Planning your wedding will no doubt mean you’ve got a million questions running through your mind. But fear not because we’re here to help!
We recently took to Instagram to ask our lovely followers to submit their burning wedding planning questions, and it came as no surprise that our inbox was flooded! To answer all of your most asked questions, we’ve enlisted the help of our resident wedding planning expert, Abbey Sands.
Keep reading to discover all of Abbey’s top tips, and if you’re still feeling a tad overwhelmed, why not chat with one of our expert wedding planners and get some help planning your dream day?
How do I pick a wedding date?
Abbey’s advice is don’t pick one — let your wedding venue tell you what they have available and work from there. If Saturday is your preference, snatch it up as quickly as you can!
And if you are stuck on the time of year, then think about the budget (winter weddings cost less), clothing (long sleeve gowns and coats or thin strappy dresses for summer), and styling (check when flowers are in season if you have a specific colour scheme in mind).
How far in advance should I book my suppliers?
Generally speaking, we advise couples to start booking their suppliers as soon as they’ve chosen a date and a venue and mapped out a budget. Without that important information in place, it’ll be hard to lock in any suppliers.
Here are the time frames we recommend for booking your supplier dream team:
how far in advance to book wedding suppliers
Read more about how long it takes to plan a wedding here.
What are some tips for the wedding week?
Abbey’s top three tips for your wedding week are:
DON’T CHANGE YOUR SKINCARE ROUTINE!
Have a checklist and make sure you haven’t missed anything
Drink lots of water and try (as hard as it may be) to be excited and not nervous — you have most likely waited a long time for this day, so enjoy the pre-wedding jitters and the daydreaming because it will be over before you know it!
I want someone to run the day for me — should I hire them for the last week or just the day?
This all depends on what you feel comfortable/capable of doing yourself. If your venue has a wedding planning team, Abbey recommends getting someone to manage on-the-day coordination and make sure everything runs smoothly. If it’s a DIY venue and you feel out of your depth, don’t be afraid to call in the experts to help you throughout the planning process.
I am struggling as a bride with the timeline for hair and makeup! Do I go first?
Hair and makeup will take around 45 minutes to an hour per person, and the bride should always go second last.
What is something every wedding needs?
Every wedding needs good tunes — invest in a professional DJ or a live band you won’t regret!
What are some must-dos that most people forget to do on their wedding day?
EAT! Couples tend to be way too busy to actually eat on the day, so make sure you and your partner take time at meals to eat the food you are paying for!
Can you provide a basic run sheet for the wedding day?
Here is Abbey’s recommended running sheet for your wedding day:
Example wedding day run sheet
We’re doing pre-ceremony photos and have accommodation on site. How do we make sure that guests don’t see us before the ceremony?
STEALTH MODE ACTIVATED! Try to take all your photos with 20 minutes to spare before guests start to arrive, then go and relax in the bridal suite or somewhere out of sight!
Can you share some tips for including DIY elements, especially on-the-day items?
Abbey suggests nominating someone as your go-to person for the wedding day. This person will know where everything needs to be and who everyone is so that if you are off taking photos or dancing the night away, they can answer questions or make directions. Mums and aunties are great at this job!
Checklists are your new best friend — list everything you’ve made or brought in and allocate it to a space or person to keep things on track.
Things like a DIY polaroid guest book are great, but make sure you have enough film, pens and sticky tape, and batteries to last the day.
How can I remain excited about my wedding after three postponements?
Focus on the fact that you still love your partner, and you will still get married. It’s so hard to stay positive all the time, but looking at the silver lining, you’ll have more time to save and splurge on a few extras. And when the big day eventually comes, it will be magic ✨
We’ve postponed our wedding by seven months, should we re-send new invites?
Given the past year, guests are much more understanding now and won’t expect a new invite or be upset if they don’t receive one. If you would like to re-send invites, you could create a graphic in Canva with your new wedding date or ask your invitation designer to make a PDF to email to guests with the updated wedding date on it.
Another option would be to send a cute card in the mail with the new date — just make sure to let your guests know that all the details from the old invite are still the same!
Check out this article for more tips on writing COVID wedding invitations.
How can I make overseas guests watching via Zoom feel included?
Have a TV or screen set up in view of everyone so your guests at the venue can also see and interact with your guests who are attending virtually. Make sure to mention all those who couldn’t make it during your speech and thank them for Zooming in.