Hi Everyone!
I had a great segment today at Fox 13’s The Place, they asked me to talk about common planning mistakes Brides can make, so even though there is a lot we could talk about, I narrowed it down to 5, but even on air, we talked so much about each one, we got through only 3! here is are my top 5! I am also doing a giveaway for a few magazines and totebags from The Knot, email me at muylymillerco@gmail.com with the subject ‘giveaway’ for your chance to win!
Not planning your guest list in the beginning: before anything gets started, it would be great if you sat down with your groom and your families to really figure out who will be invited, but most people don’t do that in the beginning. So i recommend having a very narrow range in mind, at least. Something like 110-125 guests, or 350-375. A couple of reasons you need to know this is for the venue- can they accommodate all your guests? Also it helps with budgeting on all aspects down the line- food, invitations, decorations, rentals, the cake etc. I’ve had brides who gave me numbers like 100-200 and that won’t work.
Not Having a checklist for to-do’s, booked vendors and your budget: planning on the fly is such a big mistake. You can get free wedding checklists online from a number of resources- and though it’s overwhelming to look at in the beginning, they really do cover a lot of those things people will forget- such as getting the marriage license before your wedding day, or accounting for the cost of stamps for all your invitations, rsvps and thank you cards. The Knot is one of my amazing sponsors for my business and their site has an awesome checklist!
Trying to do it all: I’ve seen this too many times, the Bride’s or the Bride’s mother doing it all! It’s so hard to plan a wedding as it is, but when you are trying to make everything yourself, set up all your tables and linens, ushering guests and so forth, it takes so much away from the big day and adds so much stress. It is so worth it to pay some of the delivery fee’s to help with those items, and if it get very overwhelming, then consider getting a wedding coordinator a few weeks before your wedding to polish up the timeline of the day, help with the rehearsal and make sure things are set up with vendors the day of the wedding.
Not asking enough questions to vendors: When I do consultations, I advise brides and grooms to ask lots of questions. I mentioned delivery fee’s above, ask about the area of delivery, does it cost more to deliver outside that area. Ask about services such as cake cutting fee- who will be doing that? What extra rentals are associated with that. If you have your heart set on a certain photographer or DJ, but have a budget that isn’t quite listed on their package prices, it never hurts to ask what they can do to accommodate that. I’m not saying email them and say “I see you charge 1400 for your package, can you do it for 500” cause then you’ll just offend them and you may not even get a reply. Word it more like ‘ i see you have this package option available, I’m on a limited budget but love your work and would love to include you in my wedding, what other package or a la cart options do you have?”, other questions to ask are service fee’s for caterers, when they will set up, do they need extra electrical outlets, what plan b options do they have in case of weather issues.
Staying flexible with your wedding day: At this time, you just need to breathe and let things be. All your work and planning has come to this day and you’ve done all you can. Things always happen and you’re going to start driving yourself crazy if you take your focus away from your celebration and putting them on linens, or flowers or someone’s shoes, if the linens arrive later than the florals, just try to go with the flow and let those vendors work it out, if the wind is starting to knock down some of your displays or place cards, assign someone to figure it out be flexible so that you aren’t tense about the details. Meditate, say a prayer, put on some music that morning of and just get relaxed and be beautiful and enjoy your day. Of course, hiring day of coordination services from a wedding planner helps a lot!
I got a lot of compliments on the vest I am wearing. So in case you were wondering here is the breakdown of the outfit-
Vest: Target
T-shirt Dress: Amazon
Shoes- last year Target
Necklace: clearance at Smiths Marketplace