Challenges planning my own wedding

The most challenging for us was trying to book giving notice, this however may have been specific to our district as others didn't have this problem. I spent around 6 months chasing and trying to get it booked! Luckily, it all came together and was fine but this was the most stressful thing for me.
I did find at one point during the wedding planning that I had so much to do and didn't seem to be getting anywhere which felt overwhelming but once I got myself organised it all fell into place

Hi Kerri. Thank you for your reply. I feel in the same boat honestly. So much do to, and trying to wrap my head around all the tasks that need to get done. I know for sure I will forget something. Did you find that using wedding planning apps like The Knot, WeddingWire, Hitched, etc, helped you plan your wedding at all?

Hi Michael,

Yes, absolutely! I used the tick list on Hitched which I found great, I think I added in some extras but it was a great starting point. Another thing I found helpful, a friend bought me a wedding planning book. I found there was so much in there that I hadn't thought about and there was also room for me to make notes of things. I also used the knot for my RSVP replies which we found helpful as we had all of the info on one document and it was easy to use

Hi Kerri. Thank you for your reply. Wow this is great! I was looking at those apps as well recently, but I'll be sure to check them out in more detail since you used them. I'll also be sure to purchase a wedding planning book as well, even though I am more of a digital person haha.

How did you go about finding all the information for your wedding planning, as well as finding all the vendors (i.e. florist, suits/dresses, DJ, catering, etc)? Did you use the apps you referred to above, or stuff like Google, social media, etc?

I'd prioritise the venue - you need a date and location to give to potential photographers, caterers, florists etc (plus who you book may vary depending on the venue you pick), and also, you need to make sure someone is available to do the legal bit which will mean booking a registrar unless you have a church wedding and the church has an 'authorised person' to do that. You don't want to book a venue and all your suppliers and then find there is no registrar available for that date!

As for suppliers, we checked our local community page for recommendations, did a bit of googling and each made a shortlist of preferred suppliers and narrowed it down from there.

Thank you. This is very helpful. And did you find that with all the different vendors to communicate with, it was hard to keep everything organized in terms of communication and payments?

My partner and I are in contact with quite a few different vendors now, and keeping track of their preferred communication methods (ex. email vs text vs calling), as well as the payment dates to pay them all, is quite challenging.

We just made diary notes for the payment dates (e.g. 'final payment to photographer due this week') We also divided up suppliers between us, so that one person was responsible for communicating with the photographer, one with the caterer etc to make sure we weren't duplicating our efforts.

Regarding communication, you should be able to communicate with your suppliers in the way that works best for you, not them! It's fine for them to request that you put your requirements in writing (in fact, I'd be worried about a supplier that didn't want important details in writing), but if it's a general 'don't send me emails because I never read them', then I'd be walking away from that supplier right now! While there may be times when they are too busy to pick up messages or emails immediately, it's really unprofessional to just ignore communications sent by their 'non preferred' method.

We used email for anything important so that both we and our supplier had a record of what was agreed. If we just needed to check something quickly, then we'd call or text. But really, there shouldn't be a huge amount of communication needed once you've agreed what you want and booked them.

My best tip for on the day stuff is to have clear pictures of what you want the table decor to look like, what you want on each table, in what order, even which orientation (our venue had some issues with putting numbers backwards) and making a very comprehensive photo list, as well as firm timelines for arrival/departure for vendors like videographers and photographers. We missed out on a few key shots because the photographers dashed off earlier than expected.

That sounds shocking - what happened why did they leave early.

It was quite a surprise afterwards when we got our gallery back. From the looks of it, they left shortly after the first dance, missing the father-daughter dance and the bouquet toss. We didn't notice at the time because we were enjoying ourselves and they didn't stop to say goodbye. At least our videographer stayed until the wee hours so he caught everything on video, which is something!

Sounds very unprofessional but perhaps they were just that ( not professional ) but not to say goodbye is just rude.

Did you mention before hand that you were having a Father Daughter dance and bouquet toss if not then you would of had the opportunity to let them know if they had said goodbye.

I have seen it a few times but with vid guys and usually its ones that are paid by someone else to go and shoot it for very little money and live 2-3 hours away, they are paid for 5 hours or to first dance and that is exactly what they will do and not a minute more. But they make sure that they help themselves to your buffet before they leave.

Having times set can be useful but on the other hand weddings always have the potential to run over and if you have a set time then they could be leaving and missing important shots.

If a shooter is part time and working for someone else there can be little incentive to go the extra mile because its not their name on the photo.

There have been occasions where I have not been told about them having sparklers but I see them put out earlier in the day so I absolutely want those shots and so no I am not leaving straight after first dance but instead will be staying an extra hour for the sparklers at no extra cost. But then I only work locally and will be home in 30mins, those that shoot off - in my experience are ones that have a 2 hour drive and do not want to get home too late because they also have another wedding the next day.

I do not think its a case of ignoring non preferred communication methods but more likely that they have just missed it because they do not regularly use that method.

It can get confusing when people use different methods and the important info is spread out over different platforms.

My preferred method is email or a call but txt is very limited and Facebook not reliable.

Use an online wedding site check list like Hitched. Gives you an idea of everything you need to do and when. First thing I did was an excel spreadsheet to work out costs. It's probably the most important thing to do so you can manage everything even if you do have a big budget.

Book venue first followed by other 'important' suppliers such as photographer, videographer, caterer, florist, cake maker. Dates get booked up quickly.

Choosing the right vendors for catering, photography, venue, etc., can be overwhelming. Researching options, comparing prices, and reading reviews are essential.

One of the biggest challenges is sticking to your budget. It's essential to establish a realistic budget early on and prioritize your spending. Keep track of all expenses to avoid overspending.