Planning 101 23rd June 2021

The most common wedding planning mistakes, from the professionals

Planning a wedding is something that almost everyone is involved in at some stage - if it’s not you, it’s a family member or friend and boy, can it be stressful. We’ve spoken to experienced wedding planners at eve, responsible for some of the most iconic wedding venues in London, who have shared the most common wedding planning mistakes that they’ve come across.

Not including a wet weather contingency

Whilst you might be hoping for glorious sunshine, nothing is promised (unless you’re having a destination wedding - but even still). It might not be the nicest job on your to-do list but be sure to think about what you’ll do in the event of a downpour, a storm or even a power cut. 

This is something that you can speak to your venue about before you make a formal booking: ask them what they’ve done in the past if they’ve needed to, whether there is space inside to comfortably hold all of your guests if needed and what you and your guests will be able to do. This helps to reduce the impact of a bad weather spell and minimise disruption on the day - it’s something you can’t control, but you can manage and plan it just in case.

Obligation

Many couples feel obligated to uphold certain traditions because they ‘should.’ There is no ‘should.’ You may be likely to regret things later if you do them for the sake of tradition or to appease others - and you don’t want that.

This may involve some difficult conversations with parents or loved ones who are expecting you to uphold particular traditions so it’s important to be sensitive but stick to your guns. Your dad may take it a little personally at first that you want to walk down the aisle yourself, but if this is something you feel strongly about as part of your modern-day wedding, it’s your call. Plus, chances are it’ll all be forgotten on the day itself.

Forgetting to feed suppliers

Most couples don’t think about their suppliers when compiling their guest list and numbers for caterers. Many of your suppliers will be having just as long a day as you are (think photographers, videographers, for example) and you don’t need a low-energy DJ. Don’t forget their dietary requirements, too.

Skipping trials

Don’t scrimp on beauty trials - especially if you’re tanning.

Wedding dresses aren’t just ‘white’, and it’s likely that you’ll try on multiple shades that sit differently with your skin tone. If you’re tanning for your wedding, it’s a very good idea to have a trial before a dress fitting to ensure that everything works and looks exactly as you want it to and avoid any nasty surprises on the day. 

Make-up and hair trials may seem like an additional and perhaps unnecessary cost but for the peace of mind they’ll give you, trust us, it’s worth every penny. 

Skipping breakfast

Something else you don’t want to skip is breakfast. It’s likely that you’ll be feeling nervous on the morning of the wedding but try to eat something. Having a buffet style breakfast with your bridal party takes the pressure off and allows you to pick when you feel like it, without the formality of sitting down to eat a meal. Get in your favourite breakfast foods, some nutrition-packed smoothies and lots of fruit - and go easy on the coffee, however tempting it is!

Choosing a dress before a venue

For lots of brides, one of the first things they do is start wedding dress shopping. Obviously it’s an exciting part of the process and one that people really look forward to - but don’t forget to be smart about it, too. Of course, you should go with whichever dress you fall in love with, but knowing your venue before you choose your dress is kind of important. If you end up falling in love with your look as a boho bride and then book a luxury London hotel for your wedding, you may end up wishing that you’d known this beforehand and chosen something a little more fitting to the rest of your day.

The ‘overs’: overthinking, overdecorating, overspending, overscheduling

When you’re swept up in the process of planning a wedding, it’s so easy to overthink each detail and get yourself into a frenzy about why it absolutely must be this particular florist but she’s unavailable that day. Trust in your suppliers - they know exactly what they’re doing and are extremely unlikely to let you down. 

It’s tempting to plan your day out meticulously but take your suppliers’ advice - you don’t want to load up your photographer with hours of portraits and miss out on those shots of people doing their own thing (which often turn out to be the best ones). 

And don’t forget - it’s a long day for everybody, whilst you’re in the planning process the idea of a party until 2am might sound like exactly what you want but, trust us, it won’t be on the day. 

Booking a venue without enough details

When you fall in love with a venue it can feel a bit like nothing else matters - ‘I’m sure everything will be fine!’. Love is blind, remember? But it’s important to get the finer details before you make your booking.

Yes, it might have the most beautiful sweeping staircase, but can you use it on the day? Where will you and your guests stay? Are there any décor restrictions? Noise limiters? Music or alcohol licensing? 

Losing perspective

Perhaps the most common mistake of all, almost every couple loses perspective during the wedding planning process at some stage. It might be that you’ve got unsolicited opinions, family members trying to rule the roost or just a heck of a lot to do - try to remember why you started, why you’re doing this and that by the end of it all, you’ll be blissfully married. Ahh.

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