Well I am pretty sure that I may have mentioned it once or twice before but I LOVE weddings! I love the planning of weddings, and I love the beauty of weddings, the feeling of weddings, and of course photographing weddings. Sooo I thought that even though I am not shooting many weddings at this time of year, people are certainly still planning them, so maybe I could use the insight that I have from going to and being a part of so many weddings (ok and from reading wedding magazines and websites) and share it with those who might find it beneficial! And for those who don’t want to read wedding planning info, I’ll include some pretty pictures

For those of you who just started planning, you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed, which is understanding, I’ve already done it and I am not even sure where to start in the guiding the process!

The first thing you probably need to look at is your timeline. That may sounds pretty obvious, but when do you plan on getting married? Keep in mind that the closer your wedding is, the more sacrifices you may have to make. Some people plan their weddings 2 years in advance, so some of the spots you might be looking for might not be available. Same thing can go for photographers, cake makers, florists etc. If you are not specific in what you want you can plan a wedding in as short a time as you like. If you are specific on the vendors, locations and options that you would like you may have to look at having a longer engagement so everything can line up just as you have dreamed for your wedding day.

A couple of tips for you when starting your wedding planning:

1. find a wedding website you like, the knot and Wedding Bells are two great ones that offer great tools (like a budget calculator, guest list organizer and even a free personalized wedding website)

2. Start your wedding binder. You can buy wedding planning binders or some sort of every bride’s guide…but I recommend a nice clean white three ring binder that can hold looseleaf and page protectors. This book will become your wedding bible. To start all you need to do is start tearing out pages of magazines and printing things off. Later on your binder will be full of details, contracts, correspondance and if you’re anything like me, maybe even diagrams and charts. Basically the binder helps you keep all wedding related items in one place, and I recommend the binder to everyone!

3. Set a list of priorities. Plans can get mixed up and people’s opinions can sway you away from your dream if you aren’t clear on it to begin with. Is sticking to your budget EXACTLY a priority? It may mean sacrificing something along the way, but if that’s what is important to you, then you need to stick to it. Do  you want a small wedding, outdoor wedding or casual wedding (there are lots of other options these are just a few examples) many people will have their opinions, but if you have your list of priorities set, you are much more likely to get the wedding you want.

For example my wedding priority list consisted of three things:

1. I had to have an amazing photographer

2. I had to get married at Domain de Grand Pre in the summer of 2006 and

3. I had to have comfortable shoes

It’s a short list, but it made a big difference in my planning. I ended up having to hire a photographer from Toronto because the vineyard was only available on dates when local photographers were not. I had to cut things out of my budget because I had to invest in the photography. My guest list had to be whittled down to 55 people, because that is what the restaurant at the vineyard accommodated (and I didn’t want the big tent) and I had to pick a dress that was flattering without 12 inch heels (and remember to get it hemmed accordingly) Some people didn’t agree with my priorities, or understand them, but my wedding day was perfect and I think that it was because I stuck to my priorities.

So happy planning everyone! And I’ll be back with more wedding advice and details next Wednesday! Oh and here are a couple of pics from my wedding (see I got what I wanted!) Photos by Judy of Elementz of Fotographie.