Wedding Planning Facts

Firstly, there are so many of these blogs so I’ve tried to write this as concisely as possible and take a slightly different approach in discussing some facts about wedding planning. As usual, we don’t gate keep here at Funbooth, so this is an honest and open read. Grab yourself a drink, settle in and get comfortable.

• Its lonely wedding planning

Starting on a bit of a downer tbh – wedding planning can be really lonely. No one else will be as excited about your big day than you, and it can be a shock when all you’ve had as reference is what you see on TV and films, or read in magazines. We’ve all had that friend who managed to turn every conversation to the subject of their wedding, and we wouldn’t recommend becoming the same, so it can be hard to discuss it through with people who have their own lives and lots going on. That being said, one group of people who SHOULD get very excited about your wedding – your suppliers. You should be able to discuss the details with them comfortably, and get well-meaning advice if you ask for it so that’s always a blessing!

• Costs will surprise you

This goes both ways. Personal experience (albeit from a supplier background) our flowers and cake were less than we budgeted for, but our rings were way more expensive than we thought. Prepping a budget is really difficult but you have to be realistic, and strict when it comes to planning. Do your research, get multiple quotes, discuss between you what you’re willing to compromise on and what you aren’t, and keep on top of what you’re spending. We’re going to do a quick blog soon about average prices of things wedding related. [You can now view that blog here – Average Wedding Costs]

• You can do a Pinterest wedding if you want to

I constantly see posts and blogs that say you can’t have high expectations or do crazy things you see on Tiktok and Pinterest. I say they aren’t right. You can – if you WANT to and you’re willing to make it happen. It will either take time, money, or both. Again, be realistic, but if you really want an 8-tier cake, that’s where you save your money to make it happen. If you want to go all out, you can do but you might have to have a longer engagement to save for it. You can choose what you want, you just have to accept the consequences of that choice – whatever they may be.

• You will actually want to listen to other people, occasionally

Again, a common theme I see is don’t listen to other people, do what you want, blah blah blah. Yeh, that’s all well and good, and yes it should be you making the final decisions but there are 2 distinct scenarios where it would be a good idea to listen to other people. Firstly, if you have someone else contributing significantly to your wedding, it would be polite to get their input and take some of their ideas or wants forward. End of – accept and agree, and be without stress of worrying that they will withdraw their support. The second is from professionals. Most suppliers with a long history of trading have been there and done that. If they are politely trying to explain why something may not work, or that you need a plan B – listen to them! They aren’t trying to sabotage your day but rather help with forward planning.

• Friendships do change (and sometimes family relationships as well)

If you know you’re going to have a long engagement, be wary of choosing your bridal party too early. Lots change in life, and more so during wedding planning. You need to make sure the people around you on the day are those you can rely on, and that you want to be there. There is no rush to choose and it does not have to be done within months of being engaged. You can wait a while and still have plenty of time to get everything for them sorted. I have known brides wish they had different bridesmaids, or grooms want different ushers, as by the time they’ve got to their wedding their lives have changed and they have new people who would support them; or the worst one, that thankfully has only come up once in my experience of 5 years plus, was a bride ‘firing’ a member of the bridal party and them not being there on the day (or the rest of their lives). And the same goes for family – sometimes weddings bring out the worst in guests no matter what. Be prepared for it.  

• Guests really do just not turn up

Ok so occasionally there is a genuine breakdown of vehicle or illness that means guests aren’t able to make it on the day. But the worst thing is– it happens A LOT. I would say every other wedding we work has at least 2-4 guests that don’t show up, and sometimes its even more no-shows. Have a backup plan with any suppliers that are number specific (e.g. caterer – I mean you’ve paid for it, make sure someone still gets the food even its boxed and saved for you to eat at the end of the night back in your hotel room!)

• You do need to feed your vendors and give them breaks if they are working for 6 hours+

We’re really lucky in that we often get fed, but be aware that you also need to give your ‘long-day’ vendors a bit of a break at some point. Ask them what they prefer, but most will probably say they want to eat in a different area to guests so as not to be interrupted, and have a chance to catch up on their messages, check in with family etc. If they are with you all day (think photographers) you need to give them a break – and to be honest, you’ll probably want one as well!

• Its helpful to be prepared

When wedding planning, it can be really helpful to have prepped some mood boards or descriptions of the things you’re wanting. Some suppliers will help you create these, but going prepared means you can have meaningful conversations that will really give you the opportunity to understand if they are right for you. Date, location, theme, colours, likes/dislikes, budget, lists – honestly, you can’t be over prepared.

• You will stress

Its an important day, and again we see so many ‘how to have a stress-free day’ posts that we’re going to be honest; you will get stressed at some point. Whether its your partner being unhelpful, a guest over stepping the mark, something going wrong with a vendor, whatever; at some point you will get stressed over the process, it will seem over-whelming, and it will be lonely. AND that’s perfectly normal. You want this day to be special for the reasons that you do – so when it happens, we’d recommend doing something like;

• Talking to someone (who hasn’t stressed you out).
• Writing your frustrations down and tearing the paper up – set fire to it if you fancy.
• Do something else. Go to dinner, go for a walk, go to the cinema – just something else NOT wedding related.
• Have a go to wedding person; we do recommend on the day coordinators to tackle any problems on the day, but we know that’s not always something can be hired so have someone in your party fully prepared to divert issues from you and be able deal with them. Make sure they know this ahead of the day and that they have access to everything you have gathered during planning. We might do a checklist for this actually…. Watch this space.

And that’s it for now although we might do a part 2 if we think of more wedding facts that might be useful to share!

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