Wedding 101: Deciding on Details

Happy Wednesday Loves! The sun is shining and it’s going to be a beautiful day!

Deciding on details for your wedding day can be a bit overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be! For me, I had a clear idea of what I wanted before I started to plan. So how do you come to one clear, concise concept?

Start with your Pinterest board… but don’t go Pinterest crazy. By the time all these great ideas come to Pinterest, chances are they’ll be overdone by hundreds and hundreds of other brides. I remember when I started my “Secret Someday” board, it was absolutely FILLED with “Rustic Chic” mason jars and burlap. I still think this theme is adorable, but years later, not only was this not what I personally wanted anymore, but I’d been to several other weddings that had the same theme. While they were all beautiful in their own respects, and each bride put her own unique spin on the theme, it was like I was looking at one giant Pinterest board. I wanted something unique, that wasn’t like anyone else’s.

So how did I avoid this? I chose to go themeless. Personally, I think brides can get caught up in their themes, and then it becomes too much. So not having a “theme” to adhere to, I didn’t have to worry about everything being matchy matchy. (You know, like when you plan a child’s birthday party and everything has to have a sparkly princess on it? From the cake, to the favors to the plates.) This also helped to keep me focused on what I truly wanted, and not worrying about if it matched a theme or not. It really brought my stress level down.

Themeless is definitely not for everyone, and thats okay! But if it sounds like a good idea to you, here are a few tips that I think will help you coming up with an overall concept for your wedding.

1. When going themeless, it helps to choose your venue first. Once you have your venue, look around and see what you find most beautiful about it. I was married at The Homestead Resort in beautiful Northern Michigan. Wherever you looked, Northern Michigan and Mother Nature were prevalent. Because of the natural beauty of the venue, I knew that I needed to keep my decorations and colors very simple, as to not overshadow it.
2. Choose colors that complement your venue. Are you a bride that LOVES color? Maybe choose a few neutrals with a pop of color that will wow your guests. If you are unsure of colors you would like, get inspired from the season in which you are getting married.  (I’m a sucker for fall weddings with fall colors. I think they are SO beautiful!) Or go with simplicity. This is what I did. I chose a neutral color palette. Whites, tans, and super duper light pinks. This was the perfect solution for me. It completed my venue, and my season, and allowed all the greenery I chose to decorate with really pop.  Speaking of decorating…
3. Go minimal on decor. I’ll be doing a blog post later on all about decor, because let’s be honest, this is the funnest part about planning your wedding! But I will tell you now, for a “themeless” wedding, don’t overdo it with decor. In fact, I had to have tubs packed and labeled for my venue, so that they could set everything up to my satisfaction. Only two of those tubs had decor in them. I chose to let the flowers speak for themselves, and I loved how everything turned out!

Now that we have the idea of a “theme” out of the way, what other details need to be decided right off the bat? I would say the NUMBER ONE thing to decide before you begin any planning what so ever would be the size of your wedding. As a couple, you and your soon to be hubby need to talk about what kind of wedding you want. Whatever you do, don’t talk about it with your respective families first. The size of the wedding ends up being one of the biggest deciding factors of everything for your wedding day. It affects your budget, your venue, favors, food, EVERYTHING. So be sure you have a ballpark estimate for the size you want before brining up guest lists to anyone else. Do you want to have a huge hometown splash that everyone will be talking about for months after? Do you want to jet away with just your immediate family to a tropical locale? It is up to THE TWO OF YOU. Don’t loose sight of this! Because you don’t want to end up with something your families wanted, and you didn’t. For us, we wanted something small. I come from a massive extended family, and if I were to invite one great uncle, I’d have to invite all of them. Plus their families. I would have had to feed over 1,000 people, and that was just not what we wanted. Trevor and I chose to go the immediate family route, and we were so happy we did! With 125 guests, we were able to talk to everyone, and enjoy our day with our family and friends. We don’t regret having a smaller wedding one bit.

Once you have an idea of the size of your wedding, you can start searching for a venue that will accommodate your guests. Personally, I always knew where I wanted to be married, but a lot of brides don’t! Here are a few things to consider when choosing your venue.

1. Inside or Outside? What kind of wedding are you hoping to have? Formal or Informal? Are you getting married in a church? Well, then you don’t need to find a place that offers a ceremony site. Want to get married outside? Will you have your reception outside too? Think of all these things before you start searching.
2. Location. If you are inviting everyone you know, chances are, you don’t want to choose a place three hours away from where you live. If you are going for a destination wedding, be sure there are accommodations for guests.
3. Does your venue have a “Plan B” incase of inclement weather? If you are getting married outside, this is a must!
4. Make sure that if there are special requirements at the venue, you can live with them. Can you not have alcohol at the place you are planning to have your reception? Unless you are planning on not serving drinks, chances are, you may need to rethink the venue choice. Have a certain caterer in mind? Be sure your reception venue allows for your own choice in caterer, and that you don’t have to order food from them.
5. Do they have your date available? If you have a specific date or time of year in mind, this could limit venue choices. I would suggest, if you have a specific date in mind, that you ask the venue if it is available before you even go to visit it. You don’t want to fall in love with a place you can’t have.
6. Be sure you do fall in love with wherever you choose. It’s important that you love your venue, because chances are, if you love it, not only will you feel comfortable and happy there on your wedding day, but your guests will be happy there too!

The size of your wedding, venue and your “theme” are honestly three of the biggest details you need to decide for your wedding. Once you have these, everything else will start to fall into place. Overall, be sure to stay true to who you and your fiance are. In the end, you want a wedding that reflects you as a couple.

Again, this was another blog with a lot of information, and no pictures! I’m still waiting to get my wedding pictures back. My amazing photographer just told me I should have them by this weekend and guys… WE’RE SO EXCITED. I just know they are going to be stunning and I can’t wait to get my hands on them! I promise a blog post as soon as I can to share them with you!

What are you doing on this beautiful Wednesday? My best friend is coming over for dinner and it’s been WAY too long since I’ve seen her. I can’t wait! Is it 7:00 yet?

Xx.
Savannah