What are some good ideas for planning a great wedding (other than finding your LOML)? They can either be expensive or free (there is nothing in between...)

Question

Hannah Harvey · Answer

plan private moments throughout the night: I hated everything about wedding planning and everything about being the center of a big event like that. we tried to combat the craziness of it all by carving out time to ourselves - we had a few moments to sit together by ourselves before dinner, a private cake cutting, etc. were people grumpy every time we disappeared? Kinda! was it worth it to have a break from being on display and remember the point of the whole day? 1000000%

clownmommy · Answer

make your guestbook out of something you actually use: we had our guests sign the back and inside covers of our favorite records so now when i go to put one on, i get to read a little sweet message from someone we love! it’s a fun way to regularly be reminded of our wedding day and how lovely our friends and family are, plus it saved us from having to buy a proper “guestbook”

lazygirlpantry · Answer

No wedding favours: Maybe an unpopular opinion but it feels like another open-ended task and you may feel disappointed if people ignore them/leave them behind, and honestly another cost that could go towards something you love more!

No shade to anyone who had a fantastic one but we just gave away the flowers from the table because what am I going to do with 67 flower arrangements!?

Juliana · Answer

determine how you want to FEEL: sit down with your partner and, together, pick a few words that describe how you want the wedding to FEEL to you. let those words guide your decision-making throughout. the words might be intimate, fun, quirky, silly, romantic, wild, sophisticated, etc. but once you find your words, a lot of choices can be made accordingly.

Emma Court · Answer

Must-read wedding planning book: This is a brilliant, thoughtful and above all, practical guide to wedding planning that helps brides and grooms-to-be think through what they actually care about and want to emphasize in their nuptials - before they blow their life savings on expensive flower arrangements. Also contains very useful advice on things like guest lists and budgeting. I recommend this to everyone I know who is planning a wedding.

Erin M · Answer

let instinct guide planning: Who are you as a couple and what do you care about? Base your wedding celebration entirely around this. If you’re practical, private, savers- get married at city hall. If you are travelers and love adventures with your closest friends, an intimate destination wedding might be for you. If you have the biggest wildest family known to man, you might be going for the band and open bar vibe. Cut through the noise of all the opinions and think about what you really want to mark this moment in life together and commit to the plan. You’ll be so overjoyed at the wedding that the day truly felt yours. (biased but as a photographer, hire a great photographer who shoots film or rope one of your friends in if they’re talented)

Emily · Answer

Get married on New Year’s Eve: It kills two birds with one stone. People who love new years will be thrilled to be there; people who hate new years will be relieved to have non-nye plans! Plus, free fireworks!

Jenn · Answer

Local vintage postcards in lieu of guestbook: Your guests will write the sweetest, funniest, most touching little notes about you both and what a wonderful time they had at your wedding and you will treasure them forever.

Ella McMahan · Answer

hire a planner!: I wasn’t sure it was worth it at first but we’ve had a LOT of problems w our venue and we actually had to cancel the venue (43 days before the wedding) and she’s been a LIFESAVER. Also great bc they can make all the tiny decisions you don’t care about.

bradshaw · Answer

take a second!!!: i’ve seen this suggested but have whatever wedding planner person make it a point to pull you two away from the crowd to actually take a minute and soak it all in together. it takes you out of being party hosts for a minute and remember it’s literally Be In Love Time rn.

also if you two gossip (if you’re in love, you do), you might need a gossip and giggle pause!! it sounds so fun and cute

bradshaw · Answer

blue suede shoes (something blue): i was going through an elvis phase (long story, no time) when my mom got married and she had blue suede heels as her “something blue” and it was unfathomably cunt. you can imagine my freak out with the blue suede shoes of it all. to this day i still think it’s a god tier decision

bradshaw · Answer

voicemail recorder!!!: idk if you need this exact one due to the utter abuse of the word whimsy BUT voicemails as a guest book are so sweet. and i’ve certainly seen drunk people leave them at receptions which are so cute funny and sappy all at once

Maggie Dodson · Answer

make it based on feeling vs a pinterest board: Embarrassing self plug but I actually do this as a job! I personally think a lot of weddings aim for perfection and to look good for…social media or others or something other than the people it’s actually for. If your wedding truly reps who you are and what you love, then it should be epic.

but! I also think concrete things like: don’t over-program it, allow for magic and real connection to take place.

Allow friends and family to participate in some way…you can still have an elegant and gorgeous wedding and also have people be part of it.

Choose how you want to feel before you choose the venue, and color scheme etc. it’s a hard question to answer but a worthy one and will help you make other decisions. Aka, build the foundation of the house before you decorate the walls!

Go local and seasonal if you can with the food. It tastes better, and supports local communities. And to that end, if you can go local with most of it, great. Local folks in your community can make things so spectacularly beautiful when they’re working with things from their land / sea / farm / shop / neighborhood.

Don’t be afraid to be weird or yourself or funky. I made people learn Scottish dancing on the welcome night of our wedding and it was an incredible ice breaker. Just saying! Embrace who you are!

Nicole Anderson · Answer

Tap your family and friends’ talents.: My brother and husband’s best friend are both DJs and co-DJ-ed our wedding, and we had the best dance party!

Sophie · Answer

Get married at city hall: NYC’s marriage bureau in Manhattan is the loveliest civic experience I’ve ever had. Bought perfectly beautiful flowers from a retired stock broker outside. Arrived early to get a number ahead of folks who were doing a bigger production. took a photo in front of the iconic backdrop. Had a duck & champagne in Chinatown after. took the subway to soak up kind comments from strangers.