Hey!
Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I am so Excited to be doing this post on how to plan a wedding. My own wedding planning experience was rushed and disorganized. It was only after my wedding that I decided I wanted to become a wedding photographer and help other brides who might want the guidance I that could have helped me.
1- The first thing you want to do is decide who you want to come to your wedding. This will help narrow down your options. if you have lots of friends and family coming then finding somewhere centralalized or local makes sense. If you have around 20 guests then you can look into doing a destination Micro wedding and elopement.
2- Once you decide who is coming you can look into where you are getting married. I recommend searching on Pinterest. Once you decide on a specific area I would look for local wedding guides to show you the best venues and vendors in that area. If you are getting married in Montana I recommend My Montana wedding (all of their vendors are required to show proof of insurance and registration). I would also recommend Montana Bride and Cheers Montana.
3- Once you decide where you want to get married you should make a list and a budget. I have created a google sheets for you to use during this process. Please DOWNLOAD A COPY of this document. Any adjustments made to the original will be removed.
4: Now that you have a list of your priorities and your general location and guest list you can start collecting accurate quotes from the wedding vendors! I recommend contacting Planners (if it’s in your budget), Venues, and Photographers first. Reach out to your top ten priority vendors and get quotes from them. Base your budget around that.
5- Next decide on a date for the wedding. Now that you have an estimated budget for your top piority items you can calculate how long it will take tobe ableto pay for your dream wedding.
6- Now you are going to go down your priority list booking vendors in order of importance.
7-Once you have a venue and date set send out invitations to your guest list.
8- Look into getting wedding insurance. This will help cover you in case anything goes wrong during planning ie. a vendor goes out of business, wedding is postponed, fraud.
9- Create a wedding day/weekend timeline with your photographer and/or planner. Make sure to hire vendors you trust. Responsible vendors are actively involved throughout the planning proccess. They will respond quickly and have lots of resources to help you navigate the planning proccess.
10- Plan for things to not go as planned! There will be weather changes, last minute cancelations, any number of things could go wrong so embrace it! Remain flexible and plan for additional time on your day. It’s important to have a clear vision of your wedding day but don’t get too attached. Remember the most important part of your day is to enjoy it with your significant other! The best way to do that is to embrace whatever is thrown at you. If it starts raining don’t get glum, take your umbrellas out and dance! If your dress tears pin it, or work with your bridesmaids and vendors to put something else together. A great vendor team will be able to solve most problems before you even hear about them.
11. Pick up your marriage license. If you are in Montana the applications are broken up by county. Missoula – Gallatin – Flathead – Cascade are a few of the most common counties. You can apply online and pick up at nearest location to your ceremony site.
12-show up and enjoy your wedding day! You hired great vendors that put on weddings regularly. They have seen it all so don’t stress!
Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments below! I’m also going to be writing a blog soon with estimated costs for vendors within the industry. Some of these can get complicated and vary greatly but I will do my best!
Thank yo so much for reading this far. I hope this is helpful! Happy wedding planning.
If you are looking for a photographer or just want a more personal interaction feel free to Reach Out.
Check out this wedding for some inspiration!
Until next time,
Kimberly Taylor
KTay Photography
