If you have been following my blog then you know that this year while I am photographing the weddings of lovely couples, I am also planning my own wedding. As I plan I am offering tips and tricks that I am learning along the way. I hope that my own story inspires you and gives you a few ideas of your own.

One of my biggest words of advice would be to start planning your wedding early. This will help you feel less overwhelmed and feel more organized in the long run. Our wedding date is a little over a year away, but just last week I chose our wedding colors. Fun Fact: Did you know that not every couple chooses to have defined colors for their wedding? In fact, it’s easier if you don’t. By opting for a color scheme rather than two strict colors you will open up your options for decor and feel less limited picking out those bridesmaid dresses.

If the internet has taught us anything, it’s that you can find just about anything on it. I mentioned in my last post that I have fallen into the Pinterest trap-but can I just say how amazed I am at the DIY wedding options? And Holy Etsy! I’ve been finding so many one-of-a-kind handcrafted items by amazing vendors, that I just have to share a few!

• All of my wedding signs will be coming from NailedIt!
• I am proposing to my bridesmaids with these super cute cards from 3Eggs Design
• A custom wedding hanger for my dress is coming from Ecklace
• Gorgeous velvet ribbons can be found at Lino & Co
• Oh, and Taylor’s tie will feature a fun floral print from Classy and Cluttered
• I also just purchased my wedding shoes! They are coming from ASOS and spoiler alert…I’m kind of obsessed with velvet (I want it everywhere).

Here are three helpful tips for wedding planning:

TIP 1: Mock Setup

One thing I hadn’t considered before planning was the need for measurements of the venue. We only have our venue for one day. That means we have to setup, celebrate, and tear down all in less than 24 hours. It’s a lot to do and we are pretty much roping everyone we know into helping with setup that day.

To make it a little easier, I have decided to make simple floor plans of the ceremony and reception location showing where everything will go. I also intend to setup a mock place setting and centerpiece to photograph so my bridesmaids will know what I vision and can help me setup all of the tables. Same with our table layout for the reception…our venue advised that we come out a month early and setup the tables and chairs until we are happy with an arrangement and photograph it. That way we are good to go the day of and do not spend an hour or more rearranging everything to fit in the space.

It might all sound a little intense and crazy…but it is going to save time and help me feel less stressed on the day of.

TIP 2: Decide What Matters

We are on a pretty tight budget for our wedding. I mentioned in my last wedding planning blog post that we decided to invest the bulk of our budget in our venue, photographer, and videographer- and by bulk I mean there goes over half of our budget. I decided early on that those three details were most important to me and I wanted them to be perfect, which meant working with vendors that I love. For me all of the other little details(dress, decor, etc.) I could compromise on.

As I began to plan more little details I soon realized that there were several things I could do without. For instance: I originally wanted linen textured tablecloths for our guest tables and the reception and gold scalloped edge charger plates-but when I learned this was going to take over half of our remaining budget for the reception decor I soon didn’t care anymore.

When the day is done and the tables are cleared and put away and the guests go home, no one is going to look back on my wedding day and say “Gee those were some nicely textured tablecloths at Emily’s wedding!” …and suddenly it was all just so silly and I didn’t need those little details anymore. Sometimes during the stages of planning a wedding you can get caught up in all of it. It can be very overwhelming and its a good idea to step back, take a deep breath, and just recollect your thoughts.

TIP 3: Make The Day Yours

One thing that has been really important to me while planning our wedding day is the urge to “keep it real”. There are so many options of just about every detail of wedding decor. For example, I went to Hobby Lobby and just for fun walked down the wedding aisle…guys I found myself bombarded with 6 different options of a guestbook alone. I looked at these guestbooks and thought to myself, “none of these guestbooks really scream Taylor and Emily.”

Decor shouldn’t be bought just so it make an appearance at our wedding, I want each detail of the day to mean something to us. Taylor is a DJ, so I am incorporating music references where I can. I love books and love quotes, so we are having iconic tv, book, and movie quotes on each table with the table numbers. Our beautiful amazing Luna cat (she is the best)can’t make an appearance at our wedding, so we are going to name a drink after her. -Each little detail will speak to who we are as a couple.

I still have a lot of planning to do, but at the same time I feel good about where I am in the process. I am so glad that I started planning early. Knowing that I have time relieves some of the stress and makes planning more fun. If you are reading this I hope you found this blog post helpful. I hope it inspires you with your own wedding day planning. Above all I hope admit the chaos of planning a wedding, you remember to have a little fun with it.

Studio 1534 offers wedding photography to Indiana and beyond. Ready to book your wedding? Contact me today.