I mentioned on my Instagram page (Not following, why not? Click Here & follow!!) I’m going to start blogging some of my Wedding Planning! My focus for instagram/blog is style + lifestyle. My fashion posts I’m all about being affordable & authentic. So of course I’m taking wedding planning with the same approach! I’m planning a destination wedding (wedding on the Emerald Coast)on a price conscious budget.
Wedding blog posts will be a "Mini Series"and within this "Mini Series"will be:what I’ve encountered, tips on planning your wedding, tips on planning a wedding here at the Emerald Coast, some fun DIY stuff I’ve came across, etc!
Todays post: To hire a Wedding Planner or be your own Wedding Planner?
When preparing for a wedding this is the first step! Definitely not an easy decision either. Cost of a planner versus doing it on your own. Yes, planning on your own will save you a good amount of money that you can invest somewhere else in the wedding.
But what brides need to ask themselves is:
- Do YOU have the time?
- Do YOU have the mental, physical, and emotional strength to handle everything within a wedding?
- Do YOU have the proper tools to blueprint an ENTIRE wedding?
When approaching this first step "Time" I wrote down a weeks worth of what I do everyday to give myself an idea on how much daily free time I have for possible planning.
What to write down:
- list job shifts(don’t forget to add in your commute time especially if you commute to a big city that may have rush hours)- weekly events you attend(hobby classes, church, clubs, volunteer work, etc)
- If you have a child don’t forget to key in the times you do major child-parent bonding(bath time, school time, sports/REC activities, meal time, how long it takes you to put your little one to sleep, etc).
Once a basic week schedule is mapped out, you can see the space you have to invest in planning. Consider, Venue research. This is a long process of online searching, looking at photos, reading reviews, contacting venues for tours, and so on.
Then approaching my "Strength". I considered the daily stress of a baby + getting myself back into shape and constantly building my relationship with my fiancé. SERIOUSLYa wedding is a stressful task on your body. Luckily, I have a very strong work-life balance and great time management skills from past work experiences which I plan to execute during my planning. But I remind myself “there’s a reason why people become wedding planners cause its (literally)a job!”
Lastly considering the investment of "Proper Tools". It's not just a few Google searches + a Pinterest board and you’re done.
It’s creating:spreadsheets, menus, invitations, decor, maps of the venue setup, a vision of how you want your bridal party to look, to walk, to be photographed, a “Plan B” in case your wedding starts to fall apart from unexpected events, etc. That's the tip of the iceberg.
For me, I’m now the owner of a binder that is literally a Wedding Planners binder. I also have a clip board, 2 notebooks, 3 spreadsheets: costs, inventory, guest list info (that’s updated daily), I constantly have a window on my Mac dedicated to wedding research (currently it has 15 tabs of websites, contact pages, and DIY projects), even an email account JUSTfor my wedding contacts!
Other things to consider:Is your wedding going to be small + easy to handle or large where you need a planner to find ways to accommodate the large guest list? Are the venue locations requesting a Wedding Planner (This is something I ran across when looking at Venues)? Do you know the area and have a good contact list of businesses?
Ultimiately, I decided to plan my own wedding. So far it’s great! My past work experiences + my fashion degree has gave me amazing skills in work-life balance, time management, organization, and visual/design. My business degree has become useful for creating spreadsheets, sending proper emails inquiries, and handing a budget. I have struggle moments when Holly is a teething or wants to cuddle with mama. It’s hard putting the planning books down but my little girl is #1. My wedding has a VERYexclusive guest list that’s small and easy to manage. I’ve live in the Emerald Coast and know the whereabouts + my future in laws have some connects which is helpful. Therefore, I feel I have the tools to be my own wedding planner!
Overall, I strongly believe anyone can achieve a goal if they set their mind to it. I gave myself this goal to plan a beautiful wedding in the Emerald Coast. And yes, it's hard but I know it can happen.
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