5 High-Impact Wedding Planning Tips

There are so many expenses when it comes to wedding planning. Many couples have to prioritize what they want to invest in. Over the years of photographing weddings, I have found that there are certain things to avoid investing in and other parts of the day that a little extra investment will go a very long way! My hope is that this list will help you invest in the parts of your day that will be high-impact and will help you avoid spending money where it doesn’t matter.

1. Invest in your bridal bouquet over other florals: Make your bridal bouquet a big priority! When I’m photographing a wedding, if the bride has a gorgeous bouquet, I can make the entire day look like there were beautiful florals everywhere! I can use the bridal bouquet to spruce up bridal details, reception details, and even bride and groom portraits as well! The bridal bouquet is a focal point for me when it comes to your photography and so I highly recommend getting your DREAM bouquet and investing less on the bridesmaids’ bouquets since they will not be photographed nearly as much!

2. Go with greenery or lose petals over blooms: Greenery is beautiful and photographs well but it can be half the price of ordering blooms. I recommend actual flowers for your bridal bouquet and other bouquets but then decorating other aspects of the day with greenery to save money but still make a huge visual impact!

3. Have one well-done installation instead of a lot of small vignettes of decor: If you’re hoping for a heavily detailed reception but the cost is adding up, focus on one focal point instead of trying to decorate everywhere. For example, invest in a beautiful, large, hanging chandelier or unique lighting elements but do shorter, simpler floral centerpieces on 1/2 of your tables and candles on the other 1/2.

4. Double purposes for decor: Maybe you choose to have an epic, well-styled entryway decor at your reception that also doubles as an amazing photo booth later on throughout the evening once party dancing has started!

5. Avoid spending money on tiny details: Customized favors, can koozies, personalized M&M’s, etc. it all adds up at the end of the day. Your hard work in the tiny details can often be overlooked and is eventually thrown away by guests or left at the tables.