Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life…you deserve to have a fun and stress free day! With a little bit of planning and an amazing vendor team, you can relax and party on knowing that every unique detail of your day is being taken care of. Here are 5 of my favorite tips to ensure you have a stress free wedding day:
1. Hire a wedding planner or day of coordinator
This one is important and allows you to be truly present and have a stress free day. They will help make sure your day runs smoothly, deal with all vendor communication, and make sure every detail is taken care of. There are a lot of moving parts on a wedding day and to be honest…there are always hiccups. With a wedding planner or day of coordinator, you don’t have to be a part of the solution…heck you don’t even need to know a problem exists. If you want a fun and stress free wedding day a wedding planner or day of coordinator is a must!
2. Do a first look
When I talk to my couples about a first look…I hear lots of different things with some couples who don’t even know what it is and others who fear it will “ruin” their aisle moment. Let me address all of the above. So what is a first look? A first look is an intimate moment you share with your partner prior to your ceremony. It is the time you get to see each other for the first time on your wedding day, without the audience, without the show…just a moment for the two of you. Sounds romantic, right? IT IS!
Not only does it make for a beautiful memory and stunning photos it also has many other perks. Realistically…this could be a whole blog post on it’s own but to summarize it in a few short paragraphs…it is a total game changer on your wedding day. It allows you to maximize the amount of time you spend with the person you love. When you don’t do a first look you often spend your entire day with your friends and wedding vendors. Let’s be real..I know I’m fun but I also know you’d rather spend more time with the love of your life than me on your wedding day. The other awesome thing about doing a first look is it allows you to actually enjoy your reception. When you do a first look, we can capture all of your couple and bridal party portraits prior to the ceremony…so you can actually enjoy the party you worked so hard to plan. Trust me when I say…a first look can really help to eliminate stress on your wedding day. If you want to have a stress free wedding day without feeling rushed, a first look is the way to go!
3. Have a timeline and make sure ALL necessary people have access to it.
This is honestly one of the most important aspects of planning for a stress free day. Not only is it important to have a timeline…but it’s important to have a GOOD timeline. A wedding planner or day of coordinator is really helpful when it comes to timeline planning and using your timeline to run your day and keep things on schedule. Make sure that all people involved in the wedding day are given access to a copy of the timeline to make sure everyone knows where they are supposed to be and when.
4. Stay OFF Pinterest
You heard me…STAY OFF PINTEREST! Sure you can create a mood board but when it comes to your photography…stay off pinterest! When I first started out as a wedding photographer I would often have couples send me pinterest boards asking for specific moments and poses. I would study their pinterest boards, make lists of their desired poses, and set out on their wedding day ready to create someone else’s moments. While I was busy looking back to their pinterest board to find that moment they requested I was missing all of the memories that were happening in the actual moment. Pinterest has a time and a place in wedding planning, but don’t allow it to creep into your wedding day. At the end of the day…it’s about you two as a couple and the memories you are creating together, in the moment, with the people who mean most to you. When you find a photographer you love and trust, they will create pinterest worthy images out of your memories rather than copying someone else’s.
5. Hire vendors you trust
Hiring a vendor team that you trust is imperative when planning a stress free wedding day. I see horror stories on the facebook groups all of the time with brides heartbroken over lost or poor quality photos. This can cause a LIFETIME of stress. When you are hiring your vendors, make sure you are hiring someone who is an expert in their craft. Have that one vendor you absolutely adore and trust? Ask them for suggestions of their favorite vendors to work with. Chances are you will get a list of awesome, trustworthy, vendors who can help make your stress free wedding dreams come true!
Hannah Cessna is a wedding photographer based out of Akron, Ohio that serves the greater Cleveland, Ohio area and destination wedding couples worldwide. In addition to wedding photography, Hannah also specializes in engagements, couple, family, high school seniors, and personal branding for small business owners. Hannah photographs weddings in Cleveland, Ohio but is available for travel worldwide.
