, you get to dream how you want the day that commemorates and celebrates your love to look and feel, and how you want to share that with all your friends and family.
Are you looking for a chic country wedding, perhaps a stylish black-tie affair, or maybe even a dream destination wedding? You don’t have to decide everything right now. In fact, you may modify your vision as the planning takes shape.
But you have to start somewhere, so have fun exploring and daydreaming with your partner and try to come up with something that represents you as a couple and feels comfortable for both of you. (Here’s a tip: this is good practice for communicating and listening to one another which is something that will be important throughout your marriage.)
Once you have decided how you want your wedding to look and feel, and you have honed in on a wedding date (or have a couple of options), you will need to start allocating your budget. A wedding planning checklist will help you assign the most time and money to the goals that are most important to you as a couple.
Draft your budget & guest list
This step is important for a lot of reasons, the most significant of which is practicing making financial decisions together. You both need to be realistic with the budget you have and before going any further in the wedding planning journey process, you need to agree to stick to it and talk through any curve balls that come your way. Look at it this way. This is the first of many financial decisions you will need to make together. And this is a big one to start with as a couple. But if you can master it early in your relationship, you can save yourselves a lot of future stress. Let the teamwork begin!
Deciding on your budget early in the process so you know how much money you have to spend on each facet of your wedding will guide your wedding planning checklist. And there are a lot of decisions to be made when planning a wedding. Understanding how much money you can spend will fashion each of your decisions throughout the entire planning process and it allows you the flexibility of updating your choices on the fly!
You also need to understand if you will be paying for your celebration on your own, or if parents and other family members will be contributing. Do you need to start saving immediately, or will you be accessing some of your savings? This will also help you determine when you can host your wedding.
Understanding your wedding budget will help determine if you need additional support. Should you hire a wedding planner to manage your checklist and help make each of your important vendor decisions? If so, will you need their services full-time, or is a partial service what your budget will allow? Maybe you only need a wedding day coordinator to help manage the events of the day but not all the decisions leading up to it. These are all decisions you can make once you know what your budget looks like.
If you cannot afford a planner in any of the above-mentioned capacities, it is perfectly okay to ask a family member or a friend to help. Family and friends can help with other wedding activities as well: photography, decor, cake baking are just a few of the many other tasks with which they can help. It’s probably a good idea to enlist backup help as well. Life happens to all of us.
Don’t forget to use your resources to help you from the beginning. If you start organized, it is much easier to stay organized!
This same philosophy that you use for your budget also applies to your guest list. It’s only fair that you each include the family and friends you hope to share your special day with and create memories. Consider about half your budget will go toward taking care of your guests and you can see how your budget directly affects your guest list.
Set your timeline
Choosing to get married is a big decision, and from here on in, you are going to be making a lot of decisions. This leads us right back to our opening statement – being organized is the key to your successful wedding planning adventure.
With so many wedding details to consider and decisions to make, it’s important to have a clear and organized plan in place to ensure that everything runs smoothly on the big day. One of the key components of successful wedding planning is creating a timeline that outlines all of the tasks that need to be completed leading up to the wedding day. Below, we’ll go through a step-by-step guide on how to set up a wedding planning timeline.
Step 1: Determine Your Wedding Date
The first step in creating a wedding planning timeline is to determine the date of your wedding. Once you have a set date, you can work backwards from that day to determine when certain tasks need to be completed.
Step 2: Create a List of Tasks
The next step is to create a list of all the tasks that need to be completed leading up to the wedding day. This can include tasks such as booking a wedding venue, choosing a caterer, selecting a wedding photographer, and sending out wedding invitations. Break down each task into smaller, more manageable steps to make the planning process easier.
Step 3: Assign Deadlines
Once you have a list of tasks, the next step is to assign deadlines for each task. This will help you stay on track and ensure that everything is completed on time. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to complete each task and build in extra time for unexpected delays or emergencies.
Step 4: Determine the Priority of Each Task
Some tasks will be more important than others, so it’s important to prioritize them accordingly. For example, booking a wedding venue and securing a caterer should be high-priority tasks, while choosing decorations may be lower-priority tasks.
Step 5: Create a Visual Timeline
Now that you have assigned deadlines and priorities for each task, it’s time to create a visual timeline. This can be done using a calendar or a spreadsheet. Plot out each task on the timeline, along with its corresponding deadline, priority level, and any notes or details that you need to remember.
Step 6: Review and Revise
Once you have created your wedding planning timeline, review it carefully to ensure that you haven’t missed any tasks or deadlines. Make any necessary revisions or updates to the timeline, and be sure to communicate any changes to your partner or planner.
Step 7: Stick to the Plan
Finally, it’s important to stick to the plan as much as possible. Use your wedding planning timeline as a guide to stay on track and make progress towards your wedding day. Remember to stay flexible and adapt to any unexpected changes or delays that may arise along the way.
In conclusion, creating a wedding planning timeline is an essential component of successful wedding planning. By following these steps, you can create a clear and organized plan that will help you stay on track and make your wedding day a memorable and stress-free experience.
Get organized & stay organized
You found your way to Mango & Lola for a reason. Now let us help you get organized and stay organized.
Mango & Lola is your best, most trusted resource in the wedding planning process. We will help you organize and plan, find and choose wedding vendors that fit your style and budget, and keep you on track with your tasks.
Think of Mango & Lola as your best friend who will help guide you as you step into the next phase of your life. We keep you informed. We keep you organized. We keep you on track. You keep your sanity! Sounds like a fair deal to us.
How do I choose the right wedding planner?
As a couple, you are investing in each other. You are also investing in the celebration of your love and commitment to one another. Selecting a planner is another investment you may want to consider if your budget allows it.
Just how do you select a planner that you can trust to help bring your dream wedding to life and to deal with the realities that go along with that?
There are many multi-faceted decisions and differing opinions that come up along the way and a planner needs to be someone you and your significant other both feel comfortable around, as well as someone whose experience and personality align with your vision and goals (not to mention your budget). You will both be talking to your planner a lot for as long as it takes to plan your big day (on average 12 months).
Making sure everyone is happy, all details match your vision, and trying to stay on budget is a tall order. This is why choosing the right planner is one of the most important decisions you will face and one that can greatly impact the success and enjoyment of your wedding planning experience and the wedding day itself. In order for you to be joyous and stress-free, your planner needs to be experienced, collaborative, and organized.
The key to your stress-free is your planner’s ability to be communicative and transparent from the get-go!
Yes, your planner can be a big investment. But if you choose wisely, they are worth their weight in gold. (Gold is the 50th wedding anniversary gift in case you didn’t know. We bet your planner knows this little detail.) So just how do you find the right one for you? Here are some tips for choosing the right planner:
Know who you are and what your vision is
Know who you are and what your vision is and then communicate exactly that to the person you are interviewing to make sure you have the ability to be in alignment. Remember that knowing your budget along with that vision will help you determine which planner to hire and ultimately what services you will need (more on the many planner services later).
As renowned wedding planner Janie Haas of Janie Haas Events says, “Take some time to enjoy your engagement before jumping head first into the planning process. When you are ready to make that move, speak with your soon-to-be spouse about wedding style and his/her vision to make sure that the two of you are on the same page before signing any contracts.”
Do your research
Talk to friends who have recently gotten married. Find out who they used and asked for their honest opinion. Peruse social media and all online avenues. Read reviews, scour pictures from their previous events, and review their wedding website if they have one. Your goal is to find someone who is aligned with your goals. Many of these wedding planners have lots of experience and there will be lots of reviews and pictures and portfolios to sift through. Look for one whose style and personality feel well-suited to you and your partner.
Schedule consultations
Talk to multiple wedding planners to get a feel for their personality, communication style, and level of professionalism. Once you have an initial call with a potential planner, you should feel confident that they understand what your vision is. One way to gauge their understanding is to see and hear what they add to your ideas and your vision. Are they making helpful and unique suggestions? Have they worked with other couples who have shared a similar vision?
Ask for references
Consider their client reviews to get a sense of the wedding planner’s reputation and level of satisfaction from past clients.
Consider compatibility
It is important to choose a planner with whom you feel comfortable and with whom you can effectively communicate. Look for a planner who is a good listener, easy to work with, and responsive to your needs. It may be helpful to pick someone whose strengths and interests are different from yours. If you are good at making decisions, but you really are not organized and you’re forgetful, choose someone who once they know your decision will not hesitate to email and follow up with wedding vendors to make sure all tasks are getting done in a timely manner.
Check credentials
Always remember to check their credentials! Verify that the planner is licensed and insured, and has the necessary experience and credentials to provide the services you need (review their wedding website).
Openly discuss your wedding budget and their fees
This is where transparency is key for both of you. You will need to make sure the planner you choose fits your wedding budget. In order for that to happen, the planner you would like to choose needs to clearly outline their services and fees on their wedding website. Before committing, you will need to figure out how much help you will need from your planner to make sure you are on the same page.
- Do you need full-service planning starting ASAP and leading up to and including the big day?
- Do you need some sort of partial event planning and wedding venue management and what does that mean to you and to the planner?
- Will you only need a wedding day coordinator (keep in mind this often means 30 day lead time to the wedding day as well as the day of activities)?
A planner’s pricing model is key. Make sure you find a planner who communicates openly and is transparent with the pricing. And if they have customizable pricing so you can adapt on the fly, even better. Sometimes you will discover new needs along the way and you want to make sure you and your planner can adapt together.
By taking these steps, you can help to ensure that you choose the right planner for your wedding and that your wedding planning experience is enjoyable, stress-free, and meets your expectations.
Top 5 qualities to look for in a wedding planner
- Transparency: Make sure their planning process is transparent to you. You need to understand what services they will provide and the process.
- Compatibility: You need to feel comfortable with your planner as you will be making a lot of key decisions based on their guidance. You need to know they will be there for you during the fun times (choosing food, flowers, and entertainment) and the trying ones (when those last-minute hiccups come along or if the vendor you want is booked or out of budget).
- Expert-level Communicator: Not only does your planner need to communicate clearly and in a timely manner with you, but they also need to do so with your family and your vendor team. And they need to know you all well enough to understand your communication preferences. With so many avenues available to us now, they need to know who wants to hear via email, text, zoom, or phone and they need to respect everyone’s wishes.
- Level of Involvement is clear and compatible: Your planner and you need to be clear with one another on both expectations and fees. Whether you choose full or partial service or simply day-of planning, make sure you are on the same page.
- Their planning style aligns with your lifestyle and they know how to turn your dream into a reality: Identify times that work for both you and your planner to communicate on a regular basis. Neither of you wants this wedding to cause stress, so make sure your schedules align and you find a consistent time to plan together.
Additionally, you want to work with someone who understands your unique needs and dreams. You want an expert who has “been there, done that” so when the hurdles get in the way (and they will), your planner can handle them with the ease and grace of someone who has seen it all and learned along the way. In an ideal world, those hurdles will have been overcome before you even hear about them!
Always remember to enjoy the planning process and remind yourself why you are planning this spectacular day. You are commemorating and sharing your love for one another with the most meaningful people in your lives. Yes, there are a lot of decisions to be made and the process itself is not always smooth. That’s a metaphor for life itself.
So look at this as an opportunity to test drive married life with your partner. After you have done your research, and chosen a planner and the level of help you need, remember to go with your gut and don’t sweat the small stuff. (And never go to bed angry. That’s always good advice.)
What are the different types of wedding planning services?
Are you starting to get the idea that there are lots of choices and decisions to be made when planning a wedding? We just answered the question “How do I choose a wedding planner?” and now you want me to choose what type of wedding planning service I need?
While it feels like there are ten sub-questions for every question, we are definitely making some headway. And as we said before, it’s good practice for all the decision-making you will make between now and the big day. Below you will find the most common wedding planning services. Each one offers a different level of support and assistance, so it’s important to choose the one that best fits your needs and budget.
Full planning services
This type of service covers all aspects of the wedding planning process, from the engagement to the honeymoon. A full-service planner will help you with budgeting, vendor selection, design, and coordination.
Hiring a full-time professional planner is the way to go if you’re looking for an expert who can help you every step of the way, from managing pre-wedding preparations to executing day-of coordination. This is also a good option if you and your partner are really busy with work and life and need some additional help managing it all. While this service may seem costly, a planner can take care of everything for you which in turn helps you enjoy the process more.
From tracking your budget to vendor recommendations and contract review, creating design elements, and bringing your vision to life, your full-service planning option is the most comprehensive way. Most planners will also assist with guest lists (managing RSVPs and seating charts), coordinating all elements of the wedding ceremony, and reception (including day-of activities), and attending any and all appointments related to your special day.
Partial planning services
This type of service covers specific areas of the wedding planning process, such as wedding vendors selection, design, or day-of coordination.
Hiring a planner for partial services may be the way to go if your budget does not allow a full-time planner, if your celebration is more low-key, or if you simply want to do the heavy lifting yourself but want to make sure you are reliably backed-up and have some expert input along the way. A partial planning package would allow you to customize services to your greatest needs while being cost-efficient.
The trick with partial planning services is to determine ahead of time which role your planner will play and to clearly outline their services so everyone knows who is in charge of which activity and there is no question about fees and coverage. Whether the planner determines the services, or you customize your service selection, full transparency is the key to making partial planning services a success for you.
Month-of coordination services
Month-of-wedding coordination is a type of wedding planning service that focuses specifically on the final month leading up to the wedding day and includes all the wedding day details. This type of service is designed to assist couples who have already done the majority of the planning and preparation but need help tying up loose ends and ensuring that the wedding day runs smoothly.
A month-of coordinator typically begins working with the couple 4 to 6 weeks before the wedding day and provides assistance related to the rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception with the following tasks:
- Finalizing vendor contracts and details and distributing final payments and gratuities as necessary
- Creating the wedding day itinerary & ensuring all events occur on that timeline
- Coordinating the rehearsal, ceremony, and reception
- Overseeing setup and breakdown of the ceremony and reception
- Directing the wedding party and wedding vendors
- Troubleshooting any last-minute issues that may arise
Month-of-wedding coordination is a great option for couples who want to ensure that their wedding day is stress-free and runs smoothly but do not want to invest in full-service planning.
Day-of coordination services
This type of service focuses on ensuring the wedding day runs smoothly, from setting up the ceremony to overseeing the reception. No bride or groom wants to be bogged down with details, decision-making or overcoming obstacles on their wedding day. The day is for the happy couple to enjoy and celebrate their love for one another.
If you cannot choose any of the above options, a “day-of” coordinator is almost a necessity (unless a friend or relative can fill that role, although that has its challenges). If you can allot some of your budget to this type of coordination, you will not regret it. The coordinator is on-site throughout the entire affair to ensure organization and to deal with any issues that may arise.
Destination wedding planning
This type of service focuses on helping couples plan their wedding at a destination location. Dreaming of a destination wedding on a tropical island? Or maybe you and your partner are planning a chic destination wedding in the city you met. Organizing a wedding can be challenging enough. Adding the logistics of a destination wedding can compound the organizational details and create a headache that you do not want while planning your dream day.
Destination weddings are a wonderful way to memorialize your love and make your day extra special. But there are lots of other details that need to be addressed with a destination wedding. You will need to look for a planner with a destination wedding experience, specifically in the location you want to have your wedding. The good news is that destination weddings are becoming more common and accessible, thus bringing your dream wedding to life may not be as hard as you think.
Choosing a planner with destination wedding experience helps alleviate concerns including legalities of marriages in other locations, and visas and travel documents needed for the wedding parties and guests.
Many wedding planning companies offer customizable packages that can be tailored to your specific needs and budget. This allows you to choose the services that are most important to you and only pay for what you need. Think of it as a restaurant’s a la carte menu and pick and choose the items that suit your appetite based on your needs and budget.
When creating a custom wedding planning package, you can choose from a variety of services, including vendor selection, budget management, design and décor, day-of coordination, and more. You can also choose the level of involvement you want from your planner, whether it be full-service planning or just assistance with specific tasks.
Custom wedding planning packages can provide you with a personalized and flexible approach to your wedding planning process. Be sure to discuss your needs and budget with your planner to ensure that the package you choose meets your specific requirements.
