Recently engaged and planning a wedding? Congratulations! This is such an exciting time for you and I’m sure you are overjoyed! Before you dive into creating a Pintest board, take a deep breathe and bask in this wonderful time.

It all happens so fast and before you know it you’ll be walking down the isle. So here are some tips on how to plan a wedding and where to start before things get to crazy. Grab a glass of wine and read on.

I’m going to share 4 things with you that will essentially rule the start of your wedding planning.

• Budget
• Guest Count
• Venue
• Date

You fall in love with a venue but it only hold 50 guest and you are planning for 150. You pick the perfect date with the most pretty numbers and the venue you want is already booked. You can’t cut your guest list beyond 125 and your per person meal cost at your venue is $150 per person and that throws your budget way off. See where this is going? All four of these things go hand in hand and will fluctuate as you plan your wedding day.

Tip 1: Before you truly dive into your planning sit down with your fiancé and talk about how you both envision your wedding day.

This may change as the planning process goes on and that’s ok. I think I changed my mind over our wedding colors about 12 times but that’s a different blog post for a different day.

Tip 2: Create a rough guest list so you can easily eliminate venues that don’t accommodate everyone.

You might fall madly involve with a venue that makes you cut that “must invite” list and that’s ok. Talk about what you two would do IF that happens before it does.

Tip 3: Consider the time of year you would like to have your wedding and date/s.

Some venues give off season (Spring/Winter) and Sunday or Friday discounts. Another things to consider with the season is the outdoors and the landscape and how it will change. That lovely grape arbor might not be as lovely in the early spring or the field behind the venue with a grand view might be corn by summer.

Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to compromise.

If you are anything like me you go from having no idea what you want to a minute later knowing exactly what you want. Don’t be afraid to change it a little though. Your wedding day is about the two of you and your life together. Pull from both of your preferences when planning.

Remember, this is all about the two of you. Your wedding day is a celebration that can’t happen without you both. It’s time for those that love you most to come and celebrate your new life together. Ultimately, the most important thing is that at the end of your wedding day you have married your best friend.

So when it comes to wedding planning and planning the perfect wedding, enjoy the process as much as you can. Truly though, if it becomes to much, I am always here to help. After 12 years in the wedding world, I would be more than happy to make sure you can enjoy the process if you aren’t.