Wedding Planning Advice from the Pros (Part 3/6: Budget and Basics)

Are you looking for some wedding planning advice? We are not surprised! Whether you decide to hire a wedding planner or not, planning your perfect wedding can be time-consuming, stressful, and hard work. But with the right tips, advice, and strategy, it can be much easier and less stressful.

That’s why we’ve searched to find out from recent newlyweds what they wish they would have done differently, and from the wedding planners themselves what expert wedding planning advice and tips they have. We’ve collected all those tips and advice here in this handy six-part guide, organized into categories for easy perusal. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, be sure to check those out!

Here is some important wedding planning advice from the pros about nailing your budget early on and some planning basics.

1. Nail the budget (and stick to it!)
2. Trim the guest list
3. Wedding planning advice at the post office
4. Don’t forget the marriage license(!)
5. Wedding planning advice to get points
6. Book hotel room blocks

1. Nail the budget (and stick to it!)

One of the most critical pieces of wedding planning advice you need to know is that before you make any decisions or spend any money related to your wedding you must determine your guest count and set a realistic budget you can stick to. Discuss the budget openly at the outset. Ask important questions such as who is paying (i.e. the parents or the couple) and establish exact amounts. This makes the planning much easier and straightforward, eliminating grey areas and many potential misunderstandings. 

A common mistake when planning a wedding budget is to forget about extras that seem trivial at the time but really add up. These extras could include things like:

• Dress alterations
• Bridal party gifts
• Beauty expenses
• Cost of shipping for things like decor, favors, and DIY project supplies (many specialty things you will need are not available through Amazon Prime, but through private vendors with old-school websites and shipping costs)
• Tax and gratuity on big-ticket items (many times these are listed in the contract as a percentage, but it’s a good idea to go ahead and calculate and incorporate those specific amounts, as they can likely end up being a substantial amount) 

When creating your wedding budget, some worthwhile wedding planning advice is to set aside about 5 to 10 percent of your money for surprise expenses. When planning a wedding, there are bound to be plenty of little things that pop up that you couldn’t have foreseen. If you don’t have an allocation of funds dedicated to these little extras, they can end up making you exceed your budget, or cause you to have to compromise on your budget elsewhere to make room for them. 

2. Trim the guest list

While creating your wedding planning budget, did you find it being stretched too thin? The best wedding planning advice for finding room in your budget fast is to start with trimming the guest list. Many experts say that about half of your wedding budget goes to wining and dining your guests. Let’s say that so far the wedding is costing $100 per guest. If you can cut out just 10 people, you’ve just reincorporated $1000 back into your budget!

3. Wedding planning advice at the post office

Some wedding planning advice that could come in handy is to go to the post office prepared. The average wedding size is around 130 guests. So even the small details such as postage per invitation you send out can really make a big difference in the overall cost of invitations. 

Something you might not know is that something as simple as choosing a rectangular wedding invitation format over a square one can potentially save you a substantial amount on postage. This is because the USPS considers a square envelope an “odd shape” that is “non-machinable” in their sorting machines. This results in an additional $0.15 per envelope, on top of the other extra charges for weight and dimension of the overall invitation. Also, if you want to save even more per invite, it’s perfectly acceptable to forgo an RSVP insert entirely and direct guests to send their RSVP via a dedicated email address or a wedding website.

4. Don’t forget the marriage license(!)

Another important bit of wedding planning advice is not to forget about the marriage license! Arrange ahead of time to look into the basics of how to get your marriage license. You can check out your state’s license requirements online. But it’s a good idea to go ahead and call the county clerk’s office to confirm when they’re open and when is the best time to come in. Oftentimes, marriage licenses are only issued within a window of a few hours a day during slower times. 

So make sure to do your research early on and begin gathering whatever information you will need. But also keep in mind that wedding licenses are typically only valid for a couple of months, and destination weddings will have their own extra stipulations. But that’s why you plan ahead!

Also, consider giving an extra copy of your marriage license to 2 other trusted people, such as your mother and/or maid of honor. This could keep you from a potentially unfortunate situation just in case you forget or lose your copy on the big day.

5. Wedding planning advice to get points

When planning a wedding, you’re going to be making A LOT of purchases. A great wedding planning advice tip is to take advantage of the inevitable high cost of the wedding by signing up for a credit card with a killer rewards program. Whether the program results in hotel points, airline miles, shopping deals, etc., by making all of your wedding-related purchases all on one card you’re going to rack up some serious rewards points. (BONUS TIP: you can then turn around and use those points on your honeymoon!) 

6. Book hotel room blocks

Whether you’re planning a destination wedding or a local one, you’re bound to have some out-of-town guests needing a place to stay overnight for the wedding. If you want to be thoughtful of your guests, it’s good wedding planning advice to go ahead and set up a hotel block for them at a hotel(s) in the area. This will ensure they have a place to stay close to the venue, and the hotel might even offer a discounted rate depending on the number of rooms you request. Just make sure you release any un-booked rooms about a month before the wedding day. 

Additionally, make sure when requesting the rooms that there are no cancellation penalties. You don’t want to be held financially responsible for rooms that don’t get filled. 

Be sure to stay tuned for Parts 4, 5, and 6 of this guide where we reveal more wedding planning advice from the pros!

Still haven’t found a venue? Give us a call to plan a tour and find out why Jennings Trace could be the perfect wedding venue you’ve been looking for.

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