Pre-Wedding Mistakes to Avoid

As the wedding day draws closer, there are so many tasks to oversee and arrangements to make, it’s easy for things to fall through the cracks. Prevent wedding day disaster by avoiding these major pre-wedding mistakes:

1. Ignoring the Budget: As difficult and often annoying as it is to plan (and stick to) the wedding budget, it’s absolutely imperative. When you and your spouse start your new life as husband and wife, you don’t want to be buried under mounds of debt. There are a vast number of online resources, smart phone apps, and books/magazines that will help you compile a reasonable and specific budget. Take advantage of these resources to ensure that you can have the wedding of your dreams and still afford to eat afterwards.

2. Inviting Too Many Guests: The pressure to include more guests than you originally planned for can be significant, but you have to stand your ground. Be sure that you don’t invite more guests than you have the capacity to host at the wedding or reception site. Talk to the coordinators at both venues about the maximum number of guests each facility will hold and plan accordingly. Don’t assume that X amount of people will turn down the invitation. If all else fails, you can send out a second round of invitations to guests you’re on the fence about once you receive RSVPs from guests who can’t attend. Reception Seating Guide

3. Ordering Dresses Too Late: If you’re planning on having your wedding or bridesmaids dresses custom-made, you’ll need to leave at least six months for the designer to complete the task. If you’re purchasing from a bridal store, you’ll still need to allow time for the dresses to be ordered, shipped, and altered. Trash The Dress Store Your Dress

4. Forgetting To Book Hotel Rooms: If you have a large number of out-of-town guests joining you for the wedding, you need to reserve a block of hotel rooms in advance. It’s most convenient to have all wedding guests staying at 1-2 hotels, near the wedding site, for transportation. Although it can be challenging to estimate the number of guests that will be traveling in for the wedding, it’s imperative that you book the hotel rooms well in advance. Most hotels will give you a special rate for your guests and will allow you to cancel rooms within a few days/weeks of the ceremony. Be sure to include hotel information in the wedding invitation or save-the-date mailing.

5. Screwing Up The Marriage License: Every state and county has different laws and rules about marriage licenses so do your research ahead of time to ensure that your wedding will be legal. For example, in Illinois there is a mandatory 24-hour waiting period and marriage licenses are only good for 60 days from the date they’re issued. So make sure you plan to apply for your marriage license more than one day, but less than 61 days before your nuptials.

6. Trying a New Diet or Beauty Regimen: While you clearly want to look your best on your wedding day, go about it a healthy way. There’s nothing wrong with eating right and working out to drop some unwanted pounds, but don’t try any last-minute, extreme dieting plans before the wedding. And definitely steer clear of any new beauty regimens in the immediate days before the ceremony. Crazy diets and new beauty treatments can have adverse effects that can leave you looking splotchy, sunburned, sick, or broken out. Bridal Beauty Kit