A COMPLETE GUIDE TO PLANNING YOUR WEDDING ON THE SUNSHINE COAST.
An easy-to-follow, 10 part series, that will take the stress out of planning your wedding.
Getting married is one of life’s most memorable milestones. It’s such a happy time in a couple’s life, but it can also be stressful. If planning your wedding seems like a mountain too high to climb, and the thought of where to start is giving you a headache, then relax, I’ve got you.
My name’s Lou O’Brien, I’ve been a wedding photographer for over 15 years, and I’ve seen it all. As a wedding photographer, I get the privilege to witness so many weddings from start to finish. One thing I know for sure, no matter how big or small your weddings is, at the end of the day, a wedding is about two people coming together in love.
This should be a joyous time in your life. So don’t sweat the small stuff. I’m here to guide you through my 10 part series - A Complete Guide to Planning Your Wedding on the Sunshine Coast.
Whether you’re getting married in 3 months or 18 months, I’ll help you break down the process of planning your wedding in my 10 part series, in easy to achieve tasks that will set you on course to have the wedding of your dreams.
At the end of this series, there’s a BONUS 5 part section where I’ll give you some helpful tips on ’what to do’ the month before, one week before, the day before, on the day, the day after and the month after your wedding.
So let’s get started!
Are you feeling stressed about where to start? Consider me your Fairy God-Mother wanting to help you have the wedding of your dreams. By starting with my 6 Foundations Principles, I can help you set up your wedding planning process to be smooth sailing:
Setting Your Wedding Budget
Taking Out Your Wedding Insurance
Reading and Understanding Contracts
Making a Guest List
Choosing your Bridal Party
Pre-marriage Counselling: Why It’s Important
Setting Your Wedding Budget
Forget about ‘keeping up with the Jones’, and what you think is expected at a wedding. This wedding is about the two of you and what you want. Be realistic with your budget and stay within your means. A wedding is one of life’s milestones and it should be celebrated. It should be something you save up for, but you shouldn’t go into debt over it. Setting your budget will help you determine what aspects of a wedding are important to you, and makes it easier to allocate money and figure out who’s paying for what.
I have created a free downloadable Wedding Budget spreadsheet to help you decide who’s paying for what and what aspects of the wedding are most important to you. Everyone is different and values things differently, so naturally you’re more likely to splurge on the wedding vendors and aspects that you think are an absolute must-have. This spreadsheet helps you to divvy up your funds and even decide on what services you perhaps don’t particularly need or want on your special day. You can download my wedding budget spreadsheet below.
Taking Out Your Wedding Insurance
With your budget in mind, you may start thinking about wedding insurance and whether it’s worth it. Short answer? Yes, absolutely. Your wedding is ideally going to be one the best days of your life but also one of the most expensive. Wedding insurance works to protect your finances before, during, and after your special day! Perhaps your celebrant can no longer officiate your ceremony, or part of the venue is damaged during your reception, or (a more realistic scenario), your area is plunged into a Covid-19 lockdown and you need to reschedule! Wedding insurance is designed to cover these extra costs.
When searching for a wedding insurance provider, keep in mind that all contracts and statements need to be read thoroughly. There is always plenty of differentiation between coverage and policies, so you want to know what you’re covered for and what isn’t included in the insurance.
Reading and Understanding Contracts
Although they can be a colossal headache, contracts are imperative when it comes to hiring wedding vendors! Contracts are the legal document that (should) clearly state what services and goods you can expect from your selected vendors.
Here’s what you should look for in reliable contracts that will keep up with both you and your vendor’s expectations:
The contract should clearly list and define exactly what is and isn’t included with hiring your vendor. This often includes rental fees, hours available, and additional costs. It should also state what isn’t included with their goods and/or services.
Cancellation and rescheduling policies are also a must-have. What happens in the event of a natural disaster, or another Covid-19 lockdown? Will you be able to reschedule or cancel if a loved one is hospitalised and you cannot continue with the wedding without them? What happens if the vendor gets sick or can’t be at your wedding? Make sure to thoroughly read through the contract for these policies.
Making the Guest List
There are plenty of things to consider when devising a guest list:
What friends and family do you want there with you?
Do you want children at your wedding?
Who do mum and dad want to invite?
Are you going to allow plus-ones?
…the list goes on.
No matter the answer, the most important thing to consider is who you truly want to celebrate this special day with!
So, who shouldn’t you invite? The guest list can be a big determiner of budget, as venues often charge by the head. It’s not unusual to want as many people as possible to join in on celebrating your big day, but to keep the list reasonable, here are a few people that perhaps don’t need an invite to your wedding:
Family members that haven’t spoken to you in years. This isn’t a family reunion.
Long-lost friends from high school that you haven’t seen or spoken to since 2015 do not need an invite.
Children. Yes, you love your best friend’s kids but extra numbers, kids meals, and babysitting services can cost a lot of money, & sometimes the children’s parents actually want a night off to enjoy themselves guilt free.
Allowing plus-ones at your wedding is up to you! Specify on the invitation whether individual guests may bring someone along with them.
Great! You’ve got a rough list of people you’re considering inviting. Now it’s time to put those names on paper! There are plenty of free wedding guest list templates to help you organise and keep track of RSVPs.
The Knot is one of my favourites that helps you gather addresses, collect RSVPs and track thank-you notes, and more.
Choosing Your Bridal Party
Choosing your wedding party can be fun, and a little tricky! Deciding on your Maid of Honour and your bridesmaids, or your Best Man and your groomsmen, can be harder than just writing a list of names and calling it a day. Members of the wedding party usually have an array of responsibilities to take care of before and during the wedding. Here are a few things to consider when choosing your wedding party:
Consider the costs that come with being a bridesmaid or groom. Do you expect them to pay for their own attire, makeup, and hair stylist? If yes, you may need to have a private conversation with each member to make sure they can afford being in your wedding party.
Is the bridesmaid or groomsman reliable? Can you trust them to show up on time the morning of? Make sure you can trust each member of your wedding party with deadlines and tasks.
Lucky for me, I haven’t encountered too many Bridezillas over the years, but I have met some bridal party members that really weren’t in it for the right reasons. My advise is to choose your friendliest & easy-going siblings & friends who can’t wait to help make your day the best it can be.
Pre-marriage Counselling: Why it’s important.
Communication is key in any relationship, especially a marriage. Although pre-marriage counselling may seem a little old-fashioned, the communication skills learned can last a lifetime. It’s also a good idea to have a mediator of some sort (counsellor, psychologist, therapist, etc) when hashing out the gritty details of what your married lifestyle is going to be like. This can include a range of topics from budgeting to having kids to addressing previous problematic issues that may affect your future relationship. To put simply, a pre-marriage counselling session is a great opportunity for you and your fiance to openly communicate and develop important communication skills that ensure you’re both on the same page when it comes to life after marriage.
So there you have it, you’re now on the first steps to creating the wedding you’ve always dreamed of. By following my 6 Foundations Principles;
Setting Your Wedding Budget
Taking Out Your Wedding Insurance
Reading and Understanding Contracts
Making a Guest List
Choosing your Bridal Party
Pre-marriage Counselling: Why It’s Important
You’ll be setting yourself up for success, not only for your wedding, but your future married lives together. Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing with you more of my ‘Fairy God-Mother' sage advice that I have learnt over the years as a wedding photographer. I want your wedding planning experience to be stress-free and fun. In the next blog post I’ll be sharing with you the best time of year for you to get married, as well as things to consider when booking your wedding venue & more.
Until then, Happy Wedding Planning!
If you’re looking for a photographer who is more like a friend than a stranger and one that is there to cheer you on and get excited about your wedding day, I'm your girl. I'd love to be your photographer and help make your wedding dream come true.
Contact me for more info on my wedding photography packages.