It’s time to start your wedding planning! This is such a cool time for you and bae. You get to celebrate how far you’ve come as a couple. People from all walks of your life are coming together to celebrate you. You both get to plan an entire celebration for yourselves with all your favorite people and things! As you’re planning though, you might be finding this is a little bit harder than you originally thought. Between choosing vendors, a venue, locations, decorations, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s most important: you! That’s why I’ve put together a list of how to make your wedding day feel like you.

1. The Non-negotiables

First and foremost you’re going to want to sit down with bae and go over your non-negotiables. What are wedding day non-negotiables? They are aspects of your wedding that you just can’t go without. They might be certain guests you HAVE to have present, the type of space you want to get married in, or even vendors you just can’t live without.

After you’ve listed out the must-haves for your wedding day, put together a realistic budget for your wedding. Take into account family contributions, income, your timeline, and how many people you would like to have in attendance. All of these aspects can have a big impact on your budget. After you’ve taken all of these into account, set your budget! Write a list with all your non-negotiables and make sure to include it. From there you can begin working with your non-negotiables to see what your options are.

Pro-Tip: It’s easy to get caught up in wedding planning and lose sight of what’s important. Write out your non-negotiables on a piece of paper and hang it where you’ll be doing most of your planning.

2. Your People

What size wedding are you both looking to have? Do you have a large family or a massive friend group? Sit down with bae and talk about what type of wedding you’re dreaming up! Do you picture yourselves with a handful of friends eloping on the coast? Or do you see ALL your friends and family partying it up and celebrating all night long? I have a whole blog that covers this topic in detail that you can read here! Generally, though, you’ll want to start with a list of must-haves, a list of maybe’s and then once you pick your venue you can finalize your guest list.

3. Location

Where to have your wedding can be one of the largest factors in making sure that your wedding day feels like you. The size of your wedding will push you in the right direction for your venue but it’s up to you and your partner to find your dream location. Then, when choosing your location, make sure to have your priorities list in hand with your guest count being one of your main factors. Smaller venues always have a guest cap, and larger venues a lot of times have a minimum number of guests that have to be present. Use your guest list to help eliminate options and find your dream location.

For Shayla and Lawrence’s Wedding day they got married at their favorite date location on UofC’s campus. I LOVE when couples do their own thing for their wedding day which brings us to our next topic…

4. Get Married on Your Own Terms

Now that you have your wedding venue and your people in mind, what do you want your wedding day to include? Do you want a first look so you can spend more time with bae? Do you want a short ceremony so you can spend more time with your loved ones celebrating? As you both begin to map out your wedding day, remember this is YOUR wedding day. YOU and bae ultimately call the shots on what your day will be like. If you want to incorporate ALL the mainstream wedding traditions cool, let’s freaking go! Or if you want to ditch them all and go hike to the top of a mountain my hiking shoes are ready to go! There is no wrong way to get married as long as at the end of your wedding day you and your partner are happy.

5. Make it Personal

Sometimes the smallest touches can mean the most in making your wedding day truly feel like it’s yours. Something like a special private dance on the lake, including your favorite food, or planting a sapling together are just a few examples of how you can make your wedding day feel like you and add to its memorable moments. Think about the things that you love to do together and try to find a way to incorporate them into your wedding day. If you have an idea but aren’t sure how you can incorporate it into your wedding, ask your friends, family, or even your photographer if they have any ideas. Speaking of which!

6. Vendors

Okay, hear me out. Your vendors can really amplify your wedding experience in the best ways possible. Things like having your favorite restaurant catering your food, including certain must-play songs for your DJ or live band, or having a photographer that hypes you up all day long can make ALL the difference. A couple of tips for hiring the right vendors, follow potential vendors on Instagram. That way, you can get to know them and their process before booking. Other than getting to know them, you’ll want to make style and aesthetics a priority. Your vendors are such an important part of your wedding day experience. Be sure that they are a good fit for you before you make things official!

Well, there you have it! A full list of tips that will help you to craft a wedding day that feels like you. For more tips on wedding planning or inspiration for your wedding day, head to my blog! My blog page is updated weekly with tips like these as well as my latest elopement galleries.