If we were asked to give our friends our top five wedding planning tips, here’s what we would say. 😉
Start with a theme. You are the curators of your own dream wedding. Your army of planners and suppliers are only there to give you guidance and help execute your ideas. If you start with a theme, your decisions are all leaned towards keeping elements consistent so options are automatically narrowed down. We went for a contemporary Filipiniana theme and our color motif was Tiffany blue. From there, Las Casas Filipinas was the obvious choice for our church and reception venues. And everything else from music, designs of bridal and entourage gowns, decors, floral arrangement, venue styling down to the littlest details were easier to settle.
Make the journey special. From the day you get engaged, you probably have months or years of preparation for an event that will transpire for less than 24 hours. Even if you convert it to a week-long celebration, let’s face it, you are still bound to put in more time for preps. Gentlemen, this day is as much about you as it is about your future wives so roll up your sleeves and help make it happen. Stressful moments were inevitable but it comforted me to know that Tim was as heavily involved and that I could rely on him to complete tasks assigned to him. In fact, I fell more in love with him knowing that he was as invested as I was in making our day special. Having regular “date nights” dedicated to planning certainly contributed in keeping us organized and on track.
Prioritize. This involves setting a budget and from there, listing down things you need according to how important they are for you. Tim and I from the beginning agreed that great photos and videos take priority. They carry memories we can use to look back on or share with our future chubby munchkins. On the other hand, we didn’t want to spend so much on things with super short shelf lives. That meant flowers, printed menus and name cards, and other props were not on our file of things to worry about. Prioritizing also includes sticking to a timeline of actions to complete every month before the wedding. This breakdown serves as your bible throughout the planning and prevents you from getting overwhelmed. As long as you are ticking items off that list on time, you’re safe.
Delegate. While you and your future partner have your own to do list, remember you are not alone in this process. Tim and I have tendencies to be control freaks. I even wanted to plan my own bachelorette party! However, there are things that you should allow your suppliers to lead and your friends and family to partake in. Because there will be other chefs in the kitchen, expect misunderstandings. But as we let more in, we also experienced a tremendous outpouring of love and volunteering. In the end, you’ll find that your wedding is a community exercise that deepens, strengthens, builds and rebuilds relationships.
Let go and let God. Accept that there are things beyond your control. Like the weather, or the three fat mosquito bites on your cheeks when you wake up (yes I had them!). Tim told me the day before that we’ve already done everything we could including offering eggs to a saint so the rain would stop and the sun would shine on our outdoor wedding, and that there was nothing else left to do but to turn up. And it’s true. So focus your energy on being present on the day. It’s not just about showing up. It’s also being mentally and spiritually present. It’s not very easy. I had a million things running through my head while I was walking down the aisle, but actively fight to let go of all those and trust that God has always been in control and He is not going to fail you.
We can go on and on about more lessons we’ve learned. And if you’ve reached this far, thanks for reading this post, but to be honest, it’s your wedding, it’s your style. 😉 Like every single day, it only happens once. Like life, there’s more than enough inspiration and guidelines out there on how to live it. Make it intimate or grand, solemn or wild. It can be anything you want it to be, but make it yours… uniquely and wonderfully yours.