Hi, everyone! If this is your first time here, welcome to my blog! If not, welcome back! Glad you are here either way :)2018 will be an amazing year. How do I know that? Because I’m working with some of the most wonderful and sweet couples in Northern Virginia. This year, we will be all over the place! So far, we’re scheduled to be at Morais Vineyards, Osprey’s at Belmont Bay, The Bellevue, Wollam Gardens, 2941 Restaurant, Cherry Blossoms Hall, Omni Shoreham Hotel, and Shadow Creek Weddings in Purcellville, VA. The purpose of this post is to help brides-to-be fulfill their wedding-day ambitions. And while there are many ingredients that go into making for a successful celebration of life and love, some are more essential than others. Incidentally, not all the elements discussed in today’s post are equally intuitive or easy to follow, which is why I wanted to devote some attention to these sometimes overlooked or undervalued wedding-planning tips.

PRACTICE SELF-CARE

I know everyone is extremely busy, but make sure you are taking care of the important things, including yourself and your relationship! Make time to eat healthy (by planning your meals), sleep 7-8 hours, exercise, relax, and be there for the people who need you. As a wedding planner, life gets busy and stressful, and meditation has shifted my mind and my focus and has helped me to stay calm and relaxed even as I plan back-to-back weddings while dealing with my everyday life (my husband and kids need me too!). I took a Reiki class last year and have marveled at the amazing benefits. This Japanese technique helps me to relax and gives me the inner strength that I need to deal with the day-to-day. Consider these tools, as well as others, to help you take care of yourself and the ones you love.A final note here. Many people today already do a fantastic job of taking care of themselves. If you’re in this category, keep doing what you’re doing – that means you’re already on track to look and feel your best on your big day! If you have room for improvement and you’re looking to better yourself in time for your wedding, try to make permanent whatever new and positive habits you develop along the way. In other words, be the best version of yourself – not just for your wedding-day pictures, but for the journey of life 🙂

if you have room for improvement and you’re looking to better yourself in time for your wedding, try to make permanent whatever new and positive habits you develop along the way. In other words, be the best version of yourself – not just for your wedding-day pictures, but for the journey of life :), Esme Krahn, Bodamaestra Wedding Planning

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STICK TO YOUR BUDGET

Because there’s life after the wedding, you should have a well-defined budget and you should stick to it. Not all wedding industry professionals are of the same mindset, but I think it’s important to be prudent with your finances so that you don’t overstretch yourself by taking on an unruly amount of debt. Even if you have ample funds to spend on your wedding, make sure you’re paying what’s fair for each wedding service or item. After all, your hard-earned money should be spent in a smart way, don’t you think?

SHARE THE WEDDING JOURNEY

Try to make all the important decisions together!  Wedding planning may very well be one of your first – and most important – projects as a couple.  Share the responsibility and take each other’s opinions to heart.  In my experience, even the most laid back groom cares about some level of detail (i.e., the food, drinks, and/or entertainment are typically their favorite categories). Try to go into your planning journey seeing it as the perfect team project to use each other’s skills sets.  Maybe you’re the better negotiator, but he might be a whizz when it comes to all the fine print.

GET PROFESSIONAL WEDDING PLANNING ASSISTANCE

It’s somewhat obvious that I’m recommending that you seek outside help, but I think you deserve the guidance of an industry expert.  Why?  Most likely this is your first time getting married, so you’ll have to do a lot on your own if you decide to do solo wedding planning.  Moreover, planning on your own puts you at risk of making potentially costly mistakes.  Given the amount of resources that are on the line, a wedding planner (like a financial advisor or any other expert professional) can guide you and advise you on how much to spend per category (i.e., venue, catering, entertainment, etc.) while providing you with money-saving tips.  And it’s not just about dollars and cents!  The right wedding planner will help match you with the vendors best suited to deliver the services for your particular event theme(s).

STAND YOUR GROUND

When it comes to wedding planning details, most brides want to bounce ideas and options off of close friends and family members.  This is encouraged and can help facilitate the decision-making process.  The downside to this, however, is that feedback can be overwhelming and lead to confusion.  Some of your loved ones may have very strong feelings about certain aspects of your wedding, and while you want to show appreciation for their interest and opinion, in the end, you should trust your gut and make joint decisions with your partner.​

I hope you found this input helpful!  Don’t hesitate to comment or get in touch with me if you’d like to chat about this or anything else.

P.S. Aren’t you loving these images already? See the full gallery of this amazing wedding wonderfully documented by Molly Lichten!