Wedding Planning Quick Tips: Too Many Ideas Not Enough Realism

From Concept To Creation

Huge Thanks to Meg Ann Photography http://megannphotography.com/

How can you visualize what your put together wedding will look like with just ideas and pictures from magazines? It can be so overwhelming thinking about the end picture when you're just starting out with the wedding planning process. Here are a few tips to rationally choose wedding decor and ideas without getting stressed out!

You Have Too Many Ideas

 It's super easy to over saturate and overload your brain with ideas and thoughts. Between wedding expos, Pinterest, bridal magazines, and friends weddings you've attended, it can become an overhaul of big plans and even bigger wish lists. 

Make a Look Book

This is simple, fun, and the first thing you should do after you decide on your budget. Start cutting out pictures you see and glue them into a notebook or onto paper in a binder. It may sound silly but it's the best way to visualize the end result! Make sections by dividing up ideas for flowers, cakes, venues, decor, and dresses. This will help you when you start to meet with vendors for them to get an idea of what you want as well.

I carried around my look book and it relieved a lot of stress when people started asking questions about decisions I hadn't made yet. I could show them my binder and say, "I'm not sure but this is what I like." It took loads of stress off and helped me make final decisions!

Set Goals of What You Want the Most

Make a goal list in the beginning of any decor or ideas that you know you will hand make. This can quickly get out of hand if you're not on top of it. Say you want to make your centerpieces. Decide on an idea and set a goal date of when you will have bought all the materials and when you will start assembling them. This will keep you on track and alleviate stress closer to the wedding.

Also set goals of when you want everything booked by. This means that by your certain date you should have met, experienced/tasted, and signed contracts by your set goal date. This will also help you free up time to work on projects and feel calm about your approaching big day!

Make a Model of Your Decor Idea

This is the best advice I can give any bride to be. 

I wanted to hand make my centerpieces (genius I know) because I couldn't find anything I liked! I wanted to use cupcake stands as the focal point because they were easy to pack up and we could reuse them unlike flowers or candles. It was an ungodly process trying to figure out how and what I was going to make them out of. I went through at least 10 ideas before I settled on the ones above.

Once I had my final idea (sorry everyone involved) I timed out how long it took to make one. This way I could figure out how long it would take to mass produce these. Once I figured that out I knew I needed to cut back on other ideas because it was too much time spent on one thing. I went for a more simple look under the cupcake stands using cuts of fabric and flower heads instead of real candles and handmade burlap/lace table runners.

Mass producing anything can be really stressful if you don't time it out before hand. It's unexpected how long some things can take especially if you don't have a lot of help.

I advise every bride to be to use this! Think of the time you'll save!

Meg Ann Photography http://megannphotography.com/

Here is another example of my brilliant idea to over stress myself. I could not find lantern stands for going down the aisle. Anywhere. So I hand made them of course. If I hadn't made a prototype before hand these probably wouldn't have happened and I would have been very upset about losing this look. They weren't hard to make but the time they took was far more than planned. It took my dad, father-in-law, mom, mother-in-law, fiance, and myself weeks to finish these. Between finding the posts, bending the wire, finding pots, cutting fabric, cementing them, spray painting them, wrapping the fabric on the base, and finishing it off with a bow... WHAT WAS I THINKING! 

Trust this bride, make a prototype it will save you a world of headaches later on!


What Can You Delegate?

Most brides have a problem with this, including myself, and it's normal to want to do everything on your own. However, realistically you can't. There are so many things you don't need to be present for but that still need to get done! Here's a list of things you should and need to hand off to bridesmaids, parents, or even your fiance!

• Getting stamps for invites, thank yous, and save the dates
• Picking up materials needed for projects like spray paint, fabric, and frames
• If you have one and you need more just let someone know where you got it! This applies to everything in the wedding. Let's say you need 10 more candles from Target - send someone else! 
• Folding/assembling programs: This can be a job for anyone in your family. Just give them a prototype and let them have at it. They will look exactly the same as you designed without your supervision
• Have someone come with you to the first few meetings for cake, flowers, and tux fittings then send them to the last meetings or correspond via email. Nothing has changed since the first time you met them and nothing will change on your wedding day. Sending someone else to relay the same message you would have will save you TONS of time and energy. It's hard to do but you'll be thankful later!

Remember that everyone is always willing to help and you don't need to do it alone. You will have far less stress leading up to the wedding and you will let other people feel connected to your big day as well. It will be satisfying having the extra time and can free you up to do more projects you had your heart set on!

Stay Crafty!

Rina