Planning a wedding can be incredibly fun yet overwhelming for many brides-to-be. As an organizing expert, I know how easy it is to get distracted by Pinterest dreams and end up with spiraling lists of must-haves. But with some thoughtful focus and self-compassion, you can create an organized system to turn your wedding visions into reality without needing to stress.
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Your Top Priorities
Start by getting clear on your top priorities – these should drive all decision making.
Do you care most about having all your loved ones together in one place? Having gorgeous photos to reminisce over? Or throwing an epic dance party?
Once you define the 3-5 experiences most important for your big day, it becomes easier to build your wedding plans around them.
Your Budget
Be realistic with your budget from the very beginning.
Sit down with your partner to set a total budget, then work backwards – allocating percentages into major categories like venue, photography, attire, food and beverage. Buffer at least 10% for incidentals.
Having those guardrails in place from the start prevents you from overspending on any one piece. If your heart is set on a couture gown or 5-star venue but it blows your budget, get creative on cost savings elsewhere that won’t sacrifice your top priorities.
Your Wedding Party
Choose your wedding party thoughtfully and set clear expectations upfront around help needed with planning, events leading up to the big day, and responsibilities on the wedding day itself.
Have candid conversations about time commitment and availability before officially asking them to stand beside you so there are no surprises or hurt feelings down the road.
Set Up an Organizational System
Set up an organizational system that works for your unique planning style.
Some brides love compiling binders with master checklists, budgets, and inspiration tear sheets. Other tech-savvy couples manage everything in the cloud – with tools like Trello boards to organize tasks and track progress.
If you’re hiring a wedding planner, use the tools and systems they recommend for keeping everything on the same page. Find what makes the planning process intuitive for you.
Plan Out Your Tasks
Block time consistently in your calendar to work on wedding planning tasks – at least an hour each week and more frequently as the wedding gets closer.
Schedule meetings with vendors during this planning block rather than trying to squeeze them into off hours. Protecting this time will allow you to give proper attention to all the details that need decisions without being disrupted by your regular workload and life admin.
Make Checklists
Make lots of checklists to help stay on top of everything, breaking bigger items like décor or catering into smaller action steps. Seeing that long list reduced down step-by-step is incredibly motivating!
Set calendar alerts for when time-sensitive items should be ordered or finalized based on your date.
Checking tasks off your master wedding planning checklist gives such a sense of accomplishment.
Delegate
Don’t be afraid to delegate! If you have friends and family excited to help with certain pieces of wedding prep — like assembling welcome bags, picking up flowers, or making playlists for the reception — take them up on it! Share specific tasks you could use assistance with so they know what would be most helpful for you to hand off. Just be sure to give very clear direction on any expectations or decision boundaries around their assigned duty.
Vendors
Choose vendors who specialize in weddings and come highly reviewed – they are true experts who can eliminate so much stress!
Ask each for references from past clients.
Review signed contracts thoroughly so there are no surprises later about what is and isn’t included.
Then step back and let them handle the details of executing your wedding day vision – that’s what you are paying them for after all!
Final Arrangements
Consider hiring month-of coordination if it’s within budget. Even the most organized and well-planned weddings benefit hugely from having someone quarterback all final arrangements and logistics in the days right before and on the wedding day itself.
They will finalize details with your vendors, manage setup, get all your personal items and décor pieces where they need to go, wrangle wedding party and family for photos, keep the whole event on timeline, and handle any mini crises behind the scenes so you can fully enjoy being present with your soon-to-be-spouse and guests. Worth every penny for peace of mind!
Wedding Vision Board
In your last weeks before the big day, revisit your wedding vision board and top priority experiences. Getting recentered on why this whole celebration matters in the first place alleviates so much last minute stress!
When little hiccups inevitably come up, remembering your “must haves” helps ground perspectives – letting go of the extraneous items that could threaten to derail your mindset.
Stay Present
Stay present through your milestone moments, soaking up all the love and intentionality that has been poured into each detail by your nearest and dearest. From getting ready with your best friends by your side, to that first look photo shoot capturing your anticipation, to partying the night away with your new partner in life – be mentally and emotionally available for the memories unfolding, no longer distracted by planning logistics.
Amazon Wedding Registry
Stay organized with Amazon’s Wedding Registry. With easy returns, fast shipping, and a huge selection of gifts, this makes Amazon one of the best places for guests to shop! Amazon makes it easy for engaged couples to register for everything they’ll need to start their new lives together. Choose must-have kitchen appliances and cookware, bedding and bath essentials, fun gadgets and electronics, outdoor furniture, home accents, and so much more. You’ll get notifications when a gift is purchased and you’re able to track remaining items. Amazon allows you to get discounts on unpurchased registry items too. Take the guesswork out of stocking your first home with everything from daily household staples to special splurges. Amazon’s Wedding Registry makes it so easy!
The work you put into thoughtfully organizing yourself ahead of time directly enables you to be fully immersed in the magic of your wedding weekend, surrounded by everyone you hold most dear. With some dedicated focus over the coming months to tackle all those checklists in a timely way, you’ll give yourself the ultimate gift…the ability to simply relish each moment as it comes.
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