A non-guidey guide from a 'Soon-to-be Bride' Part 10

In last month's blog, Steph shared how she was feeling a month after postponing her wedding day due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  

This month, her 'should have been' wedding day passes, they are joined by a new family member, and she shares her 5 top wedding planning tips from one bride to another...

Well our original date has been and gone, and what do you know, we survived!  

We're still together, still happy, and the world didn't implode just because things haven't gone to plan. 

To be honest it wasn't as bad as I thought, I had moments of feeling sad on the week leading up to it, thinking 'I would be doing this right now', or looking at my bitten down nails and hair that desperately needs colouring and thinking, 'I should not be looking like this right now'!

Admittedly this was massively helped by our friends and family checking in with us on the day, sending messages, presents and having a Zoom party in the evening, and by us adding a new member to the family...since I couldn't become a Puddifoot, we made someone else a Puddifoot instead, meet our new Cockerpoo puppy, 'Benji'! 

We found it helped us to mark the day in some way, but you do what's right for you if you've been postponed.  Don't feel like you have to do something just because that's what you see others doing; if you just want to let it pass by and look forward to your new date, then that's what's right for you.

Now it's passed and I've stopped feeling sorry for myself, I thought I would share some things I have found whilst planning, before our worlds were turned upside down.

So, here's my top 5 things to know when planning a wedding:

1. Money will stress you out.

Whether you are spending £5,000 or £50,000 on your big day, there will be moments when you think, am I really spending this much money on one day?! And sometimes, it will feel like as soon as you say it's for a wedding the price doubles! But set a budget that you're both comfortable with and pick and prioritise the non-negotiable things first and work from there. 

Top tip: make your budget a bit less than the actual maximum amount you want to spend, as almost everyone will go over budget! 

We are the best budgeters I know and we have still overspent! Fortunately I was told this little nugget of information before setting a budget and it's massively helped!

2. No matter how many people tell you it's your day, you will spend as much time, if not more, thinking of your guests.

Everyone says to you, 'it's your day, do what's right for you, don't think about anyone else'. Which is absolutely the right advice, but that's easier said than done when you're spending money on a day for lots of people to come to, you naturally want as many of those people as possible to enjoy themselves, otherwise why would you invite anyone?!

So, my advice is to think of other people as well, but make sure you have everything you want first and foremost (if budget allows), because it is your day and you should not be the ones to miss out on the things you want.

3. It's hard.

Don't get me wrong, for most people it's not unenjoyable, I have really enjoyed the experience, but it does get overwhelming very easily. Unless you're a professional event manager, most people will have never had to co-ordinate 100 plus people for an entire day event. I hadn't even organised a birthday party before this! 

Just give yourself plenty of time and rope people in where you can, and don't be hard on yourself.  It's hard work but that should never cause you unnecessary stress.

4. DIY doesn't always mean you're saving money.

Top tip: only attempt to make things yourself if you actually enjoy crafting and not solely to save money. Quite often it can save you a bit of money, however you will be spending so much of your time making things that your wonder whether it's worth the few quid saved! 

I'm lucky as I enjoy making things and have plenty of time on my hands as we don't have kids and other distractions at the moment. And don't be fooled by Pinterest!! it's great and I've taken a lot of inspiration from it, losing many an hour browsing various pages on it, but do not expect your creations to come out exactly like it unless you're a professional!

5. Remember: not everything will be perfect, don't forget what's important.

I know a lot of us have dreamed about getting married since we were kids, so it's easy to put way too much pressure on ourselves for everything to be perfect and planned down to the last second. But speak to anyone that's planned a wedding and they will tell you that on the day you don't care if things are perfect, as the day ended up perfect even if the florist didn't turn up and it rained all day!

If you don't believe me, watch a couple of episodes of 'Don't Tell the Bride'! 95% of the women are fuming at some point, but all decide at the end of the day it was perfect because they're married and happy to be with their partners. 

Don't ruin your planning by stressing about everything being perfect.

Your bride-to-be

Steph x