Wedding Planning Tips 2024 - Pt1

Planning a wedding will be one of the most exciting times in your life. You are planning to celebrate your love with all your favourite people, HOW AMAZING!!! but it can be stressful and worrying if you don’t keep on top of things. The biggest strain to couples is over-spending and time running away on them, you know how it is you blink and 6 months have passed but don’t worry it’s gonna all work and out and its going out be awesome!!!

You’ve popped the question, they’ve said yes so what now??

1. Pick Your Venue.

I would say that the very first thing to do is settle on your venue. Now, I don’t mean, rush off and view that place you’ve been ogling on Instagram, booking it on the spot and figuring out the details later. Before that, you really need to get clear on what you want from a venue. Yes, the heart element should be strong in this decision, but you should try to let your head take the lead on it. A venue is so much more than a famous view and cool chairs. It has to function the way you need it to and have people running it who will make your life easy and your wedding day seamless. Do you want a “traditional” church wedding? Do you want a humanist ceremony? An all in one from a hotel ? Or do you want the very popular city hall and a restaurant for the reception, these will all factor in the timeline for your wedding. Once you have a date secured with your venue, then book your key suppliers, having ensured that the date you’ve chosen is going to give you enough time to lock in the vendors you really want and to be able to comfortably afford your dream day.

2. Create A Timeline.

Create a detailed planning timeline as soon as possible. Including every single thing that is needed to make the wedding happen in the way that you want it. Everything from chasing RSVPs, to choosing the first dance song, to picking suits, hairdressers to flowers to should get a week on the calendar, and this way, broken down into a task or two a week, it shouldn’t seem so daunting. Delegate the responsibilities between both yourselves and people who are willing to help out. 

If like me you are a fan of a techy solution, here’s some apps to help you on your way

• Postable - for collection addresses for invitations

• Top Table Planner - for designing your table plan

• Appy Couple - for keeping your guests up to date

• Spotify - hear a banger on the radio that you know will have people up dancing save it to a playlist and send it to your DJ

• Wedding Snap - Collecting Guests' Photographs you can never have too many eyes on a wedding day your photographer can’t be every where all at once so getting your guests to upload their pics helps - bonus its a free content creator ha

• Tripit - For planning that perfect honeymoon

3. Research Your Vendors.

The best way to find vendors that you really vibe with is to go on a social media deep dive. Find a local vendor you like a lot and follow them online to get a sense of their personality and who they are as a person and business. they are the people you will likely spend the most time with on a wedding day so not only do they have to be good at what they do, you have to like them as a person

My advice is to pick your top 5 vendors in each area and go down the list from 1-5 ie top 5 photographers top 5 Make up artists etc this way you will end up with vendors you love.

Tips for picking your wedding gown.

1. DO RESEARCH TO FIND WHAT YOU LIKE.

• There are so many tools available to us. You could go the old fashioned route and rip out pages of magazines. Most people nowadays use Pinterest, you an create mood boards with examples and have all your wedding plans in one place. If you see something online screenshot it, try not to have specific dress in mind but have a them and when you’re ready take it to your first dress appointment to help your bridal consultant.

2. BE OPEN.

• Bridal consultants will often tell you that they see women come in with a set idea of what they want for a gown, then try it on and don't actually love it, instead, fall for something completely different to what they even imagined. Keep an open mind while wedding gown shopping, you never know you might surprise yourself and everyone else.

3. SHOP EARLY.

• Most gowns take months to prepare so shop early also factor in alterations, you don’t want to be rushing around the week before your big day trying to alter your dress and always remember its easier to take a dress in than be uncomfortable all day with a dress that’s a bit snug so shop for your size in the moment not for what you think you’ll be on the day.

4. FIGURE OUT YOUR BUDGET.

• The dreaded M word…. money, money, money. The factor of everything we do. Just remember you only get to do this once. Are you going to keep the dress or sell it after? If you’re going to sell it that could help factor in spending a bit more in the first place, if you’re on a tight budget, try 2nd hand. Claires dress in the top image was found in a charity shop, I now right and its stunning. Sustainability is on trend at the moment so no-one is going to care if you didn’t buy brand new. Also plan in for non-obvious costs into your budget. If you have 2000e to spend on a dress don’t blow the whole lot on the dress, remember you have shoes and accessories to factor in as well. And don’t try on gowns way above your budget it will always lead to disappointment! I must remember that next time I want to buy a car actually :/

5. FIND A GREAT BRIDAL SALON

• Two things to factor in when picking a store to shop in. 1 - do they have the style you’re looking for and 2 - what is their customer care like. Experience is everything in this industry so read reviews and book an appointment. Please don’t just show up or you might end up disappointed. The guys at Love Ellie in Virginia, Cavan are amazing, click he link to go to their IG page

  6. SHOP ON A WEEKDAY

• Bridal shops are jammers on a weekend. Meaning you’ll get less attention and the experience won’t be as good, so you have holiday days in work use one of them, take your most trusted friend or family member, make a day of it and don’t feel guilty having a mimosa ;)

  7. Be Prepared to Try on a Lot of Gowns

• Unless you’re filming for season 5 of love is blind or extremely lucky, the chances of finding the perfect dress on the first try is pretty slim. So a little patience might have to be exercised and prepare yourself for many dresses but remember it’s a marathon not a sprint. That’s why it’s good to start early…. just in case!
  

8. ARE YOU MORE TRADITIONAL or TRENDY

• Perhaps you're more the type who wants to look classic and timeless on your wedding day (think lace). Or maybe you're a fashionista who loves being up to the minute on trends. Either way lets get some cool as f**k pics - contact me here

9. STAY TRUE TO WHAT YOU LOVE

• its so easy to bend to other peoples opinions. The sister who wants you the wear a leather jacket, the mom who wants you to have the one with the most lace, the granny who wishes you would wear her dress. just remember this is your day so make sure you….

PICK THE DRESS FOR YOU!!!