My bride Chelsea is on the blog today sharing wedding planning advice she learned while planning her Founders Inn & Spa wedding! If you’ve been on the fence about hiring a wedding planer, I think her advice will REALLY help put things into perspective!! Read her advice below in the Tips for Brides series!

From Chelsea:

Well, first, talk with your hubby to decide on a tentative date! It doesn’t need to be two seconds after he pops the question (unless you’re impatient like me) and it doesn’t need to be super specific, but having at least the month in mind will really help in the early planning process since that’s what all of your vendors’ first question is. Plus as soon as you tell friends and family, this is literally the first thing they ask too, so best to just be prepared for that. No one likes hearing, “We haven’t really thought about it.”

Secondly, hire a wedding planner!!! I cannot stress this enough. It is worth the money! Skimp on something else, but thinking that you don’t need a wedding planner is a huge mistake. I am a very organized person and could have done it myself, but it wouldn’t have turned out as great as it did. No, I was not paid to say this…seriously, do it. Hiring a wedding planner was THE BEST planning decision that I made. She gave us great vendor options of people she trusted and worked with in the past, gave us a planning timeline and held us accountable for things to be done, helped with any decision making that I simply couldn’t decide on my own, AND on the day of my wedding, I was completely 100% stress-free. I had the best day and was able to enjoy it and it was all because she was there. [Chelsea’s wedding planner was the amazing Holly of Just Dandy Events!]

Third and last piece of advice, enjoy it. Enjoy the stress of it all, enjoy the tastings, enjoy the small (but seemingly big) decisions, enjoy trying on 6 dresses, enjoy telling your bridesmaids they’re in the wedding, enjoy all of it…you only get it once!

Chelsea, thanks for sharing your stress-reducing wedding planning advice! I HIGHLY recommend having a wedding planner, even if it’s just a day-of coordinator! See a few highlights below from Chelsea & Jaine’s Founders Inn & Spa wedding. And brides, click here to join my email list for exclusive wedding planning resources, exclusive tips and upcoming announcements delivered right to your inbox!