Hello to all my lovely followers!
Today I have some advice for you about procrastination. A lot of wedding stress and "disasters" are caused by procrastination. Everybody knows that procrastinating the wedding plans can cause chaos. Most brides don't do it, because they are excited to get going! You know who does it? THE GROOMS! I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Why are you going wedding dress shopping 12 WHOLE MONTHS before the wedding?!". To that I say, there is no time like the present! For that matter, wedding planning and preparations take a lot of time...especially if you are planning on taking on DIY projects. Most people know that they should hire their vendors early on. That's the easy part. It's the small details that usually get pushed to the month before the wedding. Which leads me to today's word of advice...
Don't plan on leaving anything until the month before the wedding!
For some reason, no one ever listens to this advice. There's always escort cards to be made or final rental orders to be placed. The month leading up to the wedding is the most stressful time for a bride. The time for all of their hard work and preparation is coming to an end, and they are usually very stressed. This is the point where corners start getting cut and things get overlooked... as they should be! The month before the wedding should be all about celebrating and enjoying being a nearlywed. No bride should have to be worrying about details during this time. Here is a list of the only preparations that should take up time during the month before the wedding. They are...
- Floral Mock-Ups - A chance for your florist to show you a sample of what your flowers will look like when it gets close enough to be able to use the flowers that will be in season.
- Schedule Finalizations - Making sure that your day-of schedule is exactly the way you want it and that your vendors are informed. Your wedding coordinator can help with this.
Last Minute Guest RSVP's - Not every guest will be able to tell you far enough in advance if they will be able to come to the wedding or not, and there are always last minute changes.
Dress Fittings - Bride, Bridesmaids, Flower girls, Mothers and Grandmothers of the Bride and Groom will all need to have their final dress fitting to make sure everything is perfect.
Everything else should be completed, packed up and ready to go! And yet, I have never met a bride (myself included) who was able to stick to this plan. In fact! Most bridal to-do lists don't even follow this rule. They wait until the last minute to suggest things like preparing for the honeymoon and setting aside tips for your vendors. No! No! No! Someone has to put their foot down.
In my experience, there are a list of 5 things that will end up on a Bride's to do list much later than they should be. If brides were able to avoid this list, then I can guarantee their stress would be manageable. So with that said, here is my list of the 5 most common avoidable last minute wedding stressors...
1. Paper Goods and Handmade Details - This includes escort cards, table numbers, programs, menus, signs and any other DIY details that will be decorations at the ceremony or reception. These should be done as early as possible, because they are definitely the most time consuming projects.
2. Vendor Gratuities - Gratuities are the #1 item forgotten in wedding budgets. It is really stressful to have to add in that cost on top of the already full budget. Make sure you account for gratuities when you hire the vendor. Just think of it as a part of the cost of their services.
3. Final Linen, Lighting, Flower and Rental Selections - Don't second guess yourself! Your initial instinct was probably right! Adjusting orders at the last minute can get expensive and incredibly stressful. Try as hard as you can to account for everything early on.
4. Gifts for the Attendants and Parents - Make sure you pick out gifts before it is the last minute. If you are ordering gifts or having something custom made this can take a while. You don't want to have them arrive too late. Also make sure you account for gifts in the budget, because even small things can add up! You want your gift to reflect your appreciation and not be a last minute addition to the budget.
5. Song Selections - People never think about how difficult it is to pick the perfect wedding songs. Decide early on, so you aren't having to wait until the last minute to make up your mind. What's good about doing this early is that you can give yourself a break from listening to the music before the wedding so that it seems that much more special on the big day.
With any luck, these small things will be able to be done ahead of time so that everyone can spend their time celebrating. Now, that doesn't mean don't do them... they are very important! It just means THINK AHEAD! And if you can't do that, then hire a coordinator (like me!) to help you take care of them.
That's my advice for today. Hope all you brides out there find this helpful! If you have any questions about wedding planning, feel free to send me an e-mail. I'm happy to help!
cassandradyane@gmail.com
Good luck planning ahead!
