Know your vision – The most important thing is you must have a clear vision of what you want to bring to life on your wedding day. There is so much inspiration all around us that it’s easy for a bride to get overloaded and not have a clear end result in mind. You have to see the final vision of your wedding and know what pieces are needed to give your concept life. Many times a bride will put the cart before the horse and find herself in love with a tulle ball-gown and later decide to have a casual beach wedding. Script out every detail and then put the plan into action.

Know your budget – Let’s talk about the word that everyone is afraid of, budget. Having a budget shouldn’t been seen of a restriction, but as a guide. Any guide is set in place to give you direction on where to go and what to do. Your budget only dictates the size of your wedding, not the style. Style has nothing to do with money, so therefore if your budget is $30,000 instead of $150,000 you can still have a swanky party. Your guest count just needs to reflect your budget. For example, a $30,000 wedding warrants more of a guest list of 75-100 guests rather than 250.

Know your limits – When planning your wedding, the last thing you want to feel is that you are limited in any aspect. However, limitations come in many forms; budget, the size of a venue, the season, weather conditions and many more. More than likely, you aren’t going to be able to change any of those factors so you need to know what you simply can and can’t do. If you have ballroom that is only capable of seating 100 guests, attempting to keep the list at 150 won’t work. It’s basic mathematics. Be realistic and work in the parameters laid out for you.

Know your priorities – I have a strict list of questions I always ask my clients which includes, “What are your top three priorities for your party?” As a planner & designer, I know how to allocate my clients budget to best realize what is most important to them. If having a good band and a good bar are high on your list, then I’d suggest scaling back in decor along with doing stations instead of a seated meal so your guests are up and moving more through out the night. It’s not just robbing Peter to pay Paul, it’s a delicate balance to ensure you feel your money went in the right place to achieve the desired outcome.

Know your assets – When I speak of knowing your assets, I am referring to the team of professionals that will be working along side you to bring your wedding to life. You spend so much time and money sourcing out the top vendors to work with, simply put… let them do their job. The most important thing is to find people from the beginning that your trust, know you will enjoy working with and know they understand your vision. Planning a wedding can often be one of the most stressful times in your life from the viewpoint of family dynamics alone. So when you chose to hire the best professionals, let them do what they do best and try not to micromanage. You’re paying them for a reason!