TIME SAVING WEDDING TIPS
Its gonna take…..time! Many couples, no matter what their budget, find that time is the one thing they need more of when planning their wedding. It is hard to find a minute in the day let alone the time it takes to plan such a big event. There are hundreds of lists on how to save money. This one is about ways to save yourself some time. Time is the one thing we cannot make more of, but we can use the time we have effectively. Check out my time saving tips below.
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Lists– Lists are your friends! It is so true. Whether your wedding day is a lavish or intimate affair, it is important and there is a lot involved. So make lists and have a notebook with you at ALL times. But, categorise your lists into 3 categories – the beginning, middle and end! Start with the big tasks, such as venue, photographer, celebrant, caterer. The middle is tasks such as dress, band, hair and make-up, transport etc. The end concentrates on more personal items such as favours, décor etc. Break down your lists, it will make it more manageable and less daunting.
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Scheduling – In our busy lives there are always 100 other things to grab our attention. I find it best to allocate a certain amount of time and use that time wisely. If you are researching a certain vendor, don’t get distracted by Facebook or Pinterest. Have certain times that you will make calls, read contracts, go through emails. If you schedule time and use it effectively you will get a lot more done than having no game plan at all. This ties in with lists but use Google Calendar or similar and make sure once appointments are made they are added.
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Delegate – It can be hard for a bride or groom to let go of control. But delegation is not about giving up control, it is about managing tasks. There are definitely tasks that could be handled by a bridesmaid, a mother, your future spouse! It is a great way to get people, especially mothers, involved. Tasks such as compiling address lists for relatives are time consuming but perfect to hand over to others. This leaves you free to deal with the bigger things. You can always check over things or be part of it but don’t take everything on yourself.
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Decide early what is important and what is not – Both partners should start the planning process by each writing out the top 5 things that are important to them for their wedding day, and then comparing lists. If something matches, that is the most important thing and the thing to spend time sorting. Once you complete this task, then try and work down the list until you cover everything. The items on the bottom don’t need much time. They aren’t important to you, the couple, and it is your day. If it is not important to you don’t spend time on it and if it doesn’t happen, don’t worry – it wasn’t important anyway.
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Choose wisely – Choose your vendors wisely. Spending time at the start researching or getting recommendations is worth the effort. If you hire the wrong vendor it can end up costing you time, money and a hell of a lot of stress. So put the effort in at the start and you can trust that they know what they are doing, they are professional.
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Complete tasks – This seems obvious but how many times have you started something only to get distracted, or discouraged or put it off until the last minute. If you start something, finish it. Don’t stop half way through. Don’t think ah I’ll go back to it in a bit. You might but you will end up spending more time on each task doing it that way. Get started, get into a flow and get it done.
- Consider hiring a planner! – Many couples think wedding planners are just for the rich and famous or for destination weddings but that is not the case. Planners are there for couples who do not have the time to do all the calls and emails and research. They will often offer services such as vendor sourcing as well as full planning packages. A smaller service such as vendor sourcing can free up a lot of time at the start as the planner will have contacts and knowledge that you as the couple do not. They can make recommendations, review initial contracts and make initial phone calls. All of this saves you time, helps get the main things sorted, leaving you with more time to focus on the day itself. It is worth checking out planners rates for this service as the time saved is often worth its weight in gold.
Time is precious, we all could do with some more of it, so use it wisely. I hope the tips above help a little. What other time saving tips do you have?
To find out more email yvonne@yvonnecassidyweddings.com
