Wedding Planning – Securing Success Without Stress

With 2024 firmly underway, many holiday and new-year engagements are cause for continued
celebration for couples in love. As families and friends offer opinions on everything from the
best caterers and cakes, hotels and honeymoons, the blissful couple can quickly become
overwhelmed by all the recommendations they receive. To avoid this, the couple should decide
on their own what kind of décor and theme they want for their special day.

It’s at this point that wedding planning really begins, and unless a wedding planner is hired, the
couple is often left with the task of making the wedding arrangements themselves. With all that
there is to arrange – while the bride and groom often work full-time to afford each vendor and
venue – couples may find that small details can be overlooked or forgotten. Luckily, there are
many industry sources that offer suggestions to make the process of planning a wedding as
stress-free as possible for everyone involved.

According to the latest wedding industry research, it takes an average of six to 12 months to plan
a wedding. For some busier couples, an extension of the planning timeline to 18 months often
provides the extra time needed to accommodate time-constrained schedules. However, all
wedding experts agree that the sooner wedding planning can be considered, the better it will be.
Because no two couples or two weddings are the same, when it comes to estimating a wedding
arrangement timeline, industry professionals suggest taking a look at each element in a wedding
and deciding what parts of the event are priorities, and what things are less important and could
be removed. Trimming down the wedding planning process to the bare essentials leaves couples
more breathing room to make changes or additions once the necessities are all in place.

In addition, wedding planning will always go smoother if both partners sit down with a planning
checklist and each take on different tasks, rather than one person attempting to complete the
whole list. By sharing the wedding to-do list, both people are actively involved in making the
wedding arrangements, which helps reduce the stress of planning overall and prevent any
unnecessary strain on either person.

While it helps to have a checklist of wedding arrangements to be made, top bridal magazines
also point out some of the mistakes that should be avoided when beginning wedding plans. Some
of the mistakes to avoid include waiting too long to reach out to preferred vendors, venues, and
videographers, as well as waiting too long to send invitations for a destination wedding. On the
other hand, reaching out too early can also be unsuccessful, as many vendors only book events
up to a year ahead. The best way to secure wedding plans and reservations is by using one of the
many timeline checklists that are available online, which detail when certain tasks should be
done in order to ensure increased success and decreased stress.

For engaged couples, the time they devote together to planning their wedding often continues
with their devotion to planning for the rest of their lives together.

Photo courtesy of Bongo & B Entertainment

Photo courtesy of Jessica Olah/Brides

Photo courtesy of Your Perfect Day Store