During a recent 1-2-1 Wedding Consultation, a Bride asked me, “what are the most common wedding mistakes you’ve seen at weddings?”. I thought this was an excellent question, so today I am sharing 4 common mistakes I’ve noticed and how you can avoid making them.
Investing more in the day than the marriage
It is so easy in all the wedding planning to unintentionally forget to prepare for marriage. Although your wedding day will be an incredible day of celebration, it’s importance doesn’t compare to the beauty that is your marriage. Marriage is a shift whether you’ve been together 20 years or 20 months, the vows you make to each other are significant. Allow yourselves to spend time dreaming about what you want your marriage to look like, as well as planning your dream wedding day.
Ask yourselves the big questions as you head towards your marriage. I recently wrote a blog post about the 6 questions to ask yourselves before you get married. Why not plan in a time where you can consider some of those questions together? You may leave those conversations with not only a new excitement for your upcoming marriage, but a burst of motivation for wedding planning too!
Un-impactful decor
This is one I’ve seen time and time again. It’s easy to drop hundreds, if not thousands of pounds on styling elements that don’t make an impact and blend in with each other. Instead, invest time and money into 2 or 3 styling elements that bring the wow factor to your day. Whether it be a floral broken arch at the end of the aisle which is re-purposed for your cake table or signage (I recommend Love Flora for signage, see below) that can be used around your venue, consider where you’re putting your money and if it’s going to make the impact you want it to.
Not sticking to a budget
While we are on the topic of money… Not sticking to a budget is a common mistake when planning your wedding. Discussing and deciding your budget for each area of your wedding is crucial to ensure your wedding day doesn’t cause unnecessary stress or get you into financial difficulty. Avoid impulse buying. Those smaller purchases can add up and take you over budget. Give yourself time to carefully consider each financial decision, particularly the larger ones. Ask if there is flexibility on packages to keep the cost down. For example, if a photographer is out of budget, ask if there is anything they can do to help keep costs down, like removing an engagement shoot or shortening shooting hours.
Too much DIY
I’m all for DIY. I LOVED creating flower crowns and flower girl bouquets, as well as signage for our wedding. But there are three main things to consider when choosing DIY aspects of your wedding:
Time
The most obvious consideration is your time! DIY elements take a lot of time. If you want to DIY some aspects of your wedding, ensure these are either completed long before the wedding week itself, or if they have to be made fresh (for example flowers or baked items), ensure you have planned in more than enough time in your wedding week to do this.
On the day
Many venues will not allow you to access your venue before the wedding day to set out any decor. If you are considering building elaborate centerpieces, or hanging garlands from a ceiling, remember that you may be required to do this on your wedding day. If this doesn’t sound like something you want to do, I recommend opting for a simpler idea, or paying a professional stylist who can bring your vision to life on your wedding day whilst you focus on getting ready and drinking prosecco with your favourite people!
Budget
Many people choose DIY as they believe it is a cheaper alternative. While this may be true for some elements, unexpected costs are likely to occur which often bring the total cost up to what it may be if the items had been bought elsewhere or hired. Before commencing a DIY project for your wedding, ensure you feel confident in each step to keep unexpected costs down.
I am a Wedding Planner that helps you to find peace in your planning process. Want to find out more? Read some of my story.
