Top tips for planning your wedding in 2023

Planning a wedding is usually a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Many find the whole prospect of wedding planning quite daunting which is just one of the many reasons why hiring a wedding planner is a great idea! We spoke to our brilliant wedding planner Jessica, from Jessica Sharpe Weddings who happily shared her top tips for planning a wedding in 2023.

Let in sink in. Let yourself enjoy your engagement, there’s no rush to race ahead. Enjoy that just engaged feeling and take some time to relish in that. 

Start at the beginning. I mean right at the beginning… think about your numbers, your guest list and if there is anything that needs to be factored into the marquee or venue search. Putting some thought into these building blocks makes for really successful wedding planning, 

Be Inspired: Magazines, podcasts, blogs, social media - use it to your advantage. Take snippets of inspiration from everything around you to gather your thoughts and ideas for your day. 

Research. There is so much information out there, take it with a grain of salt of course but allow yourself to look at what's going on in wedding planning.

Budget. Not the most exciting topic I grant you but one to get as much of a grasp on in the early stages of your planning. It doesn't have to be set in stone from the early days as we all know, things change. However, having a starting point is helpful for wedding suppliers to point you in the right direction with regard to your expectations for your budget allocation. If you know you want the most spectacular floral designs throughout your wedding, your budget needs to reflect that. 

Determine how much time you have to invest in wedding planning. Wedding planning is no mean feat, for most people, you’ll be allocating 250-300 hours over the course of your wedding planning to all those wedding-related tasks; researching, planning and admin to name a few and that's just tip of the iceberg! Be realistic with yourself and decide upon where you want to spend your time, and if its valuable for you to ask for help. This might be via friends and family in which you can delegate smaller tasks to, or this might be to a professional wedding planner. Most wedding planners offer a range of service levels to suit your planning position. 

Book the best you can. Don’t book someone or something that doesn't light your fire. You have to feel a connection with a potential supplier or venue. This is going to be one of the most memorable days of your life and you need people who understand your vision and whom you can trust around you. 

Prioritise. What are the absolute non-negotiables to your day? This is something I ask my wedding planning clients as help’s me gain a greater understanding of their priorities in the early days and I can then build upon the fundamental elements to their wedding days.