Five Wedding Mistakes to Avoid

This is you and your soon-to-be spouse’s day. Remind yourselves that. All the decisions around it should make you feel loved and excited about both the wedding and the celebration following it. To ensure that it stays this way, here are five mistakes we recommend that you avoid. 

1.    Buying Without Your Budget. Yes, this goes without saying – almost! Yet, brides and grooms inevitably ignore it. You might find the perfect dress on sale or the cutest bakery ready to offer you cake tastings. However, before you commit, take a holistic look at your budget. Understand your realities, and set limitations for yourself. If there is something you know you’ll love, make sure you are willing to adjust your budget elsewhere to account for the dollars going out. 

2.    Not Reading Your Contracts in Full. For example, not all venues accept all vendors. They may have a list of preferred options they allow you to choose from. Similarly, a caterer may provide a per capita quote, but not discuss the additional taxes and fees or tip for the staff. Read your contracts! Ask questions to ensure you understand the offerings and the pricing included within. 

3.    Don’t Invite Too Many People. If you’re getting married in the next year or so, it will naturally need to be smaller. Regulations will likely still be in place limiting the size of groups, and friends and relatives may not be comfortable traveling yet. However, now and in the future, we urge you to include just the people you really want to be celebrating alongside you. It will allow you to have more meaningful conversations and a genuinely more personal and intimate wedding experience. Don’t feel pressured to include any obligatory extras, who you are not directly close with. 

4.    Not Making a Proper Rain Plan. You may have reserved a tent, and that’s as far as your rain plan has gotten. The weather has that tendency to be unpredictable, so you need to think through other logistics, such as transporting people from the ceremony location to the wedding reception. Likewise, consider that the lovely outdoor location you had selected for photos will now be out of the picture. 

5.    Sending Thank You Notes Late. Once the party is over, reality sets in quickly. You get back to your job and fall into your regular routine. Well, before you realize, weeks and months will have flown by. Before that happens, make sure you send thoughtful handwritten notes to all your guests and gift-givers. We recommend within the first three months, ideally. Not only is this following tradition and the polite, appreciative response, but it will also prevent stress in the long run. Trust us, you’ll start to doubt your list of who gave what as the months go by. 

A few hurdles will inevitably be thrown your way during the planning. If you end up making a mistake, big or small, shake it off. It’s all going to turn out great.

Just be thoughtful as you are making decisions and be authentic to your vision for the big day! After all, it's your day to Let Love Sparkle!