Are you ready to plan the party of a lifetime?! OK, since you’re here, you might be looking for a little direction. And I totally get that. The prospect feels daunting, but trust me, you’ve got this. I planned my entire backyard wedding from start to finish, and though I’m not gonna lie and say it was always easy, it was incredibly rewarding, and I learned a lot. Those lessons are what I’m going to share with you. So, let’s talk about tips for planning a wedding on your own – like a pro-fesh.
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Average Cost of Wedding Planners
First, it’s important to decide if planning a wedding on your own is right for you. More often than not, this decision is dictated by your wedding budget. If you’re like me, I couldn’t justify the added expense of a wedding planner when I knew I could do it myself.
According to the Knot, the average cost of wedding planners was $2,300 in 2023. That was the national average. Depending on your location and the services involved, a wedding planner could cost upwards of $10,000.
Top 10 Tips for Planning a Wedding
If you decide to forgo the wedding planner, no worries, you can totally do this.
To plan your own wedding, starting early and taking a strategic approach is key. Here are the ten tips for planning a wedding to ensure your journey is a success (and as stress-free as possible!).
#1 | Planning a Wedding Requires Time. Start Early!
The more time you have, the less stressful it will be. When you consider your wedding date, try to give yourself some breathing room.
With a year or more to plan, you can really focus on tackling the big stuff first (booking your venue and vendors) in addition to leaving yourself plenty of time for the fun stuff (the decor, the signage, and all the DIYs).
More time will also give you more flexibility to handle any unexpected changes that could arise.
#2 | Delegate & Use Your Resources
Even if you don’t have the budget for an official wedding planner or day-of coordinator, that doesn’t mean you are left without resources. The key to success in planning a wedding on your own is not being afraid to ask your friends and family for help.
- Match Tasks with Skills. Consider what each of your inner circle is good at and might be willing to help manage for you. Things like DIY projects, pick-ups, making calls, or helping with set-up are all great tasks to delegate.
- Appoint a Day of Coordinator. Delegate a day-of-wedding point of contact. While you’re getting ready for the big day, someone has to be fielding vendor questions, confirming their arrivals, and helping with set-up. This person should be someone you trust, but not in your wedding party.
- Ask them early. The more time you both have to tackle whatever it is you’re asking them to do, the easier it will be for someone to say yes.
#3 | Budget Wisely for Planning a Wedding Yourself
Set a realistic spending limit at the beginning and prioritize expenses based on what matters most to you. Have a budget in mind before you begin planning, and your priorities set, so you’ll know where you have room to splurge, and where you’ll need to look for more cost-effective alternatives.
━━━━━➤ Check out how to plan a wedding on a budget for tips on setting your spending limit and smart planning tips to save.
#4 | Organization Ideas for Planning a Wedding
There are five things you should do from the get go to help you stay organized (and keep your sanity) while planning your own wedding.
1. Set up a Dedicated Wedding Email: Save yourself the hassle of trying to locate a wedding email in the abyss of your inbox and set-up a unique wedding planning email to keep everything in one place.
2. Make a Financial Plan: Keep your finances organized by creating a unique savings or checking account. You might even think about a high yield savings account that accumulates interest and using point-based credit cards for payments.
3. Create a Wedding Organizer: Whether you’re more digitally inclined, or love a good ‘ole three-ringed binder (me!), create a space to keep all of your wedding details, receipts and notes. This is one of the most important wedding organization ideas to keep your planning process smooth.
━━━━━➤ Check out my guide to the top 20 free wedding planning checklists and planners for more on this topic.
4. Create a Vision Board: Pinterest wedding vision boards are ideal for organizing your ideas quickly, but you can also make a physical version if you so choose. This will help you plan your aesthetic.
5. Create a Wedding Website: Create a wedding website early, even if you’ve got literally zero details to fill in. This will help you keep all your wedding planning ideas in one place.
━━━━━➤ Check out my article on 7 Tips for Using Wedding Invitation Websites to Save & Stress Less.
#5 | Break Down Big Wedding Planning Tasks
Planning your own wedding can be a big stressor. So, my biggest tip for planning a wedding and avoiding that feeling of overwhelm is to: 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓽𝓪𝓼𝓴 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓸 𝓼𝓶𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓻 𝓫𝓲𝓽𝓮-𝓼𝓲𝔃𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓪𝓼𝓴𝓼.
Each task should be something you could accomplish (if you wanted to or had to) within a day.
Here is an example of what I mean, because I like to show vs. tell!
𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤: Book a venue
𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐞-𝐒𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬:
- Create Venue Comparison Document
- Begin Initial List
- Begin Research
- Create a Short List
- Schedule Venue Visits
- Draft Questions for Venue Visits
- Complete Venue Visits
- Compile Final Notes
- Decide on Final Venue
- Review Contract and Book!
#6 | Research, Research, Research
Before making any decisions, make sure you’re doing due diligence to heavily research. Whether that’s deciding on a venue or picking your attire, make sure you explore multiple alternatives, read reviews, ask all the hard questions and keep everything organized to be able to compare and contrast.
#7 | Get the “Big Stuff” Done First
Get all of your “big stuff” out of the way first. And by big stuff I mean your venue, your key vendors like photographer, DJ/band, caterer, florist, transportation, and baker. And, if you’ve got a DIY wedding venue, you may need to add rentals to this list.
This will ensure none of the vendors you’ve got your eye on get booked up while you were busy doing other things. You’ll also have a good sense of how you’re tracking against your target budget to see what is left for decor, signage and all the extras.
#8 | Check for Restrictions
When you’re planning your own wedding, permits can be an easy thing to overlook. Mainly because this is something you wouldn’t need to contract on your own if you’re going through a full-service venue.
If you’re considering more DIY wedding venues, then you’ll need to make sure you’re securing any permits for alcohol, noise, or special events you might need through your town.
#9 | Prepare for the Unexpected
With any wedding or event, there is always the element of surprise. Whether that’s an unexpected guest, or the dreaded rain on your wedding day. Go into this with an open mind and know that there will be things that come up as you go.
Consider alternative options for your ceremony and reception, and have clear communication with vendors. Wedding insurance can also be a smart investment.
━━━━━➤ Check out my article Rain on Your Wedding Day: 10 Strategies for a Perfect Plan B for more on tackling bad weather.
#10 | Make Time for R&R
It might sound counterintuitive to productivity, but trust that taking time away from wedding planning can be the best thing for you, especially if overwhelm starts to set in. Get some exercise, meet a friend for drinks, plan a date night with your fiancé, just STEP AWAY away from the wedding plans.
Read that again slowly so you commit it to memory.
Additional Tips for Planning a Wedding
Remember, this process should be a fun and rewarding experience. With these key considerations and wedding planning ideas, you’ll be well on your way to creating a magical day that reflects your unique love story. You’ve got this, and I can’t wait to see you walk down that aisle on your big day!
Still have questions? Or found something else that works you want to share with other DIY wedding planners? Drop a comment! I’d love to hear from you. And, check out these additional articles before you go!
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Happy Planning!
Kelsey
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