The Hard Truth About Wedding Planning!

I don't think couples understand the undertaking that is planning a wedding and how much not taking your planning process seriously will end in disaster. I have personally seen a few weddings that blew up horribly and had a few potential clients that I am not working with share their planning and vendor process with me and I feel so bad for the nightmare that is about to happen on that big day. First off, you need to have some type of vision and idea in mind of what you want. From a simple elopement to the royal wedding, knowing what you want and setting your expectations before reaching out to vendors is the first thing you need to do. I have seen so many couples upset because they didn't think about what they cared about and then were let down in the moment on their big day because something didn't happen or fell through or fell apart and they thought that a vendor or guest or wedding party member was going to magically surprise them with this magical thing they were hoping for secretly. You have to advocate for yourself first and foremost. One example of this was a bride that was hoping to do a surprise dance routine for her husband and guests and was devastated when she had to dance to an empty room because half her guests had left or were outside mingling and had missed that important moment - all because poor planning of timelines and communication with vendors and with guests fell apart or weren't planned for ahead of time. A lot of first time couples assume their day will run smoothly on its own and are not able to account for unforeseen variables that, if you're not consistently at weddings, you won't know to look for. Which brings us to the next most important part of wedding planning: vendors.

Your vendor process is SO important! If you have any expectations at all, then you need to find vendors that care and will invest in you and your event on a level that matters to you. NOT ALL WEDDING VENDORS CARE AT ALL ABOUT YOU HAVING A GOOD WEDDING DAY! Sadly so many vendors, especially corporate chain companies, treat this like a paycheck and could care less about how well anything goes. So many brides just pick someone at random or go with the first florist, DJ, or photographer, etc. that they talk to then are devastated when their vision, timeline, and wishes are disregarded or crushed because a vendor doesn't have their best interest at heart. My brand as a vendor goes above and beyond to work with our couples and will do SO much more outside of the typical job expected for a photography or videography team and that is hard to find and I know is rare, but you want to find a vendor that at the very least is going to care about your expectations and vision and making sure they are making your day exceptional and extraordinary and trying to become a team with the other vendors. I have seen so many brides cry because a DJ or venue coordinator cut their timeline and events out and disregarded what the couple wanted. I have seen venues completely interrupt a couple's big day by touring the space to other customers during the wedding day. I have seen planners or photographers completely destroy once in a lifetime moment because they were too focused on themselves and their own wants or personal issues or were hanging out or on their phone, distracted, and missing important moments or completely ruining or disregarding big events for the day. Couples should really think hard about their expectations and wants when looking into a vendor and make it a point to meet with them, or at the very least get on a video call, and see if they vibe with the people they are hiring. A lot of these vendors especially your media team and day of coordinator will be by your side all day. You only get to do this once and letting things be up to chance is risky. You need to find people you click with and who are going to invest in you as a client and advocate for you, your wishes, plans, and expectations. Again unfortunately not all vendors have this or you as a priority. For a first time couple, this is stuff you are not always thinking about and can overlook in the chaos of wedding planning. A lot of times people are so quick to rush to just check off their boxes and get everything booked that they overlook the pieces that are the building blocks to the dream wedding they envision. Nothing wrong with wanting something low key and just wanting to focus on tying the knot, but for the couples who are going to spend some actual money on a venue and vendors, need be it because they are doing it for themselves or to appease family, just realize you are spending money on this and by not taking a beat, breathing, and putting some thought, research, and effort into your planning and vendor process you might be unknowingly creating the very thing that ruins your wedding.