We are finally here with the last of our wedding planner Top 5 Wedding Planning Tips! Last but not least, we are ready to share #5 in the Top 5 Things To Do When Planning Your Wedding…but don’t forget to check out the other 4 Tips:

#1 of The Top 5 Things To Do When Planning Your Wedding – Determine your wedding type & style

#2 of The Top 5 Things To Do When Planning Your Wedding – Prioritize

#3 of the Top 5 Things To Do When Planning Your Wedding — Manage Expectations

#4 of the Top 5 Things To Do When Planning Your Wedding — Set a budget

#5 of 5 Things To Do When Planning Your Wedding — Make it Your Own

Make it Your Own…so what do I mean by that?

One of the most important things about your wedding celebration is that it is about you and your fiancé as well as the joining of two lives. This means that you don’t have to follow every. single. wedding. tradition. or. idea. Yes, you read that correctly! Let me elaborate for you:

• Plan your wedding with Pinterest…with caution

  I love Pinterest as much as anybody else, but you have to take the perfect Pins that you see with a grain of salt. Firstly, many of these “simple” Pinterest projects can take much longer and are more difficult than you think. Are you particularly crafty and love getting up to your elbows in hot glue and paper? Perfect! Please craft away to your heart’s content and we can’t wait to see the results! Just make sure you do these crafts at least 3 months before your wedding date because you will be more busy than you have ever been in your life the 3 months before your wedding.

  

  Secondly, I would suggest that you pick your favourite Pins and stick to those few ideas. Why? If you use everything you have pinned, then your wedding may look a little hodge-podge, bursting with so many ideas that your guests don’t know where to look. This creates a confusing design scheme and, sometimes, less really is more. Edit, edit, edit and you will be left with the best of the best.

  Thirdly, don’t try and make your wedding look exactly like your Pins. Why? Because those are things that have already been done at someone else’s wedding, and why would you want to look exactly like somebody else when you could be your own, awesome self? I always encourage brides to use the Pinterest ideas for an inspiration point into elements they would like to include in their wedding, and not to just re-create all of the Pins they like.

• Show your personality in your wedding

  This sounds obvious, but many couples try to stifle elements of their personality because it’s a “wedding” and things should be “formal” and “proper” (notice the many “air quotes” there?). While some wedding elements are a must, such as proper etiquette so that everyone is comfortable, you should have fun with your wedding. After all, it is a celebration, right? Someone I know is incorporating a “chip table” at her wedding simply because she and her fiancé love potato chips. Some friends of mine had a “favourite things” table, that included all of their favourite snacks with little cards explaining why each snack was their favourite. These ideas are fun and show interesting sides to your personality. To make sure that your fun items fit into your wedding, make sure everything ties into your design scheme by using the font from your wedding stationery, for example.

• Rethink wedding traditions

  Most people have been to enough weddings to know all of the traditional wedding things such as a Slideshow, Cake Cutting, Bridal Party Dance, First Dance, Bouquet/Garter Toss, etc. Many couples think that those are things you absolutely have to do at your wedding because it is not a wedding, otherwise. I try hard to dispel this idea. You do not have to include any of those elements if you do not want to — there is no Wedding Police to monitor this!

  If a slideshow is the last thing you want to create for your wedding, then don’t include it (bonus: you will save yourself oodles of time!). Don’t care to have all of the single ladies pointed out on the dance floor and risk the awkward moment where no one tries to catch the bouquet? Then don’t do it. Even cake cutting can be eliminated if you don’t find a need to cut your wedding cake. In fact, most of my couples end up looking to me on their wedding day right before they cut the cake and ask “So…what do I do?” If you cannot find a purpose to these small wedding traditions and they are not “you”, don’t hesitate to cut them out.

  This being said, you may experience some push back from people that are more set on following tradition. Try and compromise by including 1 or 2 traditional wedding elements, but stick to your guns and do what fits your vision and priorities of your wedding day.

  As a wedding planner & designer, I meet a lot of brides that are looking to me for help in creating a modern, fun & inviting wedding day with creative elements. They love using non-traditional ideas like a food station (see our Sugar Bar sweet tables) or lounge areas for guests to hang out after dinner. These ideas give your guests something to do at your wedding, either inviting them to select their favourite sweet treats, or relax and have conversations like they were at your home.

  

  Photo credit: image via PCS Event Productions

  That’s it! That concludes my 5 point tips on planning your wedding…and there are so many more tips and suggestions I can offer if you have any questions. If you would like to find out more information on how Evelyn Clark Weddings can help with your Calgary wedding (or Banff, Canmore, etc. wedding!), give me a shout on my email or at 403-837-9667. I’m on your side in creating your wedding vision and managing all the wedding details so that you can fully enjoy every detail of your wedding day.

  

  I am a Calgary wedding planner offering wedding planning, coordination & design to chic couples in love. You can learn more about me & Evelyn Clark Weddings and our beautiful sweet table designs, and don’t forget to look at our Gallery of stylish wedding couples too!