Photo by Blue Rose Photography
YOU’RE ENGAGED!!
You’ve celebrated with your new fiancé(e) and your families, you can’t stop staring at that beautiful new sparkle on your finger, the world is your oyster. Take a moment to really soak in how special this season of your life is.
Okay. Now’s about the time when the questions start - when is your wedding? Where is your wedding? Will the best venues and wedding vendors still be available if you schedule your wedding for this year, or should you push it out until next year? What is your wedding budget, and who is contributing to it? Is cousin Betty invited? How can we help?
Suddenly, this whole engagement thing starts to feel a little overwhelming… and that’s why you’ve landed here with me! Hi! I’m Krisanna, and I’ve been a wedding planner in Seattle for over a decade. I’m here to confirm that this initial feeling of overwhelm is NORMAL, and also offer you my humble advice when it comes to the first steps of planning a wedding!
1. TALK ABOUT YOUR WEDDING BUDGET.
Financial conversations are always delicate, so it may feel daunting to ask family members if they will be contributing to your wedding budget (and, if so, how much they will be contributing). However, in my decade of work as a wedding planner, I’ve found that this conversation is a must before you begin anything else. Your budget serves as the most important parameter when it comes to choosing a venue and selecting your wedding team, so it’s important to not jump the gun before this number is decided. A few questions to think about:
- What does your preliminary guest list look like? Is it a more intimate list of 50-75 guests, or are you planning to invite 250+ people to your celebration? The number of guests invited to your wedding is a huge factor when setting a budget (food and beverage costs, staffing and bartending, rental items, and florals are just a few of the items dictated by your guest count).
- Do you have a set budget, or is it a range? For example: your parents are graciously offering to pay a flat $75,000 vs. your parents are willing to cover $75,000, but you and your partner are also setting aside $25,000, so your total budget ranges from $75,000 - $100,000.
- If your parents (or other loved ones) are contributing to your budget, what does this mean in terms of their say in your decisions? Will they be heavily involved and/or key decision-makers when planning your wedding? Is this something that you are comfortable with? Setting guidelines and boundaries from the beginning may be helpful.
2. FIND YOUR WEDDING VENUE.
You’ve decided on a total budget number and a rough guest count, so now it’s time to start your venue search! This process can be quite long, or you may find the perfect site in a matter of days. My best advice is to not rush it! I know it feels like everyone else is trying to book their weddings during the peak months, and you may lose opportunities if you take the time to carefully explore your options… and while this may be true to some extent, it is much more worth it to book a venue that feels right, than to rush the decision and later regret it. I always tell my clients that you will *know* when you walk into The One. It’s like when you walked into your apartment or house and felt that undeniable “this is it!” feeling. Trust your intuition here! And also consider the following:
- Which dates does the venue have available?
- What is the time frame included? When can vendors arrive? When does music need to be off? When does cleanup begin?
- Does the venue require that you book a caterer from their preferred list? Or maybe they have have in-house catering? Are you okay with this?
- Does the venue provide any rental items or other perks, or will you need to consider the logistics of bringing in all of your preferred rental items? If they do provide rental items, what are they? Do these items fit within your design vision, or will you end up bringing in your own rental items anyway?
- How many bathrooms are onsite? Will you need to bring in additional restroom trailers?
These are just a few of the key items that are important when making your venue decision, but there are so many more nuances… which leads me to the next step:
3. HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER.
*A note that #s 2 and 3 are interchangeable… you may find that you would prefer to hire your wedding planner first, so that they can assist you in finding your dream venue.
Okay sure, I may seem biased here, but I promise that any experienced wedding professional will advise that you hire your wedding planner very early in the process. Why? Because you are very busy and your time is very precious, and your wedding planner is going to save you so. much. time. He or she will drastically cut down your vendor research time with their trusted list of wedding professionals, help you navigate contracts and budget priorities, and give you the best resources for curating the design of your dream wedding… and that’s just the beginning. Place your trust in a planner who has worked in the wedding industry for 5+ years, and, perhaps more importantly, make sure you feel that you can trust this person within the first 10 minutes of your initial consultation. The person you choose will be working alongside you for months AND managing your wedding day! It’s a major decision, so take your time and be sure to interview a handful of planners with a list of any questions you have about their company, process, and/or style.
One final piece of advice? DON’T get too caught up in whether the planner has worked at your specific venue! This would be like asking a surgeon if they are able to operate in Exam Room 2 versus Exam Room 1 - their years of experience, skillset, and tools are still there no matter where the location. This is true for wedding planners too. An experienced planner could take a run-down parking garage, and turn it into a fairytale wedding. When you find a wedding planner that you love, trust that they will learn the ins and outs and execute a beautiful event, regardless of if they’ve worked at your venue previously. This is another blog for another time, but I had to throw it in here!
I hope this helps as you get started on your wedding planning adventure! It’s going to be amazing.
xo, KE
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LOOKING FOR ASSISTANCE IN PLANNING YOUR DREAM WEDDING?
Krisanna Elizabeth Co. is a multifaceted company, offering two distinct services
— artisanal stationery and bespoke wedding planning —
for weddings around the world.
www.krisannaelizabeth.com
krisannaelizabeth@gmail.com
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