Where do you even start? You are all excited, you just found your person and got engaged…now what? We can help you plan the big day, follow these tips to get started.

What KIND of day do you want?

Get together with your partner and decide what KIND of wedding day you are looking forward to.

There are 3 main kinds of weddings.

Traditional Wedding
This is the kind you typically think of when you think of weddings. It’s inviting everyone you know 75-300 people, Bridal Party, Ceremony, Cocktail Hour, Toasts, Speeches, Dance Floor, Fancy Dinner, Cake Cutting, Sparkler Exits, you know the drill.
Micro Wedding
This kind of wedding is like a traditional wedding but WAY more intimate, you’ll just be inviting family and maybe a few friends. These typically have very small or no bridal party, a small or even private ceremony and then a dinner surrounded by your inner circle. You can still cut your cake and have your first dance with each other and your parents however you won’t feel like you’re on a main stage.
Elopement
This one is the most relaxed and care free. It’s just the two of you, your officiant and photographers. Often we go on some kind of adventure, hike or just sight seeing with a picnic style dinner and a bottle of champagne.
Hybrid
You can mix and match! Have an adventure elopement style ceremony just the two of you and then head out to your huge party to dance the night away with everyone you know.

When and where?

These two decisions typically go hand in hand. Decide where you would like to get married and what season or time of year would be the best for you. If you love winter and skiing or can’t get enough of those fall colors, want a tropical summer time destination wedding or spring time floral fling this will be the biggest decision you will have to make.

Unless you are dead set on a particular date like an anniversary or 11/11 pick a few weekends and leave it flexible. You’ll soon find out if your top venue and photographers have your date available.
Start with the general area, city, state or country without tying yourselves down to any specifics.
Figure out the best season or your favorite time of year for the area you are getting married.
Make sure you are staying true to your dreams, no doubt compromises will have to be made down the line but this part should get you both excited to plan the big day.

VENUE?

Once you decide the general where and when, it’s time to look for a venue!

Here are some tips for finding the perfect venue for you.

Picking your date.
Keep your dates fairly open at this point, weddings are back in full swing and they may not have your exact date available. HOT TIP: WEEKDAYS ARE OFTEN DISCOUNTED, FRIDAY WEDDINGS ARE NOW TRENDING.
Outdoor or Indoor?
Even if you want an outdoor wedding, if you are paying for a venue ask them if they have a back up plan in case it rains cats and dogs.
Accommodations.
Are a large majority of your guests traveling to your wedding? If so, you might want to think about accommodations. Hotels and resorts often have wedding services on site but you can also use a shuttle service to get your guests from their hotels to your venue.
Alcohol.
Sometimes this can be an issue when booking a venue. Someone needs to have a liquor license, unless you are on private property you won’t be able to just BOYB or serve your guests yourselves. If you are choosing a vineyard or brewery, they will have the ability to serve your guests no problem and might even include a couple bottles with your package. If your venue does not include food or beverage you will have to hire a catering company to not only bring the food but also bring the alcohol! There is a third option of course and this is to hire a wedding bar company. These guys are professional wedding bartenders with liquor licenses and the ones we recommend bring the whole bar too!
Planning services.
Your venue tells you they have a coordinator just for you! Great! But what does that really mean? Ask your venue how involved your coordinator will be. Are they just going to book your date and handle your paperwork meaning they are just in sales. Are they actually going to show up on your big day? Sometimes coordinators are just there in the morning to show other vendors where to set up and then they leave. Are they full on wedding planners, are they going to help you book all your other vendors and book appointments for food or cake tastings? Help you decorate? Plan and manage your timeline? These are great questions to ask when a venue offers a free coordinator, it’s often times not what you think.
Permits.
If you are eloping in a National Park you will most likely need a permit to hold your ceremony on park property, it’s no big deal and we as your photographers actually help you with your paperwork.

HIRE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEOGRAPHER

Your photographers and venue will be the first two vendors you hire. Most couples find their exact wedding date this way.

If you have your heart set on a particular venue, you’ll have to set an actual date with them first. Venues and photographers have the least amount of availability since they can only book one couple per day in most cases. If your venue gives you a couple dates then you can ask your photographer which ones they have open and set the date!

Set a date!
The two most important things must have your date available, your venue and your photographer.
How many photographers are coming?
Personally we think it’s best to always have 2! Who’s going to capture your partners face while your walking down the aisle AND capture you coming down the aisle at the same time? If you are paying for professional photographers, every aspect of your day should be captured and having 2 photographers ensures just that!
Videography
If you are hiring videography services as well, hiring a company that does both is the best way to go. If your photographer and videographer and just meeting the day of your wedding and have different working styles, it can spell disaster. Working well together on the same mission with the same timeline is essential.
Engagement Session
Are you sending out invites? Do you have a wedding website with details for your guests? You’ll likely need some great photos of the two of you. Not only are engagement sessions great for invites, wedding table decor and wedding websites, it’s the perfect warm up to get to know your photographer. You’ll need to get out all those in front of the camera jitters so you can just relax on your wedding day and knock out those formal portraits knowing exactly how your photographer works.
Ask Questions!
Here are some questions you’ll need to ask your photographer:
Are you insured? Most venues will require all vendors to carry liability insurance. What is my initial payment/deposit to book our date? Is there a payment plan? Make sure your photographer knows your wishes when it comes to the style of your day and the photos you are looking for. Sometimes couples don’t want the whole day to just be a photo production, they would rather a documentary candid style instead. Or maybe you’ve been obsessing over your wedding pinterest board and want to get all those photos out of the way before the ceremony and then just have candids during the reception. Have these conversations with your photographer!

MARRIAGE LICENSE

Once you decide where you will be getting married you will have to make sure it will all be official and legal right? In the US, in most cases you will need to contact your local county government office and apply for your marriage license. You’ll need an officiant to preside over your ceremony, sign your license and then submit it back to the state. In a few states however, you won’t need an officiant, in fact you can marry yourselves in Washington DC, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Nevada and Pennsylvania. It is also very easy to become ordained and a lot of couples make their day special by asking a friend or family member to officiate their wedding ceremony.

INVITATIONS

Once you have your wedding date, time and place it’s time to send out those invites. You can create a wedding website and just send digital invites or mail out invitations elaborate as you and your partner want. The hardest part will be deciding who to invite, our advice is to not care what others think, this day is all about you and your partner.

OTHER VENDORS YOU’LL NEED TO FIND

After figuring out what kind of wedding you’ll have, setting a date, finding a venue and hiring your photographer/videographer you can take a breath and pat yourselves on the back, the hard parts are done!

The rest is all in the details! Make this next part fun for you and your partner. Go to a couple cake tastings, take your favorite people dress shopping with you, taste all the catering menus and really enjoy wedding planning.

Wedding Planner.
If you are already overwhelmed at this point, please do yourselves a favor and hire a wedding planner. Someone who knows the best vendors and can handle all the deposits and contracts and planning of your actual day. The venue coordinator is not the same thing as a wedding planner, not even close.
The Wardrobe.
The next thing you’ll be excited about choosing will be your wardrobe. Enjoy this part, take your favorite people with you to help you decide and make a day of it.
Catering
Catering companies typically will have a tasting menu, this means you’ll have some pretty awesome date nights while you plan.
Bartender
If your venue doesn’t have a liquor license and your catering isn’t bringing the booze, you’ll need to hire a wedding bartender. These guys often create signature cocktails just for you that your guests will love!
Cake
Go to some cake tastings and if cake isn’t your thing, any dessert will do! Have fun with this part!
Florist
Finding a great florist is key, they will be decorating your whole event so find a really amazing one! We have even seen couples diy this part, you can buy flowers in bulk from places like costco or wegmans if you have an eye for design. We have also seen paper origami flowers made from harry potter books and entire table scapes made from fake flowers that look amazing as well. Get creative but don’t skip this step, this is what separates your wedding event from a corporate one!
DJ/Music/Entertainment
We’ve seen celebrity DJ’s and live 20 piece bands, this will totally depend on the type of vibe you are going for!
Makeup and Hair
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do a make up and hair test, this can even be used for your engagement session. We’ve seen brides be totally disappointed with their hair and makeup minutes before walking down the aisle. That friend you thought was good at hair and makeup…yeah find a licensed cosmetologist instead. This one is important, you are dishing out all this dough, it’s important you feel confident and love your look!
Linens/Wedding Decor/Furniture Rentals
Another important detail you’ll need to look into. You will need tables, chairs and linens for your ceremony and reception space. We recommend moving ceremony seating into your reception space during cocktail hour to save on those extra chairs. We love cocktail hour lounge seating like couches which can double for those family photos and create a more laid back vibe. You will also need plates, chargers, napkins, and cuttlery if your caterer doesn’t provide it. There are wedding rental companies that offer all of these things so you won’t have to spend a fortune buying it.
Details
Another area to have some fun creating with your partner. If you are having assigned seating at your wedding you will need a fun table seating chart for your guests to find their tables and table numbers to place on the tables. You can even go as far as creating little keepsakes for each guests or writing each of them a welcome letter left on their seat. Make sure to have a guest book so you can remember all your guests that came. There are SO many ways you can create a guest book as a keepsake for you, have fun with it.

TIMELINE

As you get closer to your wedding day, around 6 weeks out you should be creating a timeline of events for your day. You might have a rough idea of when vendors are showing up and what time your ceremony will be but you’ll need a hour by hour schedule for the day, trust us, it will be way less stressful if you know what’s happening next.

If you hire us as your photographers we actually create this timeline with you, no extra charge. We will jump on the phone or facetime/zoom for our final meeting and go over every last detail and make a schedule that is cohesive with your planner, venue and other vendors. We will go over what photos need to be taken when, like bridal party, family and couples photos. When we will need all those invitations and vow books to shoot your details, getting ready and whether you want to do a first look or not, and if you get to be at your cocktail hour. This will be one of the final steps in your planning process and one of your most important tasks because this sets the stage and tempo for your day.

WEDDING GUIDE

As soon as you book your wedding with us we ship out one of our wedding welcome kits complete with our super helpful Wedding or Elopement Guides that will help you get started planning your special day. It has all sorts of helpful tips, sample timelines and creative ideas to incorporate into your day. It even has a tote bag to keep all your details in and a planner in the back for you to keep track of all your vendors and wedding information so it’s all in one place.