It is super important to sit down and figure out exactly what you want your wedding to be like. You know that Pinterest board with a million ideas on it that you have been pinning for the past 10 years? Well now would be a great time to sit down and go through all of those things and pull of the 5-10 ideas that you feel represent what you want your big day to look like the most.
Things to think about
1. Colors: Colors are a huge thing on your wedding day. They help to set the mood for everything else. Do you want soft and airy colors like blush pinks, or do you want to make a bold statement with rich colors. How about a mix of colors, a blush color pallet with a pop of deep burgandy (Maroon, whoop!) and a little bit of sparkle is currently one of my faves. You can find some awesome options for wedding color palettes here.
2. What is the overall feel: Do you want that rustic charm, a black tie affair, a tuscan garden feel, or an upscale modern event. The venue you pick for your big day can have a huge impact on how this is conveyed to your guests and this will make a huge difference when you are searching for the perfect venue.
3. Church: Do you want to have your ceremony in a Church? This is a huge thing for some brides, most brides choose to get married outside of the church and have an officiant from their church of choice. If you are anything like me, your parents probably had a wedding in the Church they grew up in and followed up their ceremony with cake and punch in the basement. Often times I talk to brides whose parents want them to get married in a church but they are not crazy about the idea, that is completely ok. It is your big day and you should be able to do whatever you want. If you really long to have a gorgeous outdoor ceremony in a garden or the perfect ceremony under a huge oak tree then go for it. If you do choose to get married in a Church keep in mind that some churches have very strict rules and regulations for wedding ceremonies. One of the biggest things that I encounter as a photographer is that photographers can not use flash and are often times limited to where they are allowed to photograph the ceremony from. Often time they state that photographers have to stay at the back of the church and not move around during the ceremony. This may be something to keep in mind if pictures are extremely important to you. I recommend finding a photographer that is familiar with photographing church weddings if you choose to go this route.
4. Guest List: You and your fiance should talk about who should be invited to your wedding so that you can have an idea of the number of guests before you dig into planning. This will help you down the line when finding a wedding venue and planning a budget. Do you only want to invite close family and friends, or do you want to invite everyone you know. My husband and I decided to only invite guests that both of us had met so that we didn’t have to spend the entire night meeting new people and greeting that long lost relative or family friends that we hadn’t seen since we were a baby. Often times on your wedding night you will meander through and talk to all of the guests, this can take quite a while and if you are not careful you will get stuck greeting your guests your entire reception. Oh and there is always that weird “oh hi, I have no idea who the heck you are, umm why are you at my wedding,” so be prepared for it.
5. Budget: This can be a sticky topic. Let me make it quick and easy for now, I will dig into it more in my next blog post. You will need to figure out if you will be paying for your wedding, or if your parents will be helping. The old tradition is that the Brides parent pay for the wedding, but I have found that this tradition is long on its way out the door. I see it all with my own clients, from the Bride & Groom paying for the entire wedding themselves, to both families splitting the wedding down the middle and everything in between. This is a good starting place for planning out your budget. My next suggestion is to prioritize the things that are important to you. If you know that your pictures are a non negotiable and that you will do whatever you have to do to get your dream photographer to photograph your wedding than take that into account, you may have to cut down in other areas but you will be happy in the end. In 25 years I promise you will not remember what your food tasted like or if it was served buffet style or if it plated, but you will look back and remember your wedding day with your pictures. Trust me, this was a hard pill for me to swallow, I did not want plastic plates at my wedding even if they were fancy plastic…but looking back now I realize that it really didn’t matter.
6. Bridal Party: Ladies, I’m sure this is the first thing that crossed your mind when he proposed. You started listing out your girls that will stand next to you on your big day. I’m almost certain your fiance didn’t think about it until you brought this topic up. How many bridesmaids/groomsmen will you have? Will both of you have the same number? When you are looking at venues and possible ceremony locations this is a big thing to keep in mind. If you are going to have 12 bridesmaids then you need a room big enough for all 12 of them to get ready, you also need a ceremony site big enough for all 12 to stand by your side. Oh and don’t forget those little ones, your ring bearer and flower girl. Not every wedding has to have a cute little girl running down the aisle, and it certainly doesn’t work for everyone. You may consider having a junior bridesmaid or groomsmen instead. My husband and I had 3 bridesmaids/groomsmen and then 1 junior bridesmaid/groomsmen. I had my nice as my junior bridesmaid, and he had his little brother. My nice was 6 and his brother was 13 but they were both super important in our lives so we wanted to do something for them. They were more like our MOH/BM and they stood by our sides during our ceremony.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to wedding planning but these few simple things will help guide you in the right directions as your start your wedding planning.
Designs by Karinda Photography specializes in wedding, newborn, and child photography in Montgomery, Texas and surrounding areas including but not limited to The Woodlands and Magnolia.
