I read once that 6 million people planned to propose on Valentines Day! If you were one of those 6 million who got engaged yesterday these top 5 tips are for you! If you are a couple who recently got engaged and you are just starting out the planning process, these tips are for you. If you are well into the planning process, this might not be for you…but please read anyways because if you love weddings as much as we do, these 5 tips are interesting!

I believe there are 3 stages to every planning process. 1. Excitement, 2. Disappointment, 3. Excitement again and Anticipation.

1. Excitement and feeling over the moon that you get to marry your best friend. You also are in love with the idea that you have a beautiful ring on your finger that you get to flash around. You haven’t started planning at this stage or even thought about a date, but you are reviewing your wedding Pinterest boards and at this point you cannot wait to get started!

2. Disappointment then sets in. Once you pick a wedding date you begin looking for venues, vendors, talking to your friends and family who are recently engaged and start discussing budget. At this point you will realize that you are not going to be able to afford everything you want and that is a harsh reality to deal with!

3. Excitement then sets in again and anticipation will take over. At this point your vendors are solidified and you are just waiting for the date  to come. You are happy with all the choices you made and while you know you just spent a ton of money, you don’t care because you just planned your dream wedding!

So, the question is…..how do you stay excited the entire wedding planning process and how do you avoid disappointment? Here are 5 tips that we believe will help you stay on track throughout the planning process and keep you on budget!

TIP #1: Sit with your family right away and discuss budget! Yes, we know this can be such an awkward conversation but it’s an important one to have. Once you have all the facts and you know how much money you have  to spend, you can start looking for the venue and your other vendors. I’m telling you this will save you a lot of heartache. Budget will dictate your entire wedding. Learning what you have to spend up front will help you in every aspect of planning your big day!

TIP #2: Make a guest list! It sounds simple…but I promise you I see so often couples who haven’t talked through their guest list and are heartbroken when they fall in love with a venue that can’t hold their max guest count or they learn that they do not have a budget to include all their guests. Go through both of your families and figure out how many family members there are to invite. Then go through your friends, co-workers and other guests you may want to include. If that list comes to 150 people, take a look at your budget and see if the budget is realistic. If it isn’t, cut your guest list. I’m telling you, inviting all 150 people because you think they might not show up is a BAD IDEA. When wedding invitations come through, almost always those family members you thought would never come, WILL COME. Be mindful of your budget and make sure it coincides with your guest list!

TIP #3: If interested in a wedding planner, hire one! This is the most common mistake I see! I have couples who think they can’t afford a wedding planner or they get far along in the planning process and they realize they are in over their heads and they need a planner. At that point, money has been spent and a lot of what your planner could have helped you with is no longer doable. I once had a couple come to me 4 months out from their wedding. Their budget was $30,000 for the wedding. At that point they had booked the venue, the photographer, the band, the cake and the florist. They only had about $500.00 left and said they wanted to hire me as well as get rental decor. They were devastated to learn that there were other vendor options that could have fallen more in line with their budget. They went on to tell me they should have come to me first. It’s true ya’ll! Wedding planners can save you money! We can also direct you to wonderful vendors who fall in your budget. At minimum, contact a planner and meet with them.

TIP #4: Write a list of your must haves for the wedding as well as the items you are willing to compromise on. No matter your budget, unless it is unlimited, you will have to compromise at some point. Writing out the items that you must have and the items that you could do without if it came down to it, will allow you to realistically plan your wedding within budget. When I work with my couples in a full coordination capacity, I like to know what their must haves are up front. I want to know going into the budget that there is no wiggle room on the tent, the food or whatever is most important to them. For the items that are negotiable I focus on those when it times to cutting. Again, doing this early on keeps the you in a realistic mindset and allows you to stay in budget!

TIP #5: Book your venue and caterer first! I know some of you out there think your florist or your photographer is most important. That is absolutely fine! However, your venue and your caterer are going to eat up the majority of your budget. They are the two most expensive items on the list of vendors to book. Booking these two vendors first will allow you to see what you have left in the budget to spend on your more affordable vendors. Take a look at what is left in your budget following these two bookings and allocate the money left to your other vendors. Again, we promise this will help you stay in budget and avoid heartache later on.