Avoid These 5 Wedding Planning Mistakes

When you’re caught up in the excitement of planning your wedding day, it can be easy to make a mistake that proves costly in the long run. From knowing when to write and send your stylish save the dates, to booking the venue and vendors, and making most of the precious wedding planning time you have available, it’s crucial that you avoid common mistakes and pitfalls to ensure your big day is enjoyable, magical and memorable.

To help you navigate the various stages of wedding planning without a hitch, here are the Top 5 mistakes to avoid…

1. Sending Invites Too Late (Or Early)

It’s the purpose of elegant, stylish and luxury save the dates to notify all of your family and friends of your intention to wed the partner of your dreams. Whilst these pre-wedding invites are by no means an official invitation to the main event, they do provide guests with sufficient notice for them to pencil in your wedding speech template on the calendar, and to organise any travel and accommodation requirements well in advance.

Wedding etiquette dictates that there is a prime time to write and send each personalised item of your luxury wedding stationery. Pre-wedding invites should ideally be signed, sealed and delivered 6-8 months before the date of your special day. Official wedding invitations follow on 6-8 weeks before the wedding.

Sending your invites earlier than the recommended time can result in some guests forgetting to attend your wedding, due to failing to add the date to their social diary.

• Doing Anything Before Setting A Budget

Before you get carried away paying deposits for the venues of your wedding and reception, and vendor services, it’s essential that you know exactly how much you can afford without your bank balance tipping into the red. Your budget doesn’t have to be unlimited in order to have the wedding you’ve dreamed of.

Keep a budget checklist in your wedding planner notebook, and refer to it often. If the planner has handy compartments/pockets, use them to store receipts. Once you know your wedding budget, you have the freedom to tailor all of the wedding day elements to match your finances.

If you’re working with a limited budget, it’s not necessary to compromise on style. Look for inspired ways in which you can cut the cost of your wedding day expenditure.

• Not Spending Enough Quality Time With Your Partner

From the moment that you write your luxury save the dates, wedding planning can feel like an uncontrollable whirlwind of activity. With so much to do before you get hitched, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by your new exciting hobby and to overlook your partner.

To avoid falling into the trap of becoming distant before you’ve even started married life, it’s important that you make an effort to spend quality time with your partner, during the entire wedding planning process.

Get them involved in helping you to plan, prioritise and organise the big day. Ask for their advice, when you’re having a challenging time choosing wedding colours, personalised wedding invites, or décor for the venue. While some grooms-to-be may initially moan about having to get involved in making wedding related decisions, deep down they feel chuffed that their opinion is valued.

Don’t forget to pencil in a regular Date Night on your wedding planning calendar! Spending quality time together, without talking about anything wedding related, will keep the chemistry and spark alive in your relationship.

• Running Out Of Time

Even if you followed wedding etiquette and posted your pre-wedding invites in good time, you may be surprised to find just how quickly 6-8 months fly by. One minute, you’re daydreaming about the perfect wedding dress, and the next you’re panicking because it’s time to say “I do”.

To help you keep on track, it’s a good idea to have a master checklist. It’s perfectly fine to write notes in numerous notebooks, provided that you later copy the important information into your wedding planner checklist, so that details are easily accessible.

Delegate some tasks and responsibility to a family member or close friend you trust, or hire a professional wedding planner, to help you manage pre-wedding stress. It’s also recommended that you ask your hair and makeup team for a detailed wedding prep timeline, to help you relax and enjoy the occasion.

• Not Having A Plan B

No matter how diligent and careful you have been about prioritising, ticking everything off on a wedding planning checklist, and sticking to your budget, there are still unfortunately countless things that can go wrong before you tie the knot. An unforeseen disaster can ruin even the best-planned wedding.

Having a contingency plan in place is an absolute no-brainer. You can start by taking out a special wedding insurance policy that provides protection in the event that something goes wrong on your wedding day. For example: if a vendor lets you down at the last minute, you’ll be protected under the special event coverage. Insurance can also cover lost, stolen or damaged items, having to cancel the wedding due to a VIP guest not being well enough to attend, or the wedding/reception venue cancelling on you.

You can also ask a trusted friend to take charge of some of your wedding day responsibilities, just in case something doesn’t go to plan. When you have a Plan B you can relax as you mail your save the dates to VIP guests, and enjoy every moment of the wedding experience from start to finish.