The top 5 wedding planning mistakes to avoid

Wedding planner, Muyly Miller, explained the top 5 mistakes to avoid during the wedding planning process.

1. Not planning your guest list in the beginning: Before anything gets started, it would be great if you sat down with your groom and your families to really figure out who will be invited, but most people don’t do that in the beginning. She recommends having a very narrow range in mind, something like 110-125 guests, or 350-375.
2. Not having a checklist for to-do’s, booked vendors and your budget: planning on the fly is such a big mistake. You can get free wedding checklists online from a number of resources- and though it's overwhelming to look  in the beginning, they really do cover a lot of those things people will forget- such as getting the marriage license before your wedding day, or accounting for the cost of stamps for all your invitations, RSVPs and thank you cards. The Knot has a greatchecklist.
3. Trying to do it all: I’ve seen this too many times, the bride or bride's mother is attempting to do it all. It’s so hard to plan a wedding as it is, but when you are trying to make everything yourself, set up all your tables and linens, ushering guests and so forth, it takes so much away from the big day. It can be very worthwhile to pay some of the delivery fee’s to help with those items. Then consider getting a wedding coordinator a few weeks before your wedding to polish up the timeline of the day, help with the rehearsal and make sure things are set up with vendors the day of the wedding.
4. Not asking enough questions to vendors: When I do consultations, I advise brides and grooms to ask lots of questions. I mentioned delivery fee’s above, ask about the area of delivery, does it cost more to deliver outside that area. Ask about services such as cake cutting fee- who will be doing that? What extra rentals are associated with that. If you have your heart set on a certain photographer or DJ, but have a budget that isn’t quite listed on their package prices, it never hurts to ask what they can do to accommodate that. Say something like, "I see you have this package option available, I'm on a limited budget but love your work and would love to include you in my wedding, what other package or a la carte option do you have?”.
5. Not staying flexible on your wedding day: At this time, you just need to breathe and let things be. All your work and planning has come to this day and you’ve done all you can. Meditate, say a prayer, put on some music and just get relaxed and be beautiful and enjoy your day. Of course, hiring day of coordination services from a wedding planner helps a lot!