From a Kansas City wedding photographer, here are 5 easy actions steps for you to start planning your wedding on a positive note!

Have you ever stopped to think about the importance of documenting the special moments in your life? Just like a breathtaking film that transports you back in time, photography has the power to freeze those fleeting moments and make them last for eternity. Coming from a Kansas City based wedding photographer, when it comes to planning a wedding, choosing the right venue, vendors, decorations, etc., all come into play with how your wedding day turns out. Below you will find 5 easy actions steps that you can do TODAY to kick start your wedding prep on a positive note!

STEP 1: SETTING YOUR BUDGET

This is the most important YET most overlooked part of the wedding planning process. What I have seen the most stress from is this situation — not realizing how much everything may cost then scrambling the make everything work in the end. SO here is a breakdown of the average cost for each type of wedding:

• * DYI/Small/Intimate Weddings: $10,000 – $20,000
• * Average Wedding in the US: $20,000 – $50,000
• * Larger Weddings: $50,000 – $100,000
• * Luxury/International Weddings: $100,000 – $500,000<

So what you need to do here is pick the type of wedding you want to do; intimate, large, international, etc.; and start creating a budget for it!

STEP 2: PICK A DATE:

Once you set a budget and start researching venues + vendors that fit the budget, start reaching out to venues! A good rule of thumb is knowing that most other vendors will not allow you to book them for their services until you have a set date for you wedding.

STEP 3: BOOK YOUR TOP VENDORS: Once you pick a date, you can start booking your top vendors for your amazing wedding day! Here is a list of the top vendors/scheduling appointments the couples usually book first since these people usually book out faster than others:

* Venue (obviously you already have this!)

* Wedding planner/coordinator

* Photographer

* Videographer

* Dress appointment

* DJ/live band

But obviously every couple has their own top/most important vendors that they want a part of their day! So if the most important thing to you are florals, book a florist first! If it is décor/rentals, book those vendors first! The most important thing I tell all my couples is YOUR WEDDING SHOULD BE A REFLECTION OF YOU AND YOUR LOVE. Yes. Read that again. So book and find vendors that are most important to you and add aspects to your wedding that resembles you two!

STEP 4: ORGANIZING ALL THE DETAILS: Time for all the other details! After you book the venue and your most important vendors, here is a mini list of what to do next:

1. Finalize list of your bridal party

2. Delegate tasks to your groomsmen + bridesmaids (please please do this)

3. Create a website for your guests — my favorites are The Knot + Zola!

4. Create and send out save the dates + wedding invites

5. Pick out rings

6. Pick out colors for your wedding

And so so so much more! I always highly recommend a wedding planner or coordinator to help you throughout the planning process, whether it is the full year before or 10-12 weeks before your big day! This day should be as stress free as possible, and during your wedding day, you should not be making calls or organizing anything. A photographer can only do so much day of, and is not required to help with bridal party line up, set up, grand entrance line up, etc. As a wedding photographer, I do help with providing a stress free wedding day PREP where I send you various guides that help you think of different aspects of your wedding that you wouldn’t think about before! These guides consist of: when to send save the dates, when to set a RSVP date, timeline thoughts, etc.

STEP 5: MAKE YOUR WEDDING YOUR OWN:I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH! This your YOUR wedding that should represent your love between you and your best friend! As much as trends are esthetically pleasing for photos, are you doing a champagne tower because you love champagne or is it because you saw a photo and though that looked cool? And trends are just that — trends. They will come and go just like vinyls and scrunchies. So make your wedding about you, your best friend, and your love between one another. And if that is having a grand champagne tower, by all means do it! I promise the photos will turn out amazing. All and all, make your wedding about you two, and make sure you have vendors that you absolutely trust! So as you start your wedding planning journey, remember the importance of photography in preserving the memories that will last a lifetime. Images, and video, are the two tangible things that you will have to relive your wedding day with all the real emotions, moments, and stories.

SO why settle for anyone that’s not the best?!?! Reach out to me today to document your wedding in a way that will allow you to be confident in front of the camera yet also relive the full day for years to come!