Anderson Green Events featured this great advice on myKPW sharing insight into the wedding planning process.   Although it can be daunting to do yourself, or even with a little help, getting advice from the pro’s can make a world of difference in your stress level during the process!  Below are a few tips from the full article on the early stages of the planning operations.  Read the full expert advice article to see all 30 wedding planning tips by Anderson Green Events on my Kate Parker Wedding.

5 Tips on Planning Your Wedding

Begin Planning a Wedding:

First two items on the agenda: Pick a Place, Pick a Date. While everyone is going to chime in on location and dates, trust your instincts and pick a place and a time of year that is meaningful to only you and your betrothed.. When picking a date, think logically about what fits your schedule ~ wedding planning takes time and energy, therefore, make sure you have time to plan your wedding & pick a date that suits your schedule. As for the place ~ pick something meaningful and within your means. Think about where your guests will be traveling from and the location’s convenience.

Creating your Wedding Guest List:

Another important factor into your wedding budget and location is how many of your nearest and dearest will be coming to celebrate your vows. Creating your master guest list takes time, so don’t expect to finalize the list overnight. There are essentially three sides (more if you involve Step Parents) to the guest list:

Bride / Groom
Bride’s Parents
Groom’s Parents

Have an honest conversation about what the goal of the wedding is. Is it just family? Is it just family and close friends? Is it not all family, just close family? Or, is it everyone you’ve ever encountered in your entire life?  Please keep in mind that you’ll probably trim the ‘fat’ off the list before it is truly final, but this number will be a large indicator on what is a suitable venue for you

Deciding on Your Wedding Style?

Style is an individual experience. The one thing that is a definite though, is that you need to find YOUR wedding style. Something that captures and embodies what you want the wedding to be. Whether it is a traditional or modern feeling, a specific theme, something beachy, fun, city like or rustic and charming, spend time with your soon to be and put thought into your wedding style. Start by defining your personal couple style. Next, start to think about how you visualize the wedding day.  Clip images of things you like. All this information will help your vendors enormously when it comes time to design the wedding day.

Décor, Details & Design:

Once you’ve gotten your venue booked and your wedding style decided, its time to fuse those two and decide on your décor design. The optimal goal in design is to encapsulate elements from many sources:

Venue ~ what does the room look like? What elements should you play to? Is it formal/informal? Is it light and airy or dark and romantic? How does the location play into the venue? Is there a ton of history or something that the area is well known for?

Couple Wedding Style ~ are you really into flowers or not? Do you want something sophisticated, elegant, modern or over the top? Do you prefer non floral elements like berries & fruits? Are you more ethereal and into candles to set the mood?

These are all questions that will come into play as you decide on your décor design. Weddings are meant to be cohesive (i.e. have some element that runs throughout from your Save the Dates/Invites through to the end of the wedding evening), therefore, what can you do in the design concept to run throughout the wedding experience?

Amass your inspiration boards, cut outs and other items that you love into a large collection. Spend time with each image ~ what do you love about it? When you start to meet with Florists, bring a list of Flowers you love (and that are hopefully in season when you are getting married) as well as a list of flowers you dislike. Bring your images to show what you like … even if it’s a simple detail like the color of a ribbon ~ your florist can find inspiration in that.

Savor the Moment the Wedding Can Wait:

Regardless of whether you’ve dreamt about your wedding your entire life, or you’ve never given it a thought, take time to let the good news settle in. Don’t be swayed by family and friends who immediately start asking about wedding dates, wedding dresses, wedding planning … even if you are getting married in only a short time, relax and savor the moment!

NYC/Westchester County wedding planner, Anderson Green Events, is a member of my Kate Parker Wedding, your online wedding resource guide geared towards directing couples to quality vendors based on their price range and state.

*Previously posted 10.13.10

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