As we head into the weekend, I would love for you to hold one thing close to your heart – let planning your wedding be FUN!

Don’t let the excitement of saying “I do” fade as your planning journey begins. Hold on tight to the joy of those first few days of sharing your happy news.

I spotted a lovely quote on insta from London’s favourite celebrity wedding planner Mark Niemierko –

“I like my brides to be spoilt and protected during the planning process, yet through the endless correspondence and planning meetings it needs to be fun… so much fun”

Now I’d like to suggest something for all of you gorgeous brides and grooms out there today.

Have a look at your wedding planning spreadsheets, your checklists or your post-its. Find the fun! And if it’s all looking a little overwhelming, inject a little fun into it.

Ideas to add joy to your wedding planning!

• Combine supplier meetings with treats
• Book yourselves some ‘wedding planning holidays‘
• Reward yourselves for saving

For example, if you have a meeting with your venue coordinator one Friday morning, take the whole day off and spoil yourselves rotten. It might be a spa day with a luxury treatment, or a theme park, or a hike at sunset. You do you! We know venue visits are lovely, but turn a nice day into a crazy exciting one!

If you’re marrying in a year’s time, that’s a lot of planning. Schedule in some breaks – maybe you can dedicate the last two weeks of April to a little normality. Have a ‘no wedding talk’ rule and fill your days with romantic treats: a staycation, some time to remember what life was like before the spreadsheets took over! How about a week away from it all relaxing with your best friends?

Budgeting for a wedding can be super hard. You’re probably already killing it, so give yourselves a massive pat on the back – and take a weekend off! – If you’ve saved by making packed lunches and taking a flask, cancelling your subscriptions and joining a library, take a rest! Allow yourselves to splurge for a weekend – have a romantic breakfast out, take a boat trip, get pampered or enjoy a night at the theatre. Life’s too short to spend a whole year saving up for one day!

(more wedding saving hacks here)

And say thank you – in style! I hear from so many of you who’ve enlisted mums and dads, aunties and uncles, bridesmaids and besties to contribute something to your day. Perhaps your dad’s making a bar out of reclaimed wood (it happens!) or your mum’s planting seeds already for your bouquet (in July though!) – or your best friends have spent the weekend with glue guns and eco glitter making your invites. Throw a surprise thank you party. Go crazy, overdo the hugs.

Surprises for smiles – always

In fact, little surprises are a key part of the Niemierko experience. While Mark takes on only a handful of luxury weddings per year, we love the idea of sprinkling the planning process with treats!

Niemierko brides and grooms are treated to gift boxes from the start. Perhaps if your folks read this article (you might accidentally send them a link!) they could send you little gifts of body lotions and pamper treats, chocolates and cookies, candles and cakes from time to time. Subscription services are also available if your parents won’t get this…

Niemierko brides and grooms are pampered on their dress or suit shopping trips. Surprise your other half by doing the same… we think parents will definitely help out on this one, with a little chauffeur service, treats in the back of the car, lovely cafe booked for lunch… ours is the budget version, but we should all feel like kings and queens when we’re wedding outfit shopping!

The serious side of wedding planning

Remember the quote we shared at the top? Mark promises to protect his brides through the planning process. This is huge – for brides and grooms. Taking on a big event – even a micro wedding, if you’re not used to organisation – can be really stressful. The dream is a stress free wedding, but planning is a big job.

If you’re on a tight budget, try and be aware of the stress that can happen. Take steps to protect yourselves, by planning well, taking breaks, communicating like superstars and supporting each other.

Many wedding planners offer consultation services now. You might not be able to afford a wedding planner for everything, but I’ve seen a few (and I WISH I could remember which ones) offer an hour-long chat. You pay just a little, and you get to sit with a professional who’ll help you sort through your priorities, unjumble your thoughts and come up with a plan to manage your next steps.

If you’re having a big wedding, then a wedding planner could be indispensable. Why not contact someone and ask? Be open: if your budget is a worry, explain how much you want to spend and ask how they can help you plan and style your day… and manage the costs. Perhaps they’ll know just how to save enough on the details, to cover their fees – and save you a ton of planning worries!

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Wedding planning CAN be a whole world of fun, and we encourage you to find joy even in the mundane tasks of planning your day! Whatever you’re doing this weekend, we hope it’s full of giggles and love and smiles.

 

 

 

Header image by Avrielle Suleiman on Unsplash