Why I loved planning my wedding
What’s not to love about planning a wedding? Well… a lot of things. But here’s what I’ve learned: If you have a good perspective, invest in a planner, and focus on the fun stuff at the beginning, you’ll have a lot of fun & have many meaningful experiences along the way.
1. It’s all about perspective
I love weddings. Before I had my own wedding, I loved to admire small details in my friends weddings, Hollywood movies, and of course our Kylee Ann weddings. I’m always crying when I see the first look. Or the grooms face as his bride walks down the aisle. But this year I’ve had a completely new experience with weddings.
Many of you know the story of Yanni and me & how happy I am to finally I get to plan my own wedding!! So I still love every single aspect of weddings but I must say, it is a lot more stressful and complicated than I ever thought it would be. But throughout the process, whenever I got overwhelmed about what plates and napkins to get, or how to cut down to stay in the budget, my wonderful fiance would look at me and say:
“Even if you get cheap looking napkins, I’ll still get to marry you and that’s all that matters”.
2. Invest in a planner … and USE IT!!
The other day, I overheard this girl talking with her fiancé. She was telling him “I wish I could have a massive checklist of all the things I need to do because I don’t know how to plan a wedding! There are too many things to keep track of and sometimes I don’t even know everything I need until someone tells me. All these little tiny details that need to be taken care of, all these decisions that need to be made, I feel like I’m getting in it all”
AMEN SISTER
The great thing about technology is that you can make this happen today if you set your mind to it. Find a checklist, or make one from what you can find online before you actually start planning. You can add things later, as they come to you. It’s so easy to get lost in all the decisions and forget about things. BUT if you use a planner, you are so much more likely not to forget!
For Christmas, my sister (Kylee) gave me a wedding planner that she made it from a printable template she had bound. You can find these on etsy, and can find free templates on pinterest. It saved me. It is exactly what I needed keep me for getting overwhelmed.
No matter how organized you are, you NEED a wedding planner. A physical planner. The kind you write appointments in. It’s old school but it is essential.
3. Focus on someone else & have a little fun
Here’s the deal, you can’t plan your wedding alone. (Believe me…I tried at first but soon realized it can’t be done). You’re going to need your guys and your gals by your side. & your moms and dads and in laws too. It takes a village to plan a wedding. So pay attention to the people who are in your wedding from the beginning.
I usually save the best things for last, but when you get started planning your wedding that rule doesn’t apply. There are some really fun things you should do to kick off you engagement season in preparation for the hard decisions and planning to come. So I didn’t save all the best for last, and I did it first.
What I did was make small gifts and write personal letters to each of my bridesmaids. I told them: why they are important to me, why I need them with me through the engagement, why I chose them to be a part of my special day, and what I expected from them. One of my absolute favorite things about my wedding planning experience has been giving those little tiny gifts. And the interactions that I’ve had with our bridal party. They are all so supportive and helpful. We’re on a budget so, I made some of the gifts myself. I also wrapped up all the dresses for the bridesmaids and ties for the groomsmen to make it a little bit more special.
Show them the love and they’ll do the same for you, making your life so much easier in the end.
Kylee started Kylee Ann Photography 9 years ago, and has since grown from a one woman amateur show to a full associate team. We shoot 50-75 weddings a year, and thrive on kindness and service. After a year of teaching Intro to Photography at the local technical college, she discovered that helping other entrepreneurs create thriving businesses is what fires her up! She hosts semi-annual Kylee Ann Sleepovers all over the US, speak at conferences and teach online courses about running a small business and marketing.
May 22, 2019
Kylee Maughan
