Keep these top tips and insights from top wedding planner and designer to help guide you as you plan your big day.

This is the moment you have been waiting for. You have the ring and the finance! So what next?

Wedding planning involves a ton of moving parts. If you are newly engaged or in the thick of it planning, you have probably received all sorts of advice. Some good, some bad!. That’s the reality of wedding planning - You may be getting so many opinions.. (most coming from a place of love).. but it can all be so overwhelming.

The place you can always get the correct information is from a reliable source - Your Wedding Planner.

I’ve been planning weddings and milestone celebrations for over 10 years now and I have seen it all …. well almost! The best approach to wedding planning is to seek professional advice and hire the right people starting with a wedding planner.

We have all seen the wedding movies… cute but not so much reality. Weddings look and work very differently from what you see in the movies. With that said, I want to share a few things that your wedding planner desperately wants you to know.

Keep reading for 10 things your wedding planner wants you to know!

Compatibility Is One Of The Key Ingredients

The ideal time a wedding planner spends with a couple planning is about 12-16 months. That’s a long term relationship and compatibility is key with everyone your contract, aka your wedding planning dream team. A compatible relationship with the couple and everyone working on the wedding is vital to a happy planning experience for everyone. So pick wisely.

Be Ready To Make Decisions… Fast!

One of the things that slows the wedding planning process down is when decisions are not made in a timely manner. Once you find the right vendor, don’t wait for too long to sign your contract or you may loose that vendor. Delays in making decisions during wedding planning leads to stress later. Follow the schedule your wedding planner has laid out for you and don’t take too long to say yes.

Make The Marriage Your Priority

Remember while all the details of your glamorous celebration is exciting, there is still the marriage. Don’t lose sight of the reason for the celebration - The marriage! Your marriage should be and remain the priority.

Prioritize Things That Matter To You

Social media has proven to be both good and bad for wedding planners. Why? There is a lot of information that may be misleading or creates false expectations. Your wedding should be focused on “the Couple’s likes , personal style and what matters to them not what someone else did and you found on Pinterest or instagram.

Focus On The Guest Experience

When you think of weddings you have attended, think about the experience. You remember your experience whether it’s good or bad. Be focused on how to plan an impactful celebration. One that your guests will cherish forever.

Your Wedding Planner Is On Your Side (I PROMISE)

Think about it.. Who else will your wedding planner be rooting for? I’m here to clear up any confusion about who’s side your wedding planner is on - IT’S YOU, THE COUPLE. The life of a wedding planner consists of endless hours of research, calls, meetings and creativity. You hire a wedding planner and they work tirelessly for days each week for 12 to 16 months and that does not include the wedding day. That’s a lot of hours and work!

There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that wedding planners don't disclose to their couples to minimize stress and overwhelm. Gratitude, trust and mutual respect goes a long way. Some of the very best wedding ideas develop over time. Remember to treat your vendors with kindness and you will get the best results.

Your Wedding Planner Does Not Like To Be Micro-Managed

YES! You wedding planner does not like to be micromanaged… at all! You hired your wedding planner for their unique talents, expertise and to remove/reduce the stress and overwhelm of wedding planning on your own. Let them do their job. Be patient and remember that they are human, just like you.

Trust The People You Hire

Like any relationship, when there’s no trust, the outcome is never a good one. Trust is a key ingredient in a successful wedding planning process. This goes both ways hence my initial point on compatibility. Wedding planning should be fun.. at least that’s what I aim for when I plan :-). It doesn’t need to be stressful and especially doesn’t need to feel abusive. So hire those you trust and let them do what they do best. The same goes for vendors, take clients you trust are a good fit and make the experience one to enjoy and cherish forever. After 10+ years of full time wedding and event planning, I know a good fit from day one and have learnt to follow and trust my instincts.

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

In my opinion, there is a huge percentage of stress and overwhelm I see couple experience when planning that can be avoided. If you allow every little thing bother you, you will be miserable throughout your planning process and so will your wedding planner. You wedding planner will do everything within their power to put out fires, some you may never even hear of….. sometimes those efforts yield the results you desire and sometimes, it just does’t. There is so much out of our control when planning so flexibility and letting go of the small stuff will lead to more smiles than worry.

Patience Is Virtue

Patience is a virtue. When planning a celebration, things take time. Be patient and trust that your planning team and vendors you have hired are working tirelessly on your celebration. To avoid the anxiety and rush from planning with little time, set a realistic time to produce the wedding you dream of. I recommend twelve to sixteen months of planning for couples that need time to plan and relax a bit. I have planned multi-day celebrations in less than four months. It’s very possible but know that the pace is going to be way faster. As event producers, we can plan a celebration in shorter time of course, but be ready to make decisions fast.

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Bonus…

Treat Your Vendors With Kindness And Respect

When it comes to your wedding vendors, treat them the way you want to be treated. Mutual respect goes a long way. Treat your wedding vendors with kindness and respect. I promise you that they will go beyond whats expected if appreciated.

Akeshi Akinseye is the editor and founder of The Art Of Celebrating Magazine and her luxury planning and design firm, Kesh Events! She is a highly regarded as a global luxury wedding planner and event designer for clients of the most discerning tastes. She is the leading expert in the wedding and event industry on all things celebrations and is widely regarded as one of the best wedding planners in the world. She has Akeshi Akinseye has dedicated her career to bringing glamour and style to every celebration. To learn more about Kesh Events, visit keshevents.com

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