You’re engaged – yay! You pop the bottle of bubbles and celebrate, filled with excitement about marrying your best friend. Then you start thinking about the planning, get a little overwhelmed and come down from the high with a bit of a bump.

Well, I am all about people having the most relaxed wedding day because as a Kent Wedding photographer I completely believe that feeling comfortable and stress free on the day will give you the best photographs. The real, natural smiles are always the best ones and the ones I love to capture.

So here are my tips on how to approach your wedding planning for your relaxed Kent Wedding.

Start big then go small

Make the big decisions first and keep the finer details until later on. Things that I think should go first and will impact on all the later decisions are venue, time of year, budget and guest list.

Venue

There is so much choice now when it comes to venues which is amazing. Get on Pinterest and check out different types of wedding venue; rustic, industrial, DIY, festival, castle, hotel, garden, quirky. You name it, you really can have it so just think about the vibe you want. How do you want to feel on the day? How do you want your guests to remember it? Fun, luxury, relaxed, rustic, alternative?

Guest list

I won’t lie, this bit can get stressful but if you already have a venue with a restriction on how many people they can accommodate or a budget that will only allow for a certain number of guests then some of that work is already done for you. Another tip is to both write a separate list. Names that appear on both lists are an obvious YES then you only need talk about the few that didn’t overlap.

Time of year

The main impact of this is perhaps on the budget with some venues having variation in their costs according to the season. But what is sometimes forgotten is the number of hours of daylight you will have for your day. Sunset can be about 3.30pm in the winter compared to 9pm in August so if you long for lots of natural light portraits make sure you will have the sunlight.

Suppliers

Once you have the date and venue start to think about the other things you would like. Again the choice can be huge but there are a few ways to make this a little easier. Start with the suppliers that can only physically be in one place at a time! A photographer or videographer for example. We can only photograph one wedding at a time unlike a baker who could perhaps supply a cake to two places on the same day or a prop hire company that may be able to dress the day before.

Another important thing with suppliers is to go with your gut. As with most big decisions we make in our life we are emotion led. But there is science behind our gut feelings and if you find yourself drawn to a particular supplier then they are probably the right one.

Create a wedding email address

This was something a few of my couples do for their wedding and it is genius. Create a joint email address MikeyandMinnie@emailaddress for example, and use it for all the wedding planning. All the enquiries, replies, invoices, bills will be in the same place accessible by you both.

Use a list

There are many lists of must have wedding suppliers available and they are great way to be able to keep track of what you have booked. BUT you don’t HAVE to have all the suppliers on the list. If you don’t want a wedding car or a seating plan, don’t have one. It’s your day! Do away with traditions that aren’t meaningful to you. Make your own.

Look for suppliers in the right places

You are unlikely to find a supplier suitable for your alternative industrial wedding at a golf club wedding fair. So find fairs that suit the vibe of the day you are planning. Venue open days are also a good place to start. Suppliers are on venue recommended suppliers lists for a reason and are often given priority at their open days so be sure to ask if your venue will be holding one.

I hope that you have found this blog useful as a starting point for your wedding planning. Remember:

Start big and then go small

Make your email address

Go with your gut

Remember it’s YOUR day

For more specific information on planning your Wedding Day timeline, check out my blog here.