Planning a wedding can be a daunting task. For most brides to be, this is the largest, most complicated party they have ever had to tackle, not to mention, likely their first time at it.
Taking the stress out of planning - step number 1: Meet a wedding planner for coffee. They do this for a living.
There are guests to invite from your childhood, your young adult life, your present couple circle, family friends, co-workers, and the dreaded parent's list of must adds. There are decor decisions to make and foods to taste, vendor meetings to schedule, contracts to sign, timelines to draft and last but not least, outfits to pick and vows to be written.
Given the popular engagement timeframe is about a year, these tasks seem absolutely doable when carefully plotted along the 12 month timeframe. Depending on your level of excitement, interest in the wedding world, and need for control, there are different types of help you can bring on to help execute your perfect wedding day...but one fact remains the same.
You will ABSOLUTELY need help.
Whether it's a true wedding planner, the venue's catering sales manager or event coordinator, or your highly capable mother, there is just no way around it. When it comes down to the day of the wedding, there is no way the bride can be decorating the reception site, fluffing linens, placing floral, checking in vendors, directing the furniture rental placement, making sure the officiant has arrived, the photographer is in the right place and the guests know which direction to head to get to the ceremony, WHILE getting dressed, taking pre-ceremony photos, hanging with the bridal party, and the most important task of the day - calming nerves and actually enjoying the fact that they are about to get married to their best friend, soulmate, life partner and lover.
Prior to that day, it takes a very organized, calm and dedicated person to plan all of the nitty gritty details of a successful wedding. It can be done, however, if you know you're the type of person that does not fair well in a highly detailed, deadline oriented, organized environment - the sooner you bring in help the better. Accept the fact that you need it, budget for it, then make it happen.
Prepare to sigh a HUGE sigh of relief!
Tomorrow I'll walk through the three most common types of wedding "helpers" - The Full Service Wedding Planner, The Month-Of Coordinator, and The Day-Of Coordinator. I'll cover the benefits of each, and the general tasks each are brought on to accomplish.
It is important to remember that yes, a wedding can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be. Like anything in life, you should begin with an understanding of your strengths, and weaknesses - or "opportunities" for others to swoop in and help out. Teamwork makes the dream work, friends.
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