CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement! There is nothing more exciting than planning the celebration of finally getting married to the love of your life! We know the feeling all too well of where to start once the celebrating and parties end. So we created this list of 4 things to help you get started with your wedding planning.
- Set a budget.This might be one of the most difficult steps of planning a wedding. Especially if you have no experience what so ever with wedding planning. Often times you don’t even know where to start on a budget because you aren’t sure how much renting a venue is going to cost, or a photographer. The sooner you are able to discuss budgeting, the easier it is to begin narrowing down your options for a venue, photographer, catering and more. One of the best tips we used for figuring out a budget was looking at the most important expenses to us. Prioritize what is important to you, then research costs in your area and go from there.
- Create a pinterest board.When it comes to deciding on a venue, decorations, bouquets and wedding colors I couldn’t recommend pinterest more! It is a great resource to put together what you both like to begin to create your dream wedding. We are not all master designers, so knowing that we might want a floral installation for the ceremony site might not always be apparent. Pinterest is also a great way to work with a planner or wedding designer to show them ideas to help create your dream wedding. Not only that, it is a great place to get inspiration on other things like food and dessert ideas.
- Book a wedding venue. This is probably one of the biggest expenses in wedding planning. Whether you decide on a church wedding or a full service wedding venue there are a couple things to think about when selecting a wedding venue.- Do you want to have your ceremony and reception in one location? Or have your ceremony in one location and have your guests travel to a second location for your reception?
– How many guests are you thinking about inviting to your wedding? Often times wedding venues have a limit on the number of guests that you are able to fit comfortable at the venue. Choosing a venue that allows you to invite all of your family and friends is so important.
– What is included with the venue? Understanding what is included in a wedding venue can help save money in the long run. There are wedding venues that do not provide tables and chairs, so all of that will end up being an additional cost to you. How many hours is included in your rental period? Consider what is included in the cost to make sure you are finding a venue that is in your budget to allow budget for some of the other important decisions you will make.
- Pick a photographer.There are many options when it comes to deciding on a wedding photographer. Typically you will want to try to have the same photographer for both your engagement session and your wedding. This allows you to work with your photographer and get rid of those nerves being in front of the camera for the first time before your wedding day. Find someone you get along with, they will be tagging along with you your entire wedding day. Take time to understand the cost of a photographer in your area, and what quality goes with each price range. A great place to search for photographers in your area is Google Search and Instagram. Be specific with what you are looking for, “Savannah Wedding Photographer” or #savannahweddingphotographer is a great place to start. A couple tips to consider when discussing a photographer:- What style of photography editing do you like? Do you like dark and moody, light and airy or a mix of both? Take a look at the photographers website portfolio or instagram to see what type of editing style you like.
– What do they include in their wedding packages? Understanding how many hours of coverage you are getting, an engagement session, and how the photos are being delivered is important. You want to hire someone that is providing what you are looking for.
– Are there travel fees? Often times couples find their dream photographer within their budget, but they live somewhere else. It is common for photographers to travel, but often times there are travel fees included. Make sure you discuss this with your photographer so you can account for this in your wedding budget.
– Ask the important questions! Asking your photographer what their backup plan for your wedding images are, if they have a wedding contract that needs to be signed, do they an invoicing system can all help you understand how professional they are. You don’t want to end up being one of those couples that gets ghosted by their wedding photographer after a deposit is collected!
– Turnaround Time. Understand the turnaround time of your wedding photos up front. Ask your photographer what the typical turnaround time is for their photos, that way you go into the contract knowing what to expect.
