So you may have heard...I’m getting married!! Woohoo!! But….now what? Talk about feeling overwhelmed! With the rosy bliss of getting engaged comes
an onslaught of questions, details, fears and excitement of planning of the
wedding! Ummm, no one really tells you
where to start. Or that most of what
you’d been daydreaming about up until this point is likely going to be chucked
all out the window, as you get a cold, hard dose of reality. Wedding reality. But, never fear,I'm here with the Cuddleshrub Clues I've collected so far to help you ease into this!
First of all, a little reality check - the
sooner you find out that the “Under $4,000” wedding that seems so easy to pull
off according to Pinterest doesn’t really exist, the better off you’ll be. In fact, I just plain don’t believe those weddings
really happen. I read all of those “Budget
Wedding” pins, and was pumped to pull off a sweet inexpensive-but-looks-expensive
affair. But, a.) I have a full time job
and can’t spend my days crafting and DIY-ing, and b.) realized quickly that if
you want to feed your guests, serve them cocktails, dance to the sweet spins of
a professional DJ, cut a cake and have someone take decent pictures of the
whole experience (so you can remember just HOW awesome you looked in that
dress), you’re going to spend more than a few thousand dollars. Still, that doesn’t mean you have to spend
your not-yet-born first-born’s college fund.
Just hit the interwebs and start doing some research!! Don’t worry, I’ve got some tips…
Before you really get underway, begin with
an idea of when you want to tie the knot, like time of year/season and how many
people you’d like to share the day with – but just an idea. Depending on availability, and how badly you
want something, these can change quickly!
Onto the heart of the matter - As your brain is scrambling to find a starting point, let me fill you in on the key THREE parts to lock down first:
- Venue
- Photographer
- DJ
Once you get these locked in, you can relax
a bit, but these 3 things book up the fastest, so you want to coordinate them
ASAP!
Start with what’s most important to you. Maybe you have a place you absolutely have to
have, or maybe everything starts with the fabulous photographer… It’s your
wedding, base it around what means the most to you!
For me, it all started with the VENUE. I want a place that feels right, and perfect,
and sets the whole mood for our special day. Here’s my plan of attack:
- Jump on TheKnot.com and WeddingWire.com to check out their local bride boards for venues. Also, Google “inexpensive wedding venues”, “rustic wedding venues”, pretty much any mix of words relating to wedding and venue and cheap. It’s not going to be hard to find list upon list of wedding venues in your area, so just start clicking through and checking them out
- Keep a list of ones you like, then go back and check out pricing. This will help whittle down your list, find a venue that you love and for a cost that feel fits your budget. If there isn’t pricing, there’s usually info to call or email the wedding consultant at each venue – just don’t mix up who is who when they respond!
- Look for places that include as much as possible in the overall fee. I’m a one stop shop kind of girl, so the more a venue included, like cake cutting, champagne toast, tables, linens, etc., the more I liked it! Most venues charge by the head, so do some basic math to multiply guests by the fee for food & bar to get an idea of your overall cost. I’m guessing that unless you’re planning on serving McDonald’s (which I’m not wholly opposed to), your budget is going to surpass $4,000 with just that first step. Hello, wedding wake-up call #1.
- Be willing to change up your date. For me, I lucked out, and my venue of choice was available on the date we’d settled on (5.16.15!). But if a place happens to be booked solid, and you can be a little flexible, ask if anything else around your first date is free. A week or two can be the difference between getting your favorite place!
Next, I moved onto the photographer and
DJ. Can we say, hello Craigslist?? Yup, I found both of mine on
Craigslist.com. Think about it,
photographers and DJs who have the talent, but are still trying to grow their
business – they’re totally going to advertise in a spot that doesn’t cost them
anything! Yes, it took a little weeding
through many pages of listings, and lots of email inquiries for quotes,
examples and references, but I’m super pleased with who we settled on. Some of the recommendations I was getting
from the venue, and David’s Bridal, and every other wedding website that
suddenly knew I was engaged, were coming in with quotes double and triple what
we’ll be paying. Just be willing to take
the time if you tackle Craigslist. Here’s
a few tips:
- Don't bother with listings that don't offer a website to check out their work. It’s not hard these days to put together something online (hello, I did it!), so if they’re serious about their craft and promoting their work, they’ll have something on the web to learn more about them.
- Reach out to vendors through email or phone. I got responses within 24 hours from almost everyone I contacted. You can get some background info and actually get a feel for how passionate they are about what they do.
- Ask for a meeting. Anyone who wants your business should be willing to meet with you. This is a special and personal day in your life, you want to feel like your photographer or DJ gels with your personality. So, go meet ‘em and see for yourself!
- Document everything! Be sure to get receipts of any deposits and copies of contracts, and store it all in your super organized wedding binder – I’m not the only one who has one of these, right?
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| Yes, that's labeled sections and a month by month checklist - I'm a nerd. |
Now, breathe… You’ve got a place to get hitched (and hopefully one that serves food and booze), some sweet tunes to keep your party dancing, and a photographer to capture the day’s best moments! You’re practically done! Haha…okay, not really. But now that you have the core parts of the day locked down you can a.) do a mini-jump-for-joy dance because this is REALLY happening, and b.) get your Pinterest on! Start collecting ideas, figuring out what colors you like, ideas of dresses you want to try on…remember, this is supposed to be FUN! Pin crazy ideas, simple ideas, off the wall ideas – eventually you’ll find yourself coming back to the same ones and before you know it, you’ve made a whole bunch more decisions…but more on that later. Coming up in the next wedding edition of Clued in with Cuddleshrub – Saying yes to the dress!!
P.S. T-minus 8 months from TODAY til I
walk down the aisle!!
