What To Expect When You're...Planning a Wedding: Budget

No, I haven't been reading the book, "What To Expect When You're Expecting", but for some reason while writing this post, those words just came to mind, and they have a nice a little ring to them! But it's true. Some couples have no idea what to expect when they're planning their wedding. Yes, you have the lists and recommendations, but those things still don't prepare you for what you about to embark upon.

Photo by bobbi+mike

Since we are now in what is known as the "Engagement Season", I've had a few friends get engaged already, and some of them are telling me that they have no idea what to expect while planning their wedding. So this is a continuation to a previous post, "What I Didn't Know As a Bride That I Know Now". In this previous post, I wrote, "Bottom line- do your homework. It’s okay to shop around, but know WHAT you’re shopping for and the quality of the product/service."

So now for some help with some of that homework!

Budget: Every wedding needs to have a budget. Even those really ridiculously expensive weddings have a budget, it's just really ridiculously huge. If your thought process is that you don't have a budget, you do, you just don't know it yet. Try to get a ballpark range of the maximum amount that you would like to spend. To do this, you want to look at the things that take up the majority of a wedding's budget:

• Food
• Venue
• Photography
• Decor

Food and Venue: These two things are most likely combined if you are having your reception at a traditional wedding venue. However, if you're having your reception at your parents' house, you may not immediately think about the need for tables, chairs, and linens on top of needing a caterer. The food and venue for a wedding will usually comprise approximately 30-50% of the budget.

Photo by Studio222 Photography

Photography: With photography, you get what you pay for. It's that simple. Photographers do so much more work than just those 8 hours on your wedding day. They spend hours editing photos, making sure they all look juuuuust right. So when you're looking at pricing packages of photographers, keep in mind that you're also paying for the many, many (up to 20-30) hours that they take to make your photos look amazing. The quality of the service that you receive will indeed reflect the amount that you pay.

Decor: Decor can mean different things to you depending on the type of wedding that you want to have. Just about every wedding will need bouquets and boutonnieres, although there have been more non-floral substitutes popping up nowadays! Then there are centerpieces for the tables, and decor for the ceremony if needed. Once again, you get what you pay for. If you want a huge, tall floral centerpiece, you're going to be spending more money than if you have a small low centerpiece. Decor also includes lighting (which makes a HUGE difference in any space) and draping, which surprisingly isn't too high cost. Anything that you can think of to create the "look" of your wedding would be included in the decor.

Photos by Elizabeth Messina, via kiss the groom

With all of these elements considered, you can then decide which one means the most to you. If you would rather have great photography and a backyard barbeque reception, then you can allot more of your budget to photography and less to food. Whatever is more important to you and your fiance, budget more for that particular element!

So first things first, establish your budget. I know it's such an awful word with a negative connotation, but believe me, you will be thankful to have a set number as your guide.

If you get stuck or have any questions, leave a comment or email me, and I will be more than happy to help out! Happy budgeting!

What I Didn't Know As a Bride That I Know Now

I’ve been in contact with a few new brides lately, and I found myself giving them a great deal of advice. I then realized that it was basically what I didn’t know as a bride that I know now. I learned through reading blogs and working in the wedding industry, and basically just educating myself. However, as a new bride, the first thought usually isn’t to educate yourself…it’s to grab the newest wedding magazine and start flipping through it, marking the pages of things you like. That’s not a problem at all…revel in your engagement! You have to know what you like and what you want!

Photo by Todd Pellowe

I was the first out of my friends to get married. There were so many times that I thought, “Gee, I wish I had some sort of warning or preparation so I could’ve known about this!” Therefore, I thought I would do a quick list of some of the major things that come to mind that I wish I had known when I was bride.

1. BLOGS! As I’ve said before, I had no clue about what wedding blogs were, how to find them, and what information they had! Photographers’ blogs, inspiration blogs, planners’ blogs are SUCH great resources! I found SO many great ideas and inspiration on blogs…the only drawback was that I found blogs too late in my planning and I couldn’t do half of the things that I wanted to. So you’re on a great start by reading a blog!

2. Weddings are expensive. Just know that and be prepared. There are ways to have a great wedding without “breaking the bank”, but definitely know the running price for services. Do your homework. I was in shock when I found out what the price of an average photography package was. And so were my parents. But that was because we had no idea about what photography (and everything else wedding related) entailed. When we met with other (much better) photographers and saw the difference in pricing, things started to make a bit more sense. Bottom line- do your homework. It’s okay to shop around, but know WHAT you’re shopping for and the quality of the product/service. (More details on this in another post later)

3. You can plan your own wedding AND have a wedding planner! I thought that I wouldn’t be able to put my own touch on my wedding if I had a planner. Then I realized that it was incredibly beneficial to have someone who knew the industry, knew vendors, and would be able to handle everything on the day of. You’re still planning your wedding. A wedding planner just helps you implement the plans! If ANYTHING, a day-of coordinator will be some of the best money you spend, because you will be able to avoid so much stress on your wedding day!

4. You aren’t limited to only using vendors that are local. I didn’t know this, so I only looked at vendors that were in the town that I was getting married in. Little did I know, most vendors are willing to travel! Of course it depends on how far they are traveling, but there is always a way. If there is a vendor that you want to work with who doesn’t work exclusively in your town, you can most likely still work with them! It never hurts to ask!

5. Custom paper goods. Having custom invitations made is the best thing ever. You can get invitations exactly how you want them, to match your theme, style, or color scheme, for the same price (if not better) as the ones out the big giant books. AND they look ten times better, are totally custom, and no one else will have ever received the same invitation previously (which has happened in a few occasions to my parents). There are SO MANY cool ways to have invitations made too! Why wouldn’t someone have custom invites made? Oh wait, if you’re me and find out about custom invitations the MONTH that invites are supposed to be ordered.

Via Oh So Beautiful Paper

I learned about most of these things a little too late in my wedding planning process, which is why I felt the need to share them with you all. Of course there are more things that I wish I had known, but these are the major tidbits of information that I thought were crucial to share! My wedding was awesome, but I think it would have been even better if I had known about these things sooner!

I hope some of these tips can help you have the best wedding imaginable! Does anyone have anything else that you’ve learned along the way that you would like to add? Share it in the comments section!

A New Take on Engagement Photography: Surprise Proposal Photos

Normally, engagement photos are taken a few months after getting engaged. However, innovative proposing boyfriends, with the help of photographers, are putting a whole new meaning to engagement photos!

These engagement photos that I speak of are known as Surprise Proposal photos! Thoughtful boyfriends have a photographer conspicuously capture photos of them proposing! I know guys are always trying to think of innovative ways to propose, and this is a great idea! What better way to preserve the memory of the proposal, and have an impromptu engagement shoot literally RIGHT after getting engaged!

Sharon Bushman is a photographer in New York City, and she actually specializes in Surprise Proposal photography! How amazing is that?! Enough of my blabbing about photography and engagements, I'll let the photos speak for themselves!

Apparently Central Park is a very popular place to get engaged! However, you don't have to be in New York just to do one of these, I'm sure any photographer would love to do a surprise proposal shoot!

I just LOVE this idea of capturing the VERY moment of getting engaged! The emotions are so incredibly organic...there are really no words for it! And it would be great to send the photos to friends and family to announce your engagement!

Has anyone had one of these shoots? If not already engaged, what would you think if your boyfriend set this up as part of his proposal?

Part 2: Congrats! You're Engaged...Now What?

[Continued from Part 1 of "Congrats! You're Engaged...Now What?"]

I decided to split up this post to prevent any of you new brides from getting overwhelmed with the first steps of planning your wedding. It's a whole new experience, and it is SO much fun! (Warning: You will spend HOURS looking at photos of decor, flowers, dresses, cakes, etc, etc, etc) These next recommendations involve taking the steps towards making your wedding come together.

4. Hire a wedding planner and establish a budget. I include both of these steps in one because it really is incredibly important to have a wedding planner involved in your wedding. Now, you can't really do much of anything without knowing your budget. There are resources online, such as TheKnot and Brides.com to help with planning your budget, but a planner can also help you understand the costs of everything that a wedding entails. Whether it is just for consulting, planning the entire event, or just for the day of coordinating, I can't even imagine what a wedding is like without a planner being involved. (And that is the honest truth speaking as someone working in the wedding industry, not as a wedding planner.) I will delve into the need for a planner more in another post, but for the time being, you can read this previous post or check out this article by Melissa of Masterpiece Weddings.
5. Find your venue. The venue decision of course hinges on what kind of wedding you decided you wanted in Step 2. However, the urgency of finding a venue could depend on your location. If you are getting married in an area that has plenty of venues, you can take a little bit of time to look around. It is recommended to have your venue booked at least one year in advance. If you are in an area that only has a few venue options (such as my hometown), I would recommend booking a year and half in advance if you can, because the dates will fill up fast! But don't forget to consider the type of wedding that you envision as well as your budget!
6. Book your photographer. This step and the previous step can be interchangeable, depending on the amount of time you have, the level of importance you put on photography, and the availability of venues. However, photographers also book up to a year and half in advance! If photography is something that is important to you, you should start your search now! Be sure to read these previous posts on choosing your photographer, and don't forget that you aren't limited to only choosing a photographer who is in the same city as you! That's something that as a bride, I didn't know!

Via La Dolce Vita Studio

These are my recommendations of the things that should be done pretty much within the first few months of planning your wedding. And don't worry, it's normal to do a lot (booking venues and photographers far in advance), and then have a lull of planning activities. The online resources with checklists are helpful, but not completely inclusive. If you have a wedding planner, she will provide you with a list of things that need to be done by a specific month, and it will also include details that are commonly overlooked.

If you ever have any questions, need advice, or need someone to bounce ideas off of, please feel free to email me or leave a comment! Welcome to the world of planning your wedding!

Congrats! You're Engaged...Now What?

The winter is one of the most popular times for couples to get engaged. It could be the cool weather, making people want to have an excuse to snuggle more or the idea that a sparkly ring would be THE perfect Christmas gift, who knows? I was one of the couples that fell into that popular statistic, but it really was the perfect time. It was a few days before Christmas, and my whole family was already around to celebrate! We hardly had to make any phone calls to share our news! (And we finally didn't have to hear, "So, when are you guys getting engaged?")

Studio222 Photography

You've gotten through all of the excitement and well wishes, told everyone you know, and now you just can't stop looking at that shiny new bling on your left hand! What do you do next? What are your first steps towards planning your wedding?

If you're like me, you'll want to start planning the next day and buy a ton of bridal magazines, and then spend way too long looking at wedding dresses. However, you could just be incredibly overwhelmed and not even know where to start! I've compiled a list of some of the things to do upon your engagement.

1. Start thinking of a date. It's one of the first questions that everyone asks, and it's the very first thing that should be done, since you really can't do anything else until this is decided. (It's very difficult to reserve a venue and book a photographer without your date!) When choosing your date, remember to consider your favorite time of year, favorite holidays, work schedules, the weather, or maybe even your anniversary.
   
2. Consider WHO you and your fiance are as a couple. Your wedding should be a reflection of the two of you. It's a celebration of your love and your new life together. You want it to be amazing, of course, but you don't have to conform to what an everyday wedding is. Stop and think about what you truly want your wedding day to be like. Decide on what type of wedding you want. If you don't know where to start, look through some wedding blogs and magazines to get some ideas of different types of weddings. Take a look at this article by garter designer Julianne Smith for more insight into this topic.
3. Start your guest list. You are now entering new wedding territory. You really need to know how many people you will be having at your wedding before going any further. Both establishing a budget and booking a venue will require taking into account the number of guests you will have. And of course the type of wedding that you decide on will also help to determine the guest list. For example, if you want to have a destination wedding, you probably won't be having 250 guests.
   

There are of course more steps, but I'm saving those for Part 2, which will be posted tomorrow. These are just the baby steps that need to be taken in order to start planning your wedding! Have fun!