Stress-Free Tips and Tricks for a Beautiful Wedding

Your wedding is one of the most important (if not THE most important) days of your life. You’ll remember every last detail – your dress, the music, the decor, and yes… even the logistics like transportation and catering. You probably weren’t planning this. But your wedding day isn’t just about getting married. It’s also about bringing your dreams into reality. That includes planning out how you want your wedding day to look and celebrating it with the people you love. Therefore, making the planning process as stress-free as possible is paramount. Here are some of our best tips and tricks to help you plan a beautiful stress-free wedding.

Host the ceremony and reception at the same location

Did you know that only about 20% of weddings take place at a house of worship? These days it’s much more common- and stress-free- to host your friends and family at a single location. Wedding venues exist for this purpose. In many cases, they were built specifically to host weddings and celebratory events. The venue staff can help reduce your stress by sharing things other couples have done successfully. They are experts on their space. They know the best place to set up your arch, the best floorplan options for your guest count, and the best location to make your exit. Take advantage of their expertise and let them do what they do best.

Use reviews to help select your vendors

If you’re like me you’ve become skeptical of online reviews. And with good reason. Research suggests that up to 40% of online reviews are either fake or bought through free products or actual cash compensation. It’s less prevalent with most of the small wedding vendors you’ll be working with to help create your dream wedding, but it still exists. This is due in part to the fact that a large number of wedding vendors have little or no experience in their industry when they start their wedding business. Your wedding is too important to be their classroom.

Helpful hints for analyzing reviews

Look for reviews over a series of months and years, but don’t be alarmed if there aren’t many from 2020. We were legally prohibited from working most of that year because of the pandemic. Real reviews should be spread throughout the year, a few each month. And, since the majority of weddings take place on weekends, it stands to reason the reviews will be on weekend dates. Fake reviews are frequently created over a series of days.
Ignore reviews that are given before the wedding takes place. Let’s face it, you’re excited when you score the best caterer in town or the florist whose designs look like they came straight from your own imagination. However, these glowing pre-event reviews don’t tell you how that vendor actually performed the job they were hired to do. Filter through to find the ones that describe real customer service and order fulfillment that exceeds expectations.
Find the details in the review for clues. Happy brides want to tell you about their wedding. Not about a generic wedding, their wedding. Reviews of happy clients will mention specific details like color, location, and what that vendor did that went above and beyond to make the wedding extra special. Vendors with detailed reviews are the vendors you want.

Stress-free equals organization

You don’t need to be Spreadsheet Sam or Post-It Patty to keep organized on your big day. However, establishing good organization habits will help you throughout your life and especially with your wedding.

Use a cloud-based spreadsheet like Google Docs to create, organize, and maintain your guest list. A cloud-based format makes it easy to share with your planner, parents, and anyone else who can help make your wedding more stress-free.
Number your RSVP cards to match your spreadsheet list. Write the corresponding number on the back of the card for easy reference.
Write and address thank you notes as you receive wedding gifts. You’ll have fewer to do if the ones you received prior to the wedding are already written. Send them all at the same time and tick the column on your spreadsheet to make sure you don’t leave anyone out.
Provide your wedding day timeline to all your vendors ahead of time. Most vendors expect to receive the timeline at least a week before the wedding. Your planner can adjust any delivery and set up times to make sure all the vendors have plenty of time and space to make everything beautiful before your guests arrive.

Most importantly, don’t try to do everything yourself

Wedding planners can not only help steer you toward great vendors, but they can also take some of the most stressful tasks off your hands. This is especially true on your actual wedding day. Managing vendors and making sure the timeline runs smoothly is their specialty. Delegate as much as you can.

With a little planning, a stress-free wedding is easy. Logistics, great vendors, and organization are the key. After all, the ceremony of your union to your life partner and best friend is what’s important. The celebration with your friends and family is the icing on the wedding cake!