You will obviously be hoping that everything goes as smoothly as possible on your wedding day and the best way for that to happen is lots of careful planning and avoiding some of the classic mistakes that can threaten to spoil your big day.
Here is a look at how to improve your odds of enjoying a trouble-free wedding day and some pointers on what sort of planning mistakes you can avoid.
Mistakes are inevitable
The first thing to say is that with so many different components that all have to come together at the right time on your wedding day it is almost impossible to avoid one or two mistakes.
Don’t get yourself too stressed about this and accept that certain things might not always go to plan especially when you consider that this is going to be your first time organizing a wedding and you are learning as you go.
Having said that, if you can get a heads up on the most common wedding planning mistakes you can look out for them and avoid falling into the same trap when you are making your plans.
Count the guests
Your starting point when planning your wedding should be to create a guest list that you can comfortably avoid deviating from in terms of numbers once you have all the names down that you want to share your big day with.
The size of your guest list dictates so many fundamental aspects of your wedding from the size of the venue, what sort of catering you might need to organize and even where you get married.
Check out sites like clevedonhall.co.uk and create a list of potential venues that match up with the size of your guest list. This is one of the good reasons why you need a firm idea of the size of your wedding guest list so that you can match up suitable venues that can accommodate the number comfortably.
If you want a big lavish wedding or a more informal affair this will clearly influence your choice of venue in terms of size and setting, so don’t make the mistake of booking a venue and then trying to adjust the list to fit the venue, as it needs to be the other way around.
Don’t sweat that final fitting
It’s perfectly natural that you will both want to look your very best on your wedding day and that means so many couples end up setting themselves some unrealistic goals when it comes to their weight.
Trying to drop a couple of dress sizes before your final fitting and spending endless hours on the treadmill to shed a few pounds might seem like a good idea at the time with a couple of months to go but do you really want to put yourself under so much pressure?
Find a gown and a suit that you are both happy and comfortable with and then take a more sensible approach to look after your body without setting the sort of punishing diet and fitness schedule that is going to give you undue anxiety.
You are the same couple who love each other and want to get married and spend their lives together, regardless of whether you are carrying a few extra pounds or not.
Pick your battles
Going back to the initial observation that you should expect a few things to go wrong in your planning, it would be a good thing to remember that and pick your battles carefully.
If the place cards are slightly different to the color of the ink that you used for the invites, it might be slightly annoying but it is hardly going to ruin your wedding.
Don’t let minor mishaps cause you undue agitation and save your energy for when something does need sorting out. Prioritize dealing with the potentially serious mishaps as soon as you spot a mistake and let those minor mess-ups pass you by.
Keep a lid on your budget
One of the most serious errors that you can make when it comes to planning your wedding is to blow your budget and put yourself into debt.
It is already going to cost you a lot of money to organize your wedding but it is so important to be disciplined enough to have a budget and stick to it as best you can, as you don’t want to end up paying off the balance for years to come.
There is the prospect that your wedding day costs will become a source of tension between the two of you after the dust has settled so have a sensible conversation about money and agree how much you are prepared to spend, the maximum you can afford to pay in total, and how you are going to deal with the debt you are accumulating.
John McCarthy is the Sales and Marketing Director for Clevedon Hall, a Victorian Mansion in southwest England. He has been in the hospitality industry for 8 years and has helped to arrange hundreds of weddings and other events. Clevedon Hall is an independent family run business priding itself on the quality of events it creates for its clients.
