Wedding Planning Tips That Help You Stay Organized
When you’re planning a wedding or other big event at your home, organization is key to ensuring that you can get hitched without a hitch. Today, PDX Photo Lounge offers tips and advice that can help you better plan your big day.
Set the Date
You obviously have to set a wedding date, but make sure you begin the planning process with enough time so that your guests have an opportunity to make plans to attend. Brides recommends one year, but it may take more or less time depending on where your guests are coming from or if your home needs updates before you can accommodate a crowd.
Send Invitations
Once you have your dates set, you’ll want to plan to send at least two sets of invitations. The first is a Save The Date, which is essentially a heads up for your guest to earmark that date and note that there’s more information coming.
Take Note of Stress
Planning a wedding is stressful, but you have to stay mindful throughout the situation. Remember that no matter how much you love your partner, you may disagree on details, which may stress you out even more than the main event. Before you make any decisions while under stress, make sure you know all there is to know about the situation and, most importantly, go with your gut.
Prepare Your Home
Something that many people don’t think about as they’re planning a home wedding is that there are plenty of updates and upgrades you can make that can actually help you recoup your cost over time. A gazebo, sunroom, or even waterfall feature can make your house more attractive and improve value when and if you decide to sell your home. Before you get started, make sure you have a binder to keep your receipts and take plenty of pictures of your progress.
On the other hand, if you’re renting and you know your current property isn’t going to work, but there’s still time to find the space you need, there are plenty of other rental options out there – including 13 in Portland alone. Just don’t wait until the last minute!
Next, you’ll have to give your home a thorough cleaning. This can take some time so don’t plan on doing it all at once. Tackling one room at a time is far less stressful. You don’t have to rely on expensive, harmful cleaning supplies either; look into homemade cleaners for a more natural alternative.
Consider Hiring a Wedding Planner
Event space Taglyan says there are many perks of hiring an event planner, in these include everything from saving you time and reducing headaches too, most importantly, helping you organize the details, including your budget and timeline.
Plan the Menu
You may not realize it yet, but food is one of your biggest expenses. Elite Daily explains that food and drinks can easily run into the (tens of) thousands of dollars – one bride they interviewed said they spent $15,000 on food and libations for just 42 people. If budget is a major concern, consider something easy and affordable, such as pulled pork for an outdoor barbecue style reception.
Choose Your Photographer Wisely
Your wedding photographer will become one of the most important people of your life. Choose them wisely. Look for a photographer who has a history of providing quality images and living up to the terms of their contracts. The last thing you need is someone that will over edit, fail to provide your photos, or give you blurry, poorly-shot images that can’t be salvaged. Spend the money on a great photographer so that you always have your memories to look back on.
A final word of advice: something can and will go wrong. This could be something as small as the wrong alcohol in the punch bowl to the officiant mispronouncing a name. Just roll with it, and remember that it will be a funny memory years down the road.
Staying organized when you’re trying to plan a wedding, especially one in your own home, isn’t always easy. However, today’s tips, which include paying attention to your stress levels, planning the menu, and keeping receipts so that you can recoup your wedding update expenses as your family grows and you need a new home, can all help. Congratulations on your wedding day, and remember, the most important thing now is to not sweat the small stuff!
If you’re looking for a state-of-the-art photo booth to add some excitement to that next party, PDX Photo Lounge can help! Reach out today to get started.
Image via Pexels