Avoiding Major Wedding Mistakes

Wedding planning is such an exciting time. There’s so much excitement in selecting your decor and planning all of the details. But, for some – okay, let’s face it all brides and grooms – there are times when wedding planning can be downright stressful. Through the process, it is easy to get lost in the details and become hyper-focused on completing tasks. It’s during these times that simple wedding planning mistakes can be made and create added stress down the road or on your wedding day. Let us walk you through some of the major wedding mistakes and how to best avoid them to eliminate any additional stressors on your big day. 

#01: Don’t Throw Your Budget out the Window

One of the major stressors in life, including marriages, is finances. We always tell our clients the most important part of the wedding planning process is the creation and follow-through of your budget. Creating and maintaining a budget throughout the wedding planning journey is a stressful task. For a lot of couples, they fear discussing their budget honestly. We’ve met with a fair share of couples who have differing opinions of budgets and it can easily become a sensitive topic of discussion. Whoever you are creating a budget with, sit down and talk openly and honestly about the numbers. It needs to be obtainable and comfortable for everyone participating. You don’t want to set a budget that makes you feel uncomfortable or sacrifice things in your day-to-day life. Once your budget is set, be sure to stick to your budget and don’t throw your budget out the window. Be upfront with your vendors when you begin and be realistic about what you can afford. Keep close to your budget and don’t go over. You can still create your dream wedding day by sticking to your budget. 

#02: Keep Trends Balanced 

In today’s modern times, there are so many inspirations at our fingertips. Thanks to influencers, social media platforms, and Pinterest, there are endless options for brides and grooms when it comes to planning. There are hundreds of blogs and ideas out there with upcoming trends. As you plan your wedding, it is more than okay to tie in trends. We love ourselves with a good trendy detail here and there. But, we hate to see our brides look back at their photos and think “Oh, goodness – what was I thinking!” As you browse and select trends for your wedding, think carefully. Stick to a few guidelines such as: keeping it timeless and classic. Try to balance adding details that are trendy with classic and timeless elements. You can create a trendy celebration, but it’s a balancing act – don’t go overboard with staying trendy and new. 

#03: Don’t Let Opinions Get the Best of You

No matter who is helping you plan your wedding, or even if you are tackling it just with your partner, people will have opinions. Family and friends are very excited and downright eager to be a part of the planning process. Whether you include your family in searching for your perfect dress, selecting vendors, or hosting a bridal shower – everyone has their own opinions. Throughout the planning process, it is vital to remember that they are called opinions for a reason. Yes, Aunt Sally may hate the dress you chose – but do you like it? Is this what you’ve envisioned? Or maybe your spouse’s fraternity brothers’ have a raft trip planned for the big day and they want you to reschedule… but what date works best for you and the majority of your loved ones? It is impossible to please everyone or to satisfy everyone’s opinions about your wedding day. There will be people during the planning process who will have opinions about your decisions along the way - and that’s okay. At the end of the day, this is YOUR wedding and you must be confident in the decisions that you make. You are making decisions with your partner about the celebration of your love. That is all that matters. So, take opinions with a grain of salt and don’t fret. Make decisions that are based on you and your fiance's wants and needs and make choices on how you both want to celebrate. 

#04: Live your Life 

We’ve all seen the show Brideszilla or heard people whisper about bridezillas. If this term is new to you, it simply means it’s a bride where planning has consumed their world and has essentially taken over. They are hyper-focused on all of the details and their attitude may get a little “scary” at times. As you go through this process, don’t let wedding planning take over your life. You need to live your life and forget about wedding planning every once and a while. It is not healthy to have your life revolve around your wedding or the planning process. Set aside your planning and remember to enjoy the engagement process. Go on that date, see a movie, and enjoy spending time with people you love. Don’t forget to live your life and live it well. 

#05: Don’t Set Unrealistic Expectations 

At times, we come across couples that may have out-of-this-world expectations. Sometimes, visions cannot be accomplished due to a variety of factors, such as venues, vendors, or your budget. It is important to remember that each working part of your wedding day, including vendors, work extremely hard to make your wedding vision come to life. All of the people included are professionals and have worked in the industry. You want to keep an open line of communication, but also not set unrealistic expectations with your vendors. Vendors want to provide top-of-the-line experiences for you but must stick to the agreement made within your contract. Don’t expect your vendor to go above and beyond their contract and remain respectful even in times of stress. Everyone wants your day to go off without a hitch, but keeping your expectations and visions realistic is key. 

At the end of the day, the most important aspect of your wedding is tying the knot and saying “I do.” You are celebrating to spend your life with your partner. As you go through this process, keep realistic expectations for your wedding and vendors, stick to your budget, don’t let family and friends’ opinions drag you down, make balanced decisions when it comes to selecting trends, and live your life with your fiance. Enjoy this process with your partner, don’t let it overwhelm you and if you’re feeling overwhelmed, it is okay to reach out for help. It is never too late to hire a wedding planner or coordinator to support you! Happy planning everyone!

Lori Losee is the owner of Elegant Affairs, a Seattle Wedding Planner with over 18 years of experience. We create awe-inspiring experiences—Events filled with meaning and refined elegance. Behind the scenes, our experienced team collaborates on each stage of the process, executing your vision and a wedding, celebration, or corporate event that is unique to you.

Create a Modern Fall Mood Board

Do you love fall colors as much as us? Are you more of a traditional fall guy or girl, or do you prefer to step outside of the traditional fall box? Whether you’re a color inside of the line person, or prefer to take a risk, we are here for a fall mood board. As the wedding industry progresses, we love seeing our clients step outside of the box. We’ve chosen some of our favorite past weddings that help us create our dream color schemes for any fall wedding. 

We see you, golden hour. We love ourselves for a golden hour photoshoot. And fall is the perfect backdrop for those intimate golden hour sessions. If you’re choosing your nuptials to take place in the fall, don’t feel like you have to roll out all the orange pumpkins. You can still set the scene and play off of the autumn season with an organic and simple color scheme. Don’t be afraid to add contrast to your wedding, which includes touches of black. We love the natural colors of this mood board. So, don’t shy away from some darker tones this fall. Embrace the golden hour. 

This color scheme is for our brides who want to embrace some of the fall colors, without looking like a pumpkin patch exploded on your wedding day. We’ve added some moody jewel tones in variants of green. This color scheme is perfect for a couple who have their venue set in a traditional fall scenery. We’re talking about rolling hills, a rustic farm backdrop, or a landscape of beautiful trees adorned with gorgeous fall leaves. If you chose this board, we recommend you use green as your focal point, with fresh greenery, jewel tone bridesmaids dresses, and linen napkins will set the tone for your fall affair. Add in some pops of orange to tie in fall and design the rest of your ceremony and reception space with muted beige. These colors are sure to modernize any fall design. 

This mood board is perfect for any couple that wants a little touch or rustic. This design was from a wedding in Montana we had the pleasure of planning during the autumn season. The neutral tones of brown and gray provide a rustic backdrop for your fall wedding. We loved the modern spin on classic fall colors in the centerpieces and overall design. Deep burgundy and burnt orange is the perfect touch of fall, without going overboard. And let’s say your the couple that wants to pop in a few gourds or pumpkins on your tablescape, this color scheme is perfect for you. It’s a modern spin, but gives a nod to the classic colors of autumn. 

Fall is full of natural beauty. The landscape changes and the fall colors emerge from the lush summer greenery. Fall is the perfect backdrop for any of our boho aesthetic couples. This wedding took place at one of our favorite, local venues - Kelley Farms. Our favorite part about one of our past couple’s wedding arches is the rich wood tones that reflect and inspire our natural fall board. Yes, you can definitely include some muted green tones, such as sage, or rich greens, but we wanted to focus on the natural beauty of these tones. In your centerpieces and throughout your reception, you can add pops of wood tones and oranges that tie into your venue. 

Alright, alright – we couldn’t do a fall color scheme blog without featuring some of the classic fall colors. But, we've added a cozy, yet modern twist to these classic colors. You can tie fall into your wedding with simple touches, such as a festive runner or table cloth. Don’t be afraid to use that as your design focal piece and tie in other autumn aspects. You can tie in your color scheme with choosing seasonal flowers, such as dahlias and wild flowers. It’s a subtle ode to fall, but provides a modern twist to your autumn design. We promise you, with this color scheme, your guests will be feasting and enjoying all that your fall wedding celebration has to offer. 

Fall weddings have a special place in our heart. It symbolizes change and its beauty truly speaks for itself. If you’re shying away from selecting a wedding date in the fall, because you don’t want your wedding to look like a hobby lobby fall aisle, we beg you to reconsider. You can plan a modern fall wedding that doesn’t scream Halloween or traditional pumpkins. It’s a season that is truly intimate and cozy and we’re here to help you with all of your fall design choices. 

Lori Losee is the owner of Elegant Affairs, a Seattle Wedding Planner with over 18 years of experience. We create awe-inspiring experiences—Events filled with meaning and refined elegance. Behind the scenes, our experienced team collaborates on each stage of the process, executing your vision and a wedding, celebration, or corporate event that is unique to you.

Why you Should Leave it to the Professionals

We’ve all been to weddings where we’ve family and friends pitch in to make the magic happen. Of course we love having our families and friends involved in the wedding planning process and even enjoy having loved ones around for extra support. But, let’s face it – when it comes to executing your wedding day, this includes running the day of timeline, creation and implementation of decor, and even vendors, family and friends need to leave it to the professionals. We get it, you're on a budget and your great Aunt Mollie said she can make all of the desserts and floral arrangements, but having families and friends involved on intensive levels can make stress levels rise, not just for them but for you also. So, here are our personal opinions on why you should leave the “wedding work” up to wedding professionals. 

#01: Added Stress for all Parties
Stress runs high no matter during planning a wedding. You have your vision, your fiance has theirs, and occasionally family and friends have what they want to see on your big day, too. Frequently we will see that families really want to support in making your day perfect – which is incredible! But, oftentimes, when family and friends offer to provide large acts of kindness or services, such as decor DIY/creation, it can be stressful for all parties. In our personal history, our couples that have family members chip into decor design, may struggle with drawing a boundary of personal tastes, funding, and achieving the desired look. When you book a vendor for design rentals, florals etc., you are able to count on a business professional to be reasonable with what can be accomplished and for how much. You pay for what you want and expected per your contract. At the end of the wedding planning process, the last thing you want as a bride or groom is to not be happy with the outcome or stress about executing the overall look for your day. It is more than okay to have your rentals delivered, to look and book an affordable florist, and to create the wedding design of your dreams. Now, if you family wants to support with set up, or if you’ve purchased additional decor, bring on the help! But, don’t rely so much on your family and/or friends that it becomes a not fun experience. You want your guests to walk away feeling excited and to have enjoyed the celebration. 

#02: Sometimes the Family/Friend Discount isn’t Worth it
We love a good deal as much as the next person. Our team is also all about finding deals and working within your set budget. We work diligently with our couples to be realistic about what their budget can afford and what to expect when hiring vendors. Sometimes, we will hear from couples or prospective clients that they know of a friend that can do xyz. This can include vendoring food, photography, videography etc. We’ve had a lot of experience with the family/friend discount and yes, sometimes it pays off! We’ve had couples that have a lot of talented friends to provide vending support. On the other hand, we’ve had couples that have not been satisfied with the end result of their family/friend discount. The last thing we want is for our couples to be unhappy with the vendors they selected. So, before you book your friend who is an aspiring photographer, think about what kind of quality you want. Unfortunately, budgeting the right about, and setting your expectations of quality will produce the desired outcome. It’s not a good plan to just book a friend or family member because it’s free or cheap. Think about the outcome and if you’ll be happy with it down the road. 

#03: Guests should have FUN
Your guests need to have some fun. Bottom line, your wedding day is a celebration. Family and friends travel near and far to attend your wedding day. Assigning family and friends different portions to help out before the ceremony is okay, as long as they are willing and able.  Having your friends and family work the ceremony or reception (example: bartender, impromptu DJ etc.) may not be the best plan of action, so be sure to check out reputable vendors in lieu of putting your guests to work. Now, if you do have a guest that wants to participate in providing a service or standing in as a vendor, be sure to discuss expectations for your big day. You don’t want your guests to feel left out or overworked by the end of the night. 

#04: Experience Matters
When looking at vendors, we always want to find professionals that not only match your needs, but have professional experience. We’ve worked with hundreds of vendors in our time and we can tell you that experience does matter. Vendors that have experience, not only with events, but specifically with weddings are key. We want to find vendors that have wedding experience, or even vendors that have their foot in the door with the industry. We want to collaborate with your vendors in order to provide the best experience for you, your fiance, and your guests. Family and friends may not have the same experience as a wedding vendor would have. As you select your vendors, which includes if you select family and friends, be mindful of experience, because experience matters. 

Whatever you choose in the end, whether you choose volunteers from your family and friends, or you hire professional vendors, as you select these individuals, think about the overall experience you want to create for yourselves and for your guests. Yes, having family and friends help out with your big day is absolutely okay, but you definitely don’t want to overwhelm them with DIY projects or tasks for the wedding day. It is more than OK to leave your wedding to the professionals so everyone can enjoy and celebrate to the fullest extent. 

Lori Losee is the owner of Elegant Affairs, a Seattle Wedding Planner with over 18 years of experience. We create awe-inspiring experiences—Events filled with meaning and refined elegance. Behind the scenes, our experienced team collaborates on each stage of the process, executing your vision and a wedding, celebration, or corporate event that is unique to you.