First things first: congratulations from us at MAGNIV on your engagement! This will inevitably be an exciting time for you and your other half (O.H.), but for many people wedding planning comes with a lot of stress. We don’t think that’s necessary, so we’ve collected 5 tips to help you make the entire process stress-free.
1. Use a Budgeting Tool
With everything to plan and buy, it can get a bit much, remembering all your bills. You might find things cost more than you expected (weddings are expensive) and sticking to your budget is important.
Many wedding planning websites have budgeting tools you can sign up to and use for free, like The Knot (pictured). The not provides breakdown of anything and everything you’ll need for your wedding, with customisable fields and a friendly user-interface, so you know what you’re spending and where.
Another useful wedding planning website is Hitched, which will suggest suitable budgets for each expense, using your total wedding budget and calculating based on percentages. If you’re new to wedding planning, this is a helpful starting point for finding a venue, caterer or photographer, guiding you to the correct price range if you’re not sure how much to spend on each aspect of your wedding. Setting out from with a price range in mind, will narrow your choices down and make sure you don’t end up over budget or missing out on other elements.
2. Look Online for Inspiration
You’ve been dreaming of this wedding since you were 8 years old – but that doesn’t mean that you knew all the details. From makeup to place settings, you’re going to have choices to make and it can be overwhelming when a supplier asks you an open question such as, “What sort of look are we going for?” Do you really know the difference between documentary and fine art wedding photography? Have you ever thought about matching your colour palette? All these decisions get shoved at you and we’ve all had that moment of just getting stuck.
If you know where to look, there are plenty of websites, blogs and channels full of inspiration. A great resource is Pinterest – I know, there are annoying posts and promotions you’re not interested in occasionally, but it’s a great starting point for wedding research. You can use Pinterest from very early on (before getting engaged, even – we’re all guilty of it) to spark your creative mind and collect inspiration.
Social Media is also useful - if you’re not sure what you want, looking at what other couples decided on can be a massive help. Instagram accounts such as @yourperfectweddingphotographer or @weddinginateacup, Facebook pages like Wedding Ideas Magazine or The Wedding Affair are all just a tap and swipe away. There are also plenty of bridal bloggers and influencers out there – you can start following them and you’ll notice your tastes taking shape quickly. Check out hashtags on Instagram such as junebugweddings, rockmywedding and dirtybootsandmessyhair. Vendors and suppliers use hashtags that match their styles and you can take advantage of that to guide your own suppliers.
The Source Inspires
The Source Inspires is an exciting collection of brands under the leadership of Talya Zysblat and Aron Schlagman who all believe in great service, great products, honesty and transparency. Talya and Aron boast an impressive combined resume and The Source is your opportunity to get insiders’ access to their favourite suppliers and lots of inspiration. We’re proud that MAGNIV is recommended by The Source and we also went live at The Source Summer Garden Party just a couple of weeks ago – check back here soon for the roundup article!
3. Accept help!
Once again, social media comes up as a major player here. Make a group on WhatsApp, Facebook or any other social media platform of your choice (the possibilities are endless!) and add those in your wedding party. This means that tasks can be delegated, and everyone in your wedding party will know what you want them to know, preventing last minute panics because of miscommunications; like we said, we want your wedding organisation to be stress-free!
Weddings are big projects with many parts – so you could consider using apps designed for businesses to manage similar projects. Slack is a popular communication tool in the world of startups with a host of features that make managing overlapping teams, streamlining communications and retaining notes easy. It’s also free at the entry level, which should be enough for wedding planning. We use tools like Slack, Monday.com and the Microsoft Suite at MAGNIV to help us provide our personalised wedding favours at weddings across the UK.
4. Make a checklist with timeframes
We all dream of being that person who has their whole life planned down to the minute, and while we can get by in everyday life without being that organised, your wedding is one thing that really does benefit from going that extra mile in your planning. Now obviously, making lists like these can be a little tedious, and there are endless online websites that you can sign up to for free which will build these lists for you. All you need to do is enter the date of your wedding, and it will build a list with deadlines for each task, so you can save yourself a lot of hassle, as well as giving you that peace of mind that everything you need to do is in one place, instead of having to remember a hundred and one different things to do. Great ones that we recommend are BrideBook and Wedding Planner, especially because they include lists of suggested vendors for each aspect of your wedding; some of these planning sites will also recommend specific vendors based on the style of wedding you’d like, which saves you the trouble of sifting through the endless lists to find the vendors and suppliers that you’re looking for.
5. Smashing The Glass’s Brides’ Club
For all our Jewish and interfaith couples, we can’t recommend the Brides’ Club by STG highly enough. Karen Cinnamon – internationally renowned Jewish and Jew-ish wedding expert – manages her community of brides from across the world, not only sharing her experience and advice with members, but also connecting you with other ladies going through the same processes. Sharing is caring and having that peer support is a game-changer.
Karen also shares exclusive resources with her brides, including step-by-step wedding planning checklists and a list of questions to ask your Rabbi. The Brides’ Club has a limited number of members, to ensure Karen can give individual attention to each bride, so if you’re interested in signing up, join the waiting list here and the STG team will let you know when doors next open.
6. Hakuna Matata!
Lastly, remember that your wedding is supposed to be the happiest day of your life! So, if you were planning to write an article with 5 tips, ended up with 6 and the title doesn’t match, don’t worry! This day is a celebration to mark the start of your life with your significant other, so getting bogged down in all the details like which calligraphy style to use for the place cards can be a distraction. This day will be perfect regardless! It’s all about your happiness and if you’ve booked professional wedding suppliers, we’ll look after the details and pull everything together for you.
MAGNIV’s Advice Hotline
Each time a couple chooses MAGNIV to be a part of their wedding, we feel genuinely privileged. That’s why we’re more than happy to help in any way we can - including drawing on our experiences from all our previous weddings and events to give you our best advice. After booking, you’ll be assigned a Booking Manager who you can whatsapp at any time with your questions, doubts and concerns.