How to Design Your Own Wedding Even When You Have No Experience
Preparing for a wedding takes about a year and a half to plan, which is why couples often hire planners to avoid the overwhelming feeling that comes with this type of event. If you are a bride or groom who wants to design your wedding, learning about the industry is a terrific way to overcome a lack of experience. There are also sources online or in your community to help you learn about the wedding industry, which will save you thousands of dollars in consultation fees.
Take a Wedding and Event Design Course
You want to experience the perfect nuptials, so gaining an education on industry standards is a great place to start designing a wedding. Because the average engagement is 16 months, prepare for the occasion by taking a campus or online wedding and event design course at the Institute of Wedding & Event Design. A wedding designer’s role is to create an innovative vision and aesthetic idea, so stepping into this role will be easier when you gain academic knowledge from experienced industry professors.
Create a Wedding Planner Binder
Critical traits a wedding designer needs is attention to detail and time management. These qualities will assist you when creating a wedding planner binder that holds your design sketches, notes, vendor information and wedding itinerary. A binder allows you to be meticulous in the decision-making process so that you will not miss critical details.
Get Advice From Married Friends
The best way to gain hands-on experience is to get advice from friends about their experiences as well as challenges faced during their ceremony and reception. Did any of the couples have special ceremony traditions that you will be able to incorporate into your wedding? Did their wedding coordinators have any issues or forget to do something that caused stress or frustration? The more you know about what to expect as well as challenges the others faced, you will have the right type of plan to overcome issues.
Prepare Questions for Wedding Vendors
A way to overcome a lack of experience is to prepare vendor questions. It helps to vet your vendors and request valuable information that will influence your design concept. It will allow you to gain insight into their vendor roles. Ask to view each of the vendor’s portfolios, per-person charges, the venue rental inclusion items or backup contingency plans. Even if you do not utilize the information, it will give you more data with which to work.
Bring Your Design Ideas Together
If you want to be original, develop your ideas based on your personal style. From invitations to a favorite theme and color palette, closing your eyes and envisioning your picture-perfect wedding will allow you to answer many of the questions you would normally ask a wedding designer. It will also permit you to think about your wedding from a professional designer point of view rather than feel the stress as the bride or groom.
Ultimately, it will be your job to develop innovative ideas and work with the wedding coordinator and vendors to ensure the design concept and itinerary plans are implemented as you planned.
