We know the process of planning a wedding can be a long and stressful one. Whether you are trying to reduce costs, stress, or just looking for some shortcuts, we’ve got some of our favorite wedding planning hacks for you! We’ve also included some of our favorite apps that we think will help you along the way of your wedding planning process. We love being able to help brides throughout their entire journey, so follow along for some tips and tricks!
HACKS
Create a Separate Wedding Email
Our emails typically receive enough junk mail throughout the day as it is. The last thing you want to do is bog down your email with all the wedding info, and potentially lose important information. You will likely be contacting multiple vendors, caterers, DJs, photographers, videographers, and more. You want a place where you can go with all your information right there in front of you, so nothing gets misplaced or scattered in with your other important mail. It might seem extreme to create an entirely different email, but trust us, this will save a lot of stress and mess during the wedding planning process!
Create a Wet Weather Plan
You want to create a wet weather plan for your wedding day, especially, but not limited to, if you have an outdoor venue. If you live in the Midwest, you know just how unpredictable the weather can be. If your entire wedding is outside, you want to make sure you have a backup plan because you can’t tell what the weather will be like a year in advance. Even if your venue is indoors and you plan to take pictures outdoors, you should have a backup plan! Make sure there is coverage somewhere to avoid getting soaking wet.
Check the City’s Calendar Before Booking a Venue
Booking a venue can be stressful as it is. You have to make sure it’s in an area that all of your guests are willing to travel to, there are places to stay nearby, it fits your vision, etc. Something that some don’t think about when wedding planning is checking the city’s calendar before booking. Say you book the venue, and your guests start looking around at hotels–you don’t want them all booked up because you didn’t realize a big event or festival was going on that same weekend. Checking the city’s calendar is always a smart move!
Create a Wedding Website
Creating a wedding website is the perfect place to share your love story, stay organized, make a gift registry, and more! Stay tuned, and we will provide you with some fantastic apps/websites to plan your wedding on! Creating a wedding website can help the wedding planning process flow even smoother!
Stock up on Veil Weights
If you’re planning to wear a veil, weights will be a lifesaver on your wedding day! Some don’t realize that veils are typically a lightweight fabric known as tulle. If the wind is blowing, you don’t want your veil flailing around the entire ceremony or through pictures. Veil weights keep it secured to your body and keep it from blowing around to prevent any distractions. Of course, you can take them off to get those dreamy, floaty veil pictures (like the one above), but it’s probably not something you want to capture in every single wedding photo.
Get Two Cakes
This way you can have your cake, and guests can eat it too! A tiered cake is pretty for pictures and cutting for the moment between the bride and groom; however, it is not the most functional to cut for guests. It’s also a way for you to have a beautiful cake without going way over your budget. Instead of having an entire cake decorated to feed all of your guests, have a smaller, two or three-tiered decorated cake and a sheet cake (or multiple)! At the end of the day, when people are eating cake, they don’t care what it looks like–they will be more interested in the taste!
Forego Wedding Programs
If you’ve ever been to a wedding before, you’ve probably received a program. Usually, the program tells you what the day will consist of, any important information, and a schedule. To avoid the extra cost of printing, make one schedule for everyone to view and set it up at the arrival spot. You could even post QR codes around that would lead your guests to a virtual program they can view on their phones! It’s also an option to forego the wedding program altogether.
Delegate the Tasks
You have all of these people that you want to be a part of your special day, and chances are they will want to help in any way they can. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from some of your closest family and friends. You don’t have to be in this alone. If you have people to help you, ask for help! Delegating those simple tasks that take up time to multiple people will keep the wedding planning process flowing smoothly. Maybe you need them to help pick up deliveries or help with addressing invitations. You would be surprised how many people would be more than happy to help!
Keep all Wedding Files in One Place
Keeping your wedding files all in one place is essential to keep things as organized and stress-free as possible. Consider utilizing Dropbox or a hard drive; that way, you don’t have to take up space on your PC. We also recommend having a specific folder, notebook, or binder for any hard copies of the information you receive. Having a place for hard copies will keep your stuff organize and avoid any lost items.
Recruit College Vendors
Recruiting college vendors is a fantastic way for you to help someone gain experience in their expertise while also saving some money. There is so much undiscovered talent, so don’t be afraid to reach out to people! Maybe you know a younger person who DJ’s or paints. Reach out to them and see if they would like to perform at your wedding or paint your ceremony while you and your partner say “I do”! From live painters to videographers to musicians, there is always someone out there!
Artificial Flowers Instead of Real
When you’re trying to limit costs in your wedding, artificial flowers are the perfect hack–they are much cheaper than the real deal. If you’re set on having a bouquet of real flowers, you can opt for artificial when it comes to the bridesmaid’s flowers! There are even companies that will let you rent a bouquet to make it even more budget-friendly!
Pre-Print Address Labels
When attending a bridal expo or show, bring pre-printed address labels so you don’t have to spend time filling out the same information over-and-over again. These can also help when you are visiting different vendors. They aren’t necessary, but they can save time and sanity when you are tired of writing the same information down non-stop!
Keep a Cup of Water by when Sealing Invitations
If you’ve ever had to send something off in the mail, you know the nasty taste that follows sealing the envelope closed. Keep a cup of water by you when you’re getting invitations ready for send-off! All it takes is a dip into the water to seal the envelope quickly and easily! It’s way faster than licking each individual envelope, and probably a little more sanitary.
Include Song Requests on RSVP Cards
You will thank us later for this one! When you go to make a wedding playlist, you might find that it can be challenging. You want to play the music that you and your spouse love, but you also want to play the music that will get people up and dancing. Including a song request on RSVP cards forces people to get involved and tell you their personal preference. Doing this can help create an inclusive playlist that everyone will love! Obviously if you don’t like some of the songs, then you don’t have to use them, it’s just a way to get your wedding guests involved. This day is all about you.
Number Each RSVP Card
Putting a number on the back of each RSVP card will help you stay organized when people are sending them back! Doing this will keep you from receiving RSVP cards that you can’t read. If you want to avoid a visible number on the back of your cards, use invisible ink and when they come back, pull out the blacklight! This is a fun way to keep things looking clean and allow you to stay organized.
APPS
Minted
Minted is a site that has “freshly sourced designs from a community of independent artists”. It’s where you can go to have your invitations, save the dates, and more made! You can even get a free sample kit of your favorites colors, designs, and paper types to be sure you like what you are buying.
Zola Weddings
The Zola Weddings app is the perfect place to begin with essential wedding planning tools such as checklists, guest lists, and schedules. You can also move into a more advanced part of the app to create a wedding website or a gift registry. While this is just one place to create a website, it’s got all the tools in one spot! Other great wedding planning apps are Wedding Planner by The Knot, WeddingWire’s Wedding Planner, and WeddingHappy.
BACH
An app that allows you to plan the perfect bachelorette with everything you need at your fingertips! This app will enable you to create an itinerary, book memorable experiences, split experiences, poll your group, and more! Planning a party has never been so simple yet organized!
Pinterest is the perfect app for bringing your vision together. Look at it as a tool for inspiration, and get ideas for decorations, catering inspiration, wedding dresses, bridal party looks, tuxes, accessories, etc. They have it all; you just have to type in what you are looking for and hit “search”! It’s as simple as that.
Canva
Canva is an excellent resource for creating things like invitations, flyers, printable items, and more! Through your entire wedding season, you will have plenty of parties and things where you may need Canva. You can create cute bridal shower games, name tags, and other things that you may need to print out for many people. There are plenty of templates that you can use, or you can create a document totally from scratch!
Google Drive
Google Drive is the perfect place to upload and share PDFs, spreadsheets, and word documents that anyone with a Gmail account can edit. You can store potential vendors, guest lists, and all other wedding files in this one place to keep things organized. With a mobile app, Google Drive is always there for you whether you are visiting a vendor or wanting to pull stuff up for inspiration. It’s the perfect app for quick access to all of your essential documents.
Etsy
Etsy is the perfect place to discover unique and handcrafted items for your wedding day. Whether you are looking for bridesmaids’ gifts, wedding decorations, or even flowers, they’ve got it all! Whether you’re wedding planning from your phone or desktop, there’s an app and website that you can use.
We hope these tips are helpful throughout your wedding planning process! If you need advice on anything else, we post weekly about tips, advice, inspirations, etc. Stick around for more posts about all things wedding and have the most stress-free wedding planning process as possible! Good luck on your journey, and we hope to see you in our store soon so you can say yes to your dress!
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