A roadmap to kick start your planning season with joy…

First of all, I’m incredibly excited that this blog has found its way to you! Congratulations on your engagement! I am so excited for the two of you and everything that this chapter has in store for you.

Let’s be real, even though this is one of the most important and monumental moment in your lives, planning a wedding is a lot of work! It can be easy to become overwhelmed by the never ending list of to-do’s and to yourself dreading every moment. However, that is not what I want for you.

You deserve a wedding that allows you the freedom to experience EVERYTHING that this season in your life has to offer you. As a destination wedding photographer who has been around and been in the industry for some time now, and has also planned my own wedding, I have combined all of my knowledge and created this blog post to provide you with a step by step, 90 day roadmap of the first takes you should take when planning a wedding full of intentionality.

Are you ready to start planning your wedding? Let’s do this! 🙂

Here’s Everything We’re Going to Go Over (Table of Contents):

• Setting Realistic expectations
• Outlining your goals for your wedding
• Finding inspiration and creating a mood board
• First 90 day planning roadmap
• Booking your wedding venue
• How to find the perfect wedding venues
• Identifying and booking your perfect photographer
• Limit the overwhelm by getting organized
• Closing remarks and how to work with me

Setting Realistic Expectations:

One of the easiest holes to fall into when you first start planning your wedding is setting unrealistic  expectations for your wedding day. Why is this bad? If you jump into planning with no clear direction, and also without a good understanding of what all really goes into planning a wedding, you can easily  and quickly become overwhelmed and burnt out, which could lead you to unnoticeably plan a wedding day that you actually will hate, and just wishing that your engagement season would just be over already. I don’t want this for you, and you shouldn’t want this for yourself!

There is a lot to know when you first start planning. Here are some tips you need to know so you can enjoy this season to its fullest.

01. Limit Pinterest and Wedding Blogs Only to Inspiration:

Most couples refer to Pinterest and popular wedding blogs like “June Bug” or “Green Wedding Shoes” for inspiration when they first start planning their wedding.  There is nothing wrong with this, and I too even recommend using these sources for inspiration. However, use these resources for just that, ONLY inspiration.

Many blogs and photographers curate special shoots using expensive and high-end vendors and venues  t pursue trends (and often, unrealistic expectations or themes) to create beautiful content that will catch your eye. When blogs search for wedding to publish onto the blog, often, couples who have crazy budgets are easily featured on their sites. This can be negative because, truth be told, a lot of what you’re seeing aren’t real weddings, or they fit into the top 1% of wedding budgets.

This is leave a negative impact as you can fall in love with all the pretty things you’re seeing and create an idea in your head of what your wedding should like look based off what you have seen, only to find out that:  1. The idea really isn’t realistic 2. A wedding can cost A LOTTT of money.

For these reasons, only use these use as sources for inspiration.

02. The truth about budgeting and how you should handle it:

Treat a budget as the absolute most you can spend versus just thinking up of a random number and sticking to that. The first thing you will come to find out during your planning season is how expensive weddings can be. It’s almost kinda a shock to your system.

Everyone’s budget varies, but no matter what your numbers may be, it’s best to write out the top three things that matter most to you and then spend a good chunk of that budget on those things.

By doing this, you will be able to invest into the most important things to you first, and then still have a good amount left to go into the details. Couples on average investment the majority of their budget on venue (and travel if necessary), photography and videography.

03. Always be prepared for the unexpected and embrace it:

Despite how much you may really want everything to go 110% perfect during your planning, the truth is that it likely won’t be smooth sailing the entire time. A wedding day, no matter how big or small, requires a lot of moving parts working together. We are all people, even your vendors, and we all make mistakes, so some things may not go according to plan or some things may take longer than others.

DON’T STRESS OVER IT (tooo much!) Know some things may take a little time or something may not work out. Embrace it, come up with a solution, and then move one to the next thing. Don’t get to hung up on something if it doesn’t go the way you would like for it too. Allow plenty of time for planning so if you hit a bump in the road you’ll have plenty of time to get back on course!

4. Fight the overwhelm and don’t try and do everything at once:

When planning your wedding it will feel like there is a never-ending to-do list that just gets bigger and bigger as time goes on. The worst thing that you can do is overwhelm yourself during your engagement season. This could lead to arguments between you and your soon to be spouse, a lack of clarity, and stress and anxiety which when added up together is no fun.

Before you start planning, create a list of things you need to do to plan your wedding and order it from most important (to-do first) down to things you can take care of at a later time. Then, break up the time until your wedding into 90 day segments (Example: 1 year until your wedding equals 4 90 day segments) and evenly assign your to-do’s to a 90 day segment.

This will help you break up that massive list into smaller sections where each 90 days you know what you need to complete in order to plan your perfect wedding day.  In the “First 90 Day Roadmap Planning Roadmap” I lay out an example 90 day timeline for you. Refer to that section for inspiration and a visual.

Outlining Your Goals For Your Wedding:

Draw up a blueprint for your wedding vision:

Laying out and creating a clear vision and goal for what you want your wedding to look and feel like will help you gain clarity and serve as your north star.

To do this, the first thing you should do is set aside time  where the two of you can brainstorm how the two of you envision your wedding to be like. Answer these questions:

1). What do you want your special day to look like? What’s the vibe?

2). What do you want your day to feel like? What’s the emotion and energy you want your guests and yourselves to feel?

3). What’s most important to you and what do you want your day to reflect?

If you skip this step and jump headfirst into searching for vendors, you can become overwhelmed and indecisive because there are so many different venues, photographers, filmmakers, etc who offer different styles, experiences, investments and so much more.

Knowing exactly what you want and having a clear vision  will make your search for vendors so much easier and enjoyable because you will know what you are looking for and easily identify when something isn’t for you.

Planning A wedding that’s an authentic reflection of your relationship:

One of the most rewarding things you can do for your wedding is to plan a day that is a genuine reflection of your love and your story. Here are some questions to ask yourself when drawing up your wedding blueprint to ensure that your wedding day represents what you value. Write these answers down on a piece of paper:

01: What does your perfect wedding day look like?

Imagine this without limits! How do you envision it too look like?

02: What’re your favorite things to do together?

What do you love to do as a couple? Favorites movies, date night activities, favorite snacks, vacations?

03: What inspires the two of you?

What do you do together where you feel most inspired or connected?

04: Do you want to stay local or travel?

Are you more attached to home and plan to stay in your local area, or is a great adventure calling your name? Does a destination have special meaning to you?

05: What is your lifestyle as individuals like?

As individual people, what do you enjoy? Favorite hobbies, activities, movies, anything along these lines.

06: What does your ideal day feel like?

How do you expect/want to FEEL on your wedding day? What emotion is in the air? What do you want to experience?

Finding Inspiration and Creating a Mood Board:

Finding inspiration on Pinterest:

Alright, now that you have an idea of what you two want your day to look like and you have your blueprint laid out, let’s really start to bring is all together and create a visual reference you can use as a resource! Hop onto Pinterest (or another other program like it) and start searching for posts that relate to your style: “Top {INSERT AREA} Wedding Venues” or “Elegant/Bohemian Wedding Decor” and  other things related to your wedding (You can find inspo for everything, I promise!) Once you start finding posts that suit you, create a Pinterest board and pin/add those posts to that board!

As you continue to look through different things and add more relavant pins to this mood board, you will start to have a better visual of what you want your day to look like in the end. You may even find posts that can be linked to potential vendors and venues you can use for your big day!

REMEMBER: Only use these use as sources for inspiration!

Creating your wedding mood board on Canva:

Canva is an awesome free design platform you can use to create mood boards with! Head to canva.com and create a free account. You can look-up mood board design templates, find one that you like, and start designing. You can upload screenshots or photos of what you like, add in a color palette, and more.

If you’re a visual person like me, the sky is the limit! You can use this for decorations, venue style, the vibe, wedding party colors, dress ideas, etc! You can even use Canva to design your save the dates!

First 90 Day Wedding Planning Roadmap:

Your wedding day will look very different than anyone else’s, however, after my years of experience in the industry and brainstorming with my couples, there is a formula my couples follow when booking their vendors. If you’re needing a place to start, here is a step by step timeline you can use to help you get started planning your wedding within the first 90 days of your engagement!

01. Book your venue and set your date:

Booking your venue and setting a date is the very first step to take, so hop on this as soon as possible! We’re going to take a deep dive into finding and booking a venue in the next section.

02. Book your photographer and filmmaker:

Photographers and filmmakers book fast, so definitely lock in your photo and video second! There’s a lot that goes into finding the perfect photographer for you and booking them, so we will go over this in another section on this post very soon!

03. Book your wedding planner/coordinator:

If you plan to have a planner, do this third so that they can help with plan your wedding from the start!

04. Book your engagement session:

New ring, new photos, am I right?! These are also going to be needed for your website and save the dates, so the sooner, the better!

05. Create your wedding website, save the dates, and Facebook group:

Your guests can find all the info they need about your wedding and they can RSVP online! This is a LIFE SAVER! After the RSVP, they can follow a link to a Facebook group where you can communicate with all of your guests easily by posting!

You can purchase beautiful save the date templates online on Etsy and easily customize them on Canva.

06. Book your catering and your florist:

There is a lot of required communication with these vendors to ensure that you are able to achieve your exact vision. Make sure you have ample time with these vendors and book them quick!

How to Find and Book the Perfect Venue:

Finding and booking your wedding venue is the most important step in the planning process! Why? Because if you don’t know where your wedding will be, you won’t have a date or details to provide with your vendors and guests. Before you start venue searching, there are three important things to consider:

01. What is the vibe you’re wanting for your wedding?

Refer to your inspiration mood board to make sure that you have a good idea of the type of venue you are searching for. There are a variety of options and vibes to chose from; by knowing the vibe your looking for, it will help you dodge the overwhelm and narrow done your list of potential venues.

02. How many guests are you expecting to host?

Venues come in many different shapes and sizes, so it’s important that the venue you chose is able to fit all of your guests comfortably. You don’t need to have an exact number of guests yet, just estimate! If you think you’ll have 100 guests, get a venue that can fit 150 to 175! Expecting 200? Go for 250! Planning a smaller wedding with about 50 guests? Aim for 75 to 100!

It’s always great to have a a venue that’s a little bigger so that you’ll have space for a bigger dance floor, bigger buffet, photo booth, and just more space for your guests (or yourself) who may be claustrophobic.

03. What accommodations must(or do you want) your venue provide?

The more your venue can offer and provide you with, the better. Make sure your venue is able to offer you these things: prep suites for the bride and groom, an indoor option if the weather doesn’t go in your favor, and a reception hall that is large enough to fit all your guests. Additional bonus features can be planning or inclusive services that the venue offers.

Best places to start searching for wedding venues:

Finding the perfect venue for your wedding usually requires a bit of a hunt. To help you out, here are a few resources and tips for where you can start your search for your ideal wedding venue:

01. Wedding directories like The Knot, WeddingWire, or Zola:

These three directories are the most popular in the industry. They rank top for everything, and more than 20 million newly engaged couples use these directories to plan their wedding. Due to their popularity, lots of vendors pay to be listed on these sites for more exposure. However, these sources should not be your one stop shop, many incredible venues and vendors still aren’t always listed here, but these sites are a great place to start!

02. Local Wedding Magazines:

These sources are identical to using the Knot, Wedding Wire, and Zola, however the pro is that most of these are more specific to your area and many times vendors prefer partnering with these smaller local magazine companies. Because of this, there are usually more vendors listed here than the popular world wide sites like the Knot, etc.

03. Instagram and Local Wedding Facebook Groups:

On Instagram click on search and type in “{YOUR AREA} Wedding Venue” or keywords like this in search. Here you will find lots of awesome options. On Facebook, join a Facebook Group for brides local in your area:

“Louisville Wedding Resale” or “Colorado Brides” and so on. Groups can be great, but you will get lots of leads who may not all be qualified.

04. Google Search Results:

Researching and looking up venues on Google is also a great place to start! You’ll see that the directories will appear towards the top of your results, but shortly after you’ll start to find venue websites rank.

Many wedding professionals write blog posts that talk about either their venue or their favorite venues to work at. These blogs are also great for finding venues your searching for!

05. My Venue Blog Posts:

If you’re local to Kentucky, Tennessee, or Cincinnati like myself, you’ll find that I have compiled and written about my favorite venues in these areas! Click the hyperlinks below to view my blogs:

10 Romantic Wedding Venues in Kentucky You’re Got to See!

5 High-end Wedding Venues in Louisville, Kentucky!

10 Stunning Tennessee Wedding Venues in Nature!

6 Gorgeous Cincinnati Wedding Venues That’ll Leave you Speechless!

These are all venues that I love that are local to my area, so if you’d love my take on my favorite venues in these areas, check them out!

Identifying and Booking the Perfect Photographer for You:

I may be a little biased on this, but in all honesty, your wedding photography is one of, if not the most, important vendors for your wedding experience. Why?

Photos are what preserve our memories…

Wedding days go by fast and as the days, weeks, and years go by, our memories as human beings begin to fade. Photos allow us to relive moments. The quality of photography and the experience the photographer provided for you during this season in your lives is what will allow you to reminisce all over again.

The photographer you choose can make or break your experience. A recent study shows that close to 40% of brides have regrets about their wedding photos.  The average statement was, “We wished we had invested more into a photographer instead of just going with the cheaper and ‘better’ deal.” THAT”S INSANE!

Being human is about feeling connection and stories are the threads that connect us to everything. Your wedding is one of the most meaningful stories, capturing it exactly as it was, in all its beautiful power and natural glory, is one of the greatest gifts you can pass down to your family; every moment preserved to live through love time and time again.

Do thorough research and make sure you book the right photographer for you, and don’t let the price be your only determine factor. A good, profession photographer, on average, costs $3000 plus.

It takes more than a camera to capture a memory – it takes an experienced eye drawn to truth, a heart pulled too emotion and a passion for preserving our history. Here’s a list of questions to ask your photographer before you booking them:

01. What style and experience do you desire?

This is what should determine who you hire as your photographer. Sorry if I step on some toes by saying this, but you should not just hire a photographer because they are cheaper or “budget friendly.” You should hire a photographer based off of their artistic style and the experience they can offer you during your engagement season.

Each photographer (myself included) is a unique artist, entrepreneur, and individual, therefore we also offer different photo styles (the way we capture moments and the editing), the way we run our business (hands on or hands off) and also our personalities as people (do your personalities mesh well?)

02. What do you envision your images to look like?

What style of photography draws you in? Are you drawn to photographer’s images? Does their work resonates and sit well with you? Could you see yourself in the images they’ve already created? Would you love hanging their photos up on your wall?

03. What role do you want them to take?

What was your first impression of them? Could you be friends outside of business? Were they genuine and authentic? Would you want to have them there on your wedding day? Where they transparent, honest, and down to earth?

DON’T SKIP THIS: It is so important that you have a conversation with your photographer before you book them! As a wedding professional, this is a must in my booking process. If it’s not in theirs, ask to speak with them before you book. Personally, I find it a red flag if this is not a requirement for you to book them.

Limit the Planning Overwhelm By Getting Organized:

Staying organized is key when it comes to reducing your stress during your engagement season. Nothing stresses me off more than when I can’t find something or when I was in the middle of something important and I can’t remember where I left off. Staying organized from the start will be so beneficial. So here are a few things that you can do to stay organized.

01. Utilize a free Google Suite account:

This is an easy way to track all your documents, write down notes, do some math, communicate with vendors, and keep your budget. Sign up and create a free Gmail address and use this email only to communicate with vendors or anything wedding related. Use a spreadsheet to track all your expenses to help you with your tax season later down the road. Google Docs is a great way to take notes, and Google Drive is a great place to store important documents (like contracts.) The best part is that you can access this info from any device as long as you have the app, and it’s free!

02. Create a wedding website so guests can RSVP online:

This website will work as your guest hub. Guests can RSVP online, view the registry, dress code, and join the Facebook group from here. You can create a free account on The Knot, Wedding Wire, Zola, etc. Have a page on your website where guests can go to RSVP. They can easily fill in the details and submit, and then you will instantly receive their RSVP to your wedding email. It saves time and money!

Closing Remarks & How to Work With Me:

I’m an emotive wedding photographer who crafts bespoke wedding experiences for boldly in love couples and images that they’ll cherish for a lifetime.

News flash: You deserve an experience not just on your wedding day, but throughout the entire planning process that gives you the freedom to savor every heartwarming moment and everything in between. No compromises, apologies, or regrets. A wedding experience that is undeniably an authentic reflection of the love that you two share and have come together to celebrate.

As a Kentucky wedding photographer who’s been around, I understand that every couple’s values and histories are unique, therefore, it has become my mission to provide an elevated experience with these key-focuses in mind: allowing you to kiss stress goodbye, to cherish everyone who has come together to celebrate your marriage, and to provide you with wedding images that you’ll be proud to look back on years from now and lose yourselves in every vivid emotion and memory; images that not only fill your mind with beautiful memories – but dreams of the future.

Everyone is waiting to hear your story. Wherever your it leads us, I’ll be with you, a guide, a friend, an advocate, and the narrator of your romantic legacy whose fully and wholeheartedly invested into you and how to best share your story with the world. Click this hyperlink, fill out a quick form, and I’ll be touch with you very soon!  🙂

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Want More Wedding Planning Inspiration and Tips?

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