HunterandMaciPhotography December 13th, 2021
We’ve decided to make a list of ten important things to keep in mind while wedding planning. Wedding planning was overwhelming for us, because we had no idea what we were doing! We found ourselves worried about keeping everyone happy. While it is important to keep people happy, the most important thing is that you are marrying the person you love most in the world!
- Tip #1: Start With Making a Budget and Stick To It
This may seem like a no brainer, but making a budget helped us narrow down what we could and couldn’t do with our wedding. This helps you not focus on things out of your means, helping to alleviate the problem of having too many choices.
- Tip #2: Find a Photographer Who You Feel Comfortable With
You not only want to love the pictures your photographer takes, but you want to love the photographer as well! Of all our wedding day vendors, we spent the most time with our photographer. She was great and made taking the pictures fun and relaxing! Hunter and I strive to make our couples feel natural and not too posed on their wedding day, never imposing our own vision over yours. Your wedding day is about marrying the one you love and showing that love to the world! Your pictures are going to be the most important thing on your wedding day, because they are the thing that is going to last! (besides the marriage of course!) So, make sure you pick a photographer you love! Also, make sure your photographer’s style fits the style you are going for with your wedding!
- Tip #3: Seasons Are Not Just About The Weather
Weather can be unpredictable no matter where you are or what season it is, so try not to worry about that too much (easier said than done, we know!). Something to keep in mind when picking your wedding day is the season it is in. Wedding venues can sometimes be significantly more expensive in the busy seasons which is usually April-October. If you are worried about the budget, consider getting married in the winter months! We got married in January, and we still got great pictures, weather, and saved a lot of money. Also, because we got married in the winter, we didn't have to worry as much about our vendors being booked up.
- Tip #4: Don’t Be Afraid to Throw in As Many Personal Details As You Can
One of our favorite things about wedding planning was thinking of ways to make it personal to us. We love Disney and reading, so we painted a lot of signs with quotes from my favorite books and Disney movies. We also had old vintage books as centerpieces, and small handmade clay models of the couches from the movie, Up! Planning the details was a fun thing for us to do when wedding planning got stressful. You can also personalize your wedding by making the wedding favor something special to you and your significant other! Recently, we photographed a wedding where the couple gave away packets of sunflower seeds as a favor, because they met while the bride was planting sunflowers! (awwww <3)
- Tip #5: Floral Floral Floral!
With floral, you can stretch a small amount and still have a beautiful wedding, or you can go crazy with it! It all depends on your personal style! We’ve been to weddings where the bride and groom simply put a piece of greenery with water in a wine bottle, and it was so classy and beautiful! We've also been to weddings where bouquets were on every table, the walls, and even the backs of chairs! Some brides even decorate with pinecones, branches, and evergreen because they're abundant and easily found. If you don’t know how to design your bouquet or know what kind of floral you like, Pinterest is always super helpful! Make a board with flowers and colors you like, and that will help you become a flower expert in no time! Oh, and when in doubt, just put blue thistles in everything!!
- Tip #6: Catering
Honestly, our least favorite part of wedding planning was finding a caterer. We emailed and spoke with quite a few companies before finding the perfect fit. We're vegetarians, so we wanted to have a mix of meat options and vegetarian options (something for everyone!). Some caterers tried to push carving stations and other expensive options that were stretching our budget thin. The caterer we ended up going with was very easy to talk to and they didn’t try to push any unnecessary items on us. We felt comfortable talking to them and they exceeded our expectations with the food and service! (shout out to Rosemary and Rye catering in Charleston, SC!) They worked with us to design the perfect menu that had a nice balance of vegetarian and meat options! We even got compliments on the veggie options from the most hardcore meat eaters that we know, so we take that as a win! Searching for a caterer can be overwhelming but be sure to check as many options as possible until you find your perfect fit, they’re out there!
- Tip #7: Rentals
Rentals were the last thing on our mind when it came to wedding planning. We never really thought about the tables and chairs reflecting the style and the flow of your wedding day. I remember a few weeks before our wedding, it looked like it was going to rain. We debated on if we needed to rent a tent or not, because we really wanted to be able to hold the ceremony outside and use the outdoor area, but we didn’t want to have to spend the extra money on the tent. We ended up not renting it, and thankfully we got lucky and it didn’t rain! (hallelujah!!!) Besides tents, important things to think about are obviously tables and chairs. Do you want a circle, square, or rectangle? Are you going to have a sweetheart table? Is it full seating or partial seating? If it is partial seating, are you going to have cocktail tables and places for people to sit their food while eating? For our wedding, we wanted it to have a nice flow. We wanted people to be inside and outside and moving about, so we did partial seating. To make up for the lack of tables, we had plenty of cocktail tables, a fire pit outside with benches, and wine tasting tables with bar stools for people to sit on in the patio area! We also rented a vintage couch to sit inside because we love the look of lounge areas, and it gave the area a cozy feel!
- Tip #8: Venue
When thinking of what kind of venue you want, think about if you want a wedding that is primarily indoors or outdoors, what time of year it is, and how big your guest list is. If you have a wedding with 200 people, you want to make sure your venue is big enough for that kind of crowd. If you have a smaller wedding with 30 people, you don’t want to go crazy with a huge space that you’re not going to use. Some people are more into décor, so a venue that is more of a blank slate might be more fun, because you get to plan and do all of the decorating. For others that are not so into décor, so it might be good to consider picking a venue that speaks for itself! Do thorough research of the area you live in and see what kind of venues they have to offer, you might be surprised!
- Tip #9: Lists Will Be Your Best Friend (Yes, even if you're not a list person!)
When we first got engaged, Maci's sister gave her an empty notebook. It became her official wedding planning notebook and it is FILLED with lists! This helped Maci feel organized, and she was able to keep track of what we needed to get done. The most important list will be your guest list. It is important to establish a guest count, because that is something every vendor will ask about, and it helps determine how much other things will cost. Don’t be afraid to rewrite your guestlist and sleep on it. We will write another blog post about guestlists, because there is a lot we could say about it! Anyway, if you are not an organized person, lists will help you feel like Marie Kondo herself!
- Tip #10: Soak It Allll In!
Yes, wedding planning can be very overwhelming and stressful, but it can also be a lot of fun! Sit down with your fiancé and talk about anything and everything you want your wedding to be. It’s so fun getting to bond with that person and go cake tasting and venue searching! We had a lot of fun talking about the wedding, and it was so nice to see it all come together on the big day. While you’re at your reception, take a time to pause and really soak in all of the little moments. You did it! You’re married! Then, when you get your pictures you can relive it again and notice the things you most likely didn’t notice on your wedding day!
We hope you enjoyed this blog post! There is a whole bunch we didn’t cover with this list, but don’t worry, there will be more! We will be posting weekly blogs from wedding ideas, to travel, to daily life with two dogs! Please feel free to message us or email us with questions, tips, or if you just want to chat! We would love to hear from you, and want to know what you want to read next!
