Make your wedding day your own

Is your family already sending you pictures of what they want your wedding to look like? Are your ideas so varied that you can’t even get a coherent vision for the wedding day? Is your circle of friends pressuring you to make sure your wedding is day the best day of their lives?

With a majority of brides, the initial meeting consists of narrowing down their vision for the Big Day. The great thing about the first meeting with your event planner is that everyone is so excited about the engagement and full of ideas to be executed. At the end of that initial chat, we give homework that will help you zero in on what all the magazine cut-outs, pins on pinterest, and pictures from theknot mean for your event. 

Now, let's walk through what the experts do from the very beginning of the wedding planning process. Hopefully, this will help give you focus as you begin the daunting task of making your wedding your own.

1: The Family Meeting

You need to begin by meeting with all involved families and have the discussion most people don't want to have - the BUDGET talk. Have everyone lay out their expectations and the actual dollars they are able to contribute. If your families are not comfortable doing that together, stick to talking about the expectations and let them write down the amount privately. You should also discuss how large the wedding would ideally need to be based upon the number family and friends everyone expects to invite. No exact numbers are necessary here; you are looking for a range (E.g. 50-75, 75-100,100-150) and an awareness of the expectation of others (does your father expect to invite his work colleagues or does his mom plan to invite her entire church). You need to have that estimated number in your head before you can really start looking for a church or venue, picking centerpieces, finding table and chair rentals, etc. Keep in mind, the larger the guest list, the larger the budget has to be. After this meeting, you will able to start creating a realistic vision for your wedding.

2: The Priorities

Now that you know how much and how many, make a list of what is most important to you. What are your priorities? What are your fiancé’s? This list can help you in rough patches, such as having to eliminate due to budget or stand up to a family member's opinion. Focus on your style in everyday life, and pick pictures and ideas that truly show your identity. Have in your mind five things that are non-negotiables for the entire event. Many brides pick their dress, church, venue, flowers, and food menu. After you have made that list, take your budget and guest number, and rank each area based on importance. Keep in mind you will obviously need money for other areas, but this is a great starting place.

3: The Vision -The Dress

At this point you know what's most important and how much money you have to make it happen. You can now start into "What will it look like?" We have found through the years that the dress tends to drive much of the design. Why? If you are picking a vintage wedding dress you most likely love that vintage style in your day to day life. When deciding on the dress, think of it as creating the theme of your entire event.

This is one of my favorite wedding dresses this season! LOVE! Vera Wang Spring 2012 Collection.

 It's time to make your way to the dress boutique(s) with the designs you like in hand (Also have your budget in hand, though I know no one wants to hear that!).

Check in next week to read how we complete the vision process! Make sure you also checkout our giveaway today!!!