If you’re newly engaged and just starting the planning process, or if you’ve been planning for a while, these are some of my go-to tips and tricks for brides and grooms. If you keep these things in mind and practice organization, planning your day can be fun and enjoyable, not a stressful insurmountable task.

Tips 

• Vendor booking – allow 12-16 months. Like it or not, the pandemic is still a factor and still causing schedules to shift and vendors to book out. A good rule of thumb is to get your vendors booked 12-16 months out once you’ve secured your venue.

• Establish your priorities and expectations for your wedding day early on. I’ve seen a lot of situations where couples have different priorities in mind of what is important on their wedding day. It’s OK to have more than one priority and to even have different priorities, but it’s important to get on the same page so you can both get what you want out of your day. If photos are important to you, make sure that’s a key part of the budget. Maybe having a band is important to your S/O, if so, communicate and compromise.

• Stay organized. Spreadsheets and checklists are your friends in the wedding process. They will keep you, your significant other, parents, and vendors involved on the same page.

• Leave padding in the budget for last-minute expenses. It’s better to have wiggle room in your budget when it comes to the little expenses that may come about. For example, did you plan for parent/wedding party gifts, tips, and vendor gratuity? As much as you plan, there will be unforeseen expenses, so it’s better to have padding so you’re not stressed.

•Take time to step away and unplug. Prioritize time where you and your S/O continue to date each other and do not discuss the wedding details. The planning process can be a lot of decisions and it’s easy for that to consume your time together. Make sure to take time to just be together.

Tricks 

•Create a wedding email account to keep track of all your vendor/booking communications when starting the planning process.
•To keep track of those blank RSVP’s you may receive, mark the back of the RSVP card with a number in invisible ink assigned to guests in a spreadsheet. This way you don’t need to track any guests down!

Follow us @saddlebackmaineweddings on Instagram for more tips, tricks, and wedding inspiration. Happy planning!