The past two years have been filled with so much uncertainty, stress and difficulties for couples planning their wedding days. The couples of the past two years have been extremely resilient and have had to adapt to change at a moment's notice. 2022 is starting off in a similar way with a surge of COVID-19 cases and many couples considering postponing their wedding dates. If you find yourself worried about your upcoming wedding date, then this blog post is for you. I asked some of my brides from the past year for tips for future brides to be who are in the process of planning out their weddings or are quickly approaching their wedding days and here’s what they had to say:
We learned quite a bit throughout the process, like not only how much work goes into planning a wedding, but how stressful it can be as well (especially when you try to plan it during a pandemic).
A good tip to go by is… just keep it fun and leave yourself time to do things.
We had a good amount of time from when we got engaged to plan out what we wanted such as finding a location, getting a cake, flowers etc. I took advantage of the bridal shows in the area and they were a big help to get started with ideas. I was also fortunate enough that when it came time to begin booking vendors I had the time to do it. I had been laid off in March of 2021 so I filled my time up with planning our wedding (and also designed our wedding program). But for someone who is trying to maybe work a full-time job and balance other daily things while planning, it can start to seem overwhelming.
So my tips are:
- Keep it fun! Shopping for dresses and cake tasting is a lot of fun, keep it that way and don’t let anyone or anything stress you out.
- Leave yourself time to make choices and book vendors you want. Whether people have a year or two years to plan, time will go fast so don’t procrastinate.
- Take advantage of resources. There are books, magazines, blogs/social media, shows etc. to browse through tons of wedding ideas to help throughout the planning process.
- Most important tip of all….. Book Justin Gamble as your photographer
Brittani and Evan Kelly
My tip is make a personal relationship / connection with your key vendors before your big day. That way, the day of, when you’re busy and running around and focusing on your partner, your vendors will know exactly what you would want and like so you don’t have to stop and figure it out! (Make sure your DJ knows your vibe and what’s important, your photographer knows what you want visually, your day of planner knows what she or he can do without asking, etc)
Kait and Tanner Manfull
My biggest tip about the wedding process is don’t be afraid to delegate tasks! If you try to plan it all yourself you will quickly get overwhelmed and burnt out which is no fun. Also people usually enjoy helping with this kind of stuff! So in short, let go of control for your own sanity and focus on the important stuff.
Danielle and Max Gauntner
Regardless of how a vendor comes to your attention, whether at a show, in a magazine, or recommended by a friend/family member, don’t be shy about making sure they’re the right fit for YOU. From flowers to dj’s, a vendor might have been fabulous for someone else, but may not fit your style, and there’s nothing wrong with coming to that conclusion. It’s you and your new partner’s day, so make it match what makes you comfortable and happy, which is exactly what Justin did for us as our Photographer.
Danielle and Kevin Rueger-Mireowski
Allow extra time throughout your wedding day itinerary. From the moment you wake up to departing your reception, allow extra time through all the events so if something runs behind, your day will still be on track! And it’s less of a big deal if something takes longer than anticipated.
Also, we created a “wedding email” to use for any and all wedding related things! We used this to contact vendors, subscribe to wedding websites, and it keeps everything in one place without crowding your normal email. And both you and your partner can access it at any time to stay on the same page.
Dalton and Amanda Morris
So my advice to all the brides-to-be is to give yourself enough time to plan your wedding so that the planning process is enjoyable and stress free. I know every bride wants to marry the love of their life as soon as they get engaged, I was literally glued to researching venues and vendors the night Dalton proposed, but the engagement period should be so fun and blissful. It should be an exciting and happy time to plan your wedding and cramming it into a quick timeline can add a serious amount of stress. I thought I was originally going to pull our wedding off only 7 months after getting engaged and by the time 7 months had rolled around I had only booked a venue and a photographer. It takes so much time and detail to plan a wedding and meet with vendors and then meet with different vendors and then meet with them again and it’s worth taking the time and pacing yourself through the planning process so you can look back on it and really remember a time of joy and happiness. I also recommend having complete and total trust in your vendors who all come together the day of the wedding. The wedding day itself should also be nothing but joyous and blissful and to be worried about if the florist is putting the flowers in the correct spot, or if the cake has been delivered, or if reception is being set up correctly completely adds unneeded stress to your day. Have faith that the vendors know what they’re doing, they do it 100 times a year and you hired them for a reason so as the bride you just need to sit back, relax, and trust the vendors to work their magic!
Elizabeth and Dalton Cupka
Wedding Tips from an Anxious Bride:
1.) If you are traveling to multiple locations for your photographs (long wait time between the ceremony and reception) I would recommend bringing snacks for your bridal party to defend against any hangry participants. My husband and I ordered the small Jimmy Johns subs for the bus we were traveling in, brought water bottles, granola bars, and trail mix. Our bridal party kept commenting about how grateful they were for those little pick-me-ups that held them over until the PARTAY began!
2.) Get a party bus for your bridal party (if your budget allows) to keep everyone together and the wedding on schedule if the wedding day includes multiple locations!
Victoria and Alec Janokta
Remember your opinion (& your future spouse) is the only one that truly matters
The day will fly by so record and take pictures as much and/or have a designated friend/guest take as many pictures as they can on a cellphone. The photographer may take months to send you pictures of the wedding. Videographer if you can afford one.
Tell your bridal party to smile when they walk down the aisle - they are on camera (;
Also don’t lock your knees when standing up front.
Drink more than just booze.
Aislinn and John Hartong
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