Ten stupid wedding planning mistakes

True story: A guy was getting married out of state. His fiancé told him he had one responsibility: to get the marriage license. Get ready for stupid wedding planning mistakes #1.

1. Not knowing marriage license requirements

This guy knew that the state in which he was getting married had a 5 day waiting period before a marriage license would be issued. He went in on Monday with his bride-to-be, but forgot to pick up the license on Friday. Stupid!

Every state has different requirements. Be sure to know yours. Some states require you to get married within a certain number of days of receiving your license. For example, it is 30 days in Alabama, but 60 in Pennsylvania and no waiting time in North Carolina.

2. Blowing your budget on the gown and catering

Some of the first things a bride does is to shop for her gown and line up a caterer. These two items can get pricey. Don’t overspend, or you may not have enough money left for photography and entertainment.

3. Not budgeting

By the same token, you MUST have an overall budget set BEFORE you spend a dime on your wedding. A budget helps you avoid mistake #2 mentioned above.

4. Jumping the gun on mailing save-the-date cards

Wait until at least until eight to ten months out. Be sure your guest list is set first. After all, someone you think you want to invite when your wedding is a year out may not “make the cut” when you get down to the nitty-gritty.

5. Waiting too long to order your wedding dress

Custom-made dresses take time, lots of it. Order early. Even off-the-rack gowns that require alterations take time.  Play it safe.  Have your gown ordered at least six months out.

6. Not hiring a professional videographer

Wedding surveys of couples after their wedding day has come and gone reveal how important memories are to these couples. They regret not having their wedding ceremony and reception video taped by a pro.

7. Scrimping on entertainment

Same thing as above. Entertainment costs but ten percent of a typical wedding, but provides ninety percent of the fun. Couples regret underspending on the entertainment and not adding in decor lighting and photo booths.

8. Insufficient postage

Many wedding invitations are square.  Square envelopes require an extra fifteen cents per invitation to mail (70¢ total). Why?  Because they need to be hand-sorted by the Post Office.  Don’t make a common, stupid mistake and put insufficient postage on your wedding invitations.

9. Over-inviting

Let’s say your venue holds 250 people.  Don’t invite a ton more people knowing that a certain percentage can’t make it.  What happens if they do show up?  You’ll turn people away at the door. Just ask the fire marshal in case you have any doubts.

10. Getting stressed planning your wedding

Stress is a common malady for those of you planning your wedding right now.  Stress is caused by having to make well-over a thousand decisions on a deadline.  You can reduce and even eliminate stress by starting early and utilizing either a wedding planner or online wedding planning tools, like Five Star Entertainment offers our clients.

We’re all human.  We all make stupid mistakes.  This blog will make you a little smarter as you plan the biggest day of your life.