Bridezilla - Be Gone! Your Simplified Wedding Planning Guide

I just LOVE wedding planning. Being organised from day dot has certainly helped keep the stress levels down, and thank goodness, because my oh my have I heard some horror stories in recent times! I’m no expert, but I thought sharing a little of our experience, tips and tricks for keeping our wedding (and event) planning stress to an absolute minimum will hopefully assist you gorgeous Brides and Grooms to be.

First off, keep it simple. You don’t need a 24 page checklist to tick off month by month to plan your big day. Getting the big things out of the way (see below) makes for a far more enjoyable experience, and leaves far more time to potter along as needed.

Planning your big day can turn into a nightmare if you don’t sort the big items first, especially if you are wanting it in peak season. Even planning our wedding over a year out we found we were having to get nifty about securing some things (hello draining the bank account paying in advance). Bear in mind, we are getting married in Queenstown so the options are far more limited, but our “to book” list consisted of these:

• Venue (and rainy day plan)
• Celebrant
• Band
• Photographer
• Videographer (I must admit I only did this last month, but it was a mission finding availability)
• Guest Transport
• Accomodation
• Hair and Makeup Artists
• Flowers
• Cake (and caterers if required)

Secondary to this is of course the Dress, which if not taken off the rack can take a few months to arrive. Now, I never got that crying moment the Brides on TV have, but I think when my dress arrived last month and tried it on, in that moment I realised that this was real.

For us, it was important to get our Save the Dates out well ahead of a normal schedule as our big day is so conveniently tied in with the Motatapu race, and the NZ 2017 Golf Open, so small town accommodation was going to become an issue very quickly.

Once all this was out of the way, we could breathe again. You won’t all be the same, but this whole process has become a bit of a hobby of mine. I’m constantly pinning ideas (@mamatoldme), have favourited searches on Trademe for items new and old, am scouring fashion sites for dresses, suits and shoes – all of which I can highly recommend, especially if you are not having a wedding planner like myself.

Below are some of my favourite blog sites, bursting with inspiration for weddings of all budgets:

Style me Pretty

Paper and Lace

Something Turquoise

DIYBride

Auckland/Wellington Weddings

Just under seven months out and invitations are underway, rings are purchased, and the initial appointment for suits is today.

A lot to digest, but I hope some of you beautiful Brides and Grooms to be have something to take away from this wee post. Let me know if you would like to see more on the progress front, or have any questions for Mama.

Congratulations, Enjoy, and Good Luck!