A Wedding Coordinator’s 5 Best Tips For A Beautiful Wedding
Photo by Leonardo Miranda on Unsplash
Our wedding day is something that most of us have dreamt of since we first watched Cinderella. The love, the beautiful white dress, the flowers, the cake – there are so many details that go into a wedding. For a newly engaged couple, planning your wedding is a daunting task. Not only are there all the desires for your big day that you’ve had since you were little, but there are also pressing details and important decisions to make!
In the flurry of planning a wedding, one may ask where to start and how they can make the wedding of their dreams a reality. Below is a list of my top five tips for a beautiful wedding after being a wedding coordinator for nearly ten years.
Tip 01 | Make a list of what really matters.
When you’re starting to plan your wedding, take out your pen and paper and write down the top eight things that matter to you. These could include a live band, flowers, desserts, or even an overpriced designed wedding dress.
Before you start making decisions for your wedding, you have to know what actually matters to you. Spend money on the things that matter and save money on things that aren’t as important. If you know what’s important before you start making decisions, you’ll stay in budget and still have the day of your dreams.
Tip 02 | Delegate.
Delegate everything you possibly can – especially on your wedding day. When I got married, I had two wedding coordinators and my adopted mom running everything the week of the wedding. The week before my wedding, I told my vendors, “Don’t contact me for any reason. Take everything to my wedding coordinators or Betsy.”
I hired and recruited people I trusted and left everything that came up last minute up to them. On my wedding day, they were there. I didn’t have to worry about anything besides getting married to the love of my life. I was mentally present the day of my wedding and was able to enjoy time with my guests, time with my love, and time as a bride.
Tip 03 | Think outside the box.
I think there have been a lot of rules put on weddings that shouldn’t be there, and may I add, that people are tired of. What even is a “wedding” anyway? It is, in theory, a day that you marry your sweet love and then get to celebrate with your friends and family. Everything in between that can, and should, be whatever you want.
Hate cake? Then don’t have one at your wedding! Do you like appetizers and can’t stand long, sit-down dinners? Serve finger food and bring out three new ones every hour.
It’s your wedding day. You decide what to do and how you party. Think outside the box and come up with how you want your wedding day to be – even if it’s unconventional.
Tip 04 | Have fun appetizers for cocktail hour.
This may not seem exciting to some, but you don’t know what a difference this makes. While you’re off getting photos taken, guests get bored, and the best way to make sure everyone’s happy is by giving them delicious, unique bites of food – so have a grazing table with something fun like pizza bites for guests to snack on before the main course.
Tip 05 | Celebrate your guests.
On your wedding day, take time to celebrate the people who got off work and flew in to be with you. It seems easy to say, but on your wedding day, with everything going on, taking time to not only greet, but actually have conversations with everyone is a detail that often gets overlooked. Take time to hug, talk, and dance with the people who came to celebrate you. Those are moments you’ll regret missing if you don’t!
In short…
I think my biggest piece of advice for a beautiful wedding is this: enjoy every second. Be present every moment and enjoy them all. Don’t worry about what’s happening next or that each detail is exactly perfect. Trust those you delegated to and have fun. Marry your true love, enjoy your special day, and celebrate with everyone who loves you.
To get in touch with McKenna, visit Events by McKenna.
