Tips to Get Organized for Wedding Planning

Oct 1

No matter how over-the-top or simple your wedding is, the amount of information you will compile when planning your wedding can have the most organized person in a tizzy. That’s why it’s important to determine a method to the madness before you officially begin!

To help keep a straight head as you plan your dream wedding day, here are a few tips to jumpstart your organization throughout your wedding planning journey!

How are you naturally wired?

From the budget, the guest list, the day-of timeline, the list of gifts, to the vendor contact information…. there are a ton of details you will need to keep up with whether you have a wedding planner or not. So let’s first learn how you are naturally wired so you can set yourself up for success!

Technology Bride

Do you love information readily accessible on your desktop or phone with everything backed up in the cloud? Then you’re a tech bride! You will thrive using an online spreadsheet with tabs for each wedding category. Bonus: you can easily share this with your planner and family, giving other people the ability to answer their own questions without having to always come to you.

Paper Bride

Do you love writing things down, crossing out completed tasks, and touching pen to paper? Then you’re a paper bride! You will thrive using a paper workbook that allows you to dot your I’s and cross your T’s. Tip: You will need your workbook by your side at all times… so make sure you’ve got a big purse!

What You Need in a Wedding Organizer

With so many different options of organizers online like here and here, it can be very confusing to know which wedding organizer is best for you. Here are some examples of information you will need to gather at some point:

Checklist — overall to-do list of upcoming tasks
Guest List — formal name, addresses, plus one or kids, gifts, and thank-you cards
Budget Toolbox — look at my upcoming post for a detailed budget list
Vendor List — potential list and verified list with cost and contact information
Wedding Party — sizes of suit rentals or gifts like robes for bridesmaids
Gifts — these could be gifts, favors, or tips for parents, attendants, guests, or vendors
Weekend Itinerary — for events leading up to the wedding
Day-Of Timeline — for wedding party, family, and guests
Vendor Timeline — when and where vendors will set up and take down
Music — for the ceremony, reception wish list, and music to NOT play
Items for Transport — things that need transport on the wedding day or before
Seating Chart — write out a list for each table
Party Hosts — anyone who threw you an engagement party or bridal shower, addresses, and thank you cards

Get my FREE Wedding Organizers

Want to jumpstart your wedding planning organization? I’ve done the setup for you! Choose between the Wedding Planning Google Sheet for tech brides or the Wedding Planning Workbook for paper brides!

Create a Wedding Gmail

Now that you’ve chosen the manner in which you’re going to organize all of your wedding information, I have another helpful tip that saved me hours of time. To centralize the location of communication, create your own wedding Gmail (or Google Email)!

One Location for Communication

You will send and receive an unbelievable amount of emails during the planning process. By creating a shared wedding email, both you and your fiance can have access to all of these conversations in one location, saving up space in your personal and professional email accounts.

Example Emails

The email address could include any variety of the following: your first names, groom's last name, initials, wedding date, wedding year, the city you're getting married in, state you're getting married in, destination wedding location, the word wedding, etc.

Here are some examples:

smwedding060923@gmail.com
sarahmichaeltennesseewedding@gmail.com
thesargentwedding@gmail.com
sargentwedding2023@gmail.com
sargent060923@gmail.com
sargenttennesseewedding@gmail.com

Google Apps

If you’re a technology bride, then getting a Gmail helps you take advantage of other apps within Google which are AMAZING resources when planning your wedding!

Google Drive — organize all of your wedding documents and contracts in one location
Google Calendar — view important deadlines, plan appointments, parties, etc., all viewable on your smartphone
Google Forms — collect addresses and information from guests easily
Google Sheets — display all of your wedding planning in an excel style spreadsheet like my Wedding Planning Worksheet above!

Delete After Wedding

There may be some vendors that you want to stay in contact with after your wedding (like your photographer!). If you plan to delete the email after your wedding, you will want to update those vendors with your personal email so they can get in touch in the future!

Get A Wedding Credit Card

It’s no secret that weddings are expensive. According to a survey on The Knot, the average cost of what couples spend on their wedding is roughly $30,000, with some of my wedding clients even going over the $100,000 mark.

Many have discovered incredible savings when using a wedding credit card strategically, responsibly, and with caution. But keep in mind — not every credit card is the same! Here are some variables to consider as you look for the best credit card for your wedding and honeymoon needs.

Top Three Reward Types:

Sign On Bonus — You get miles or points after spending a certain amount of money determined by the credit card. Rack up points to get free flights on your honeymoon!
Flat Rate Cash Back — You get a certain % of cash back every time you make a purchase. This could save you money in your wedding budget to allow for a bigger guest list or help you save for honeymoon costs.
Rotating Categories — You get a smaller % of cash back every time you make a purchase, then increased cash back on different categories quarterly. Your wedding vendors may not fall into these categories, so make sure you clarify this beforehand.

Overall, you should shoot for a credit card that:

Has an excellent welcome bonus after you book your vendors
Offers bonus points on relevant categories such as travel or catering (or earns bonus points on ALL types of purchases)
Includes purchase protection for wedding expenses AND travel insurance built-in to the card for your honeymoon expenses
Incorporates travel benefits such as lounge access so you get the full VIP treatment on your honeymoon

Example Credit Cards

Here are some top recommended credit cards for wedding expenses:

Stay Responsible

Though this may seem like a great option to save money and earn perks for your honeymoon, a wedding credit card may not be the best option for you. Stay accountable to what you can and cannot afford, making sure that you don’t start out your marriage in a mountain of debt. Talk to a financial planner to make sure this is the best option for you and your fiance!

Start a Pinterest Account

Pinterest is a great app to utilize during your wedding planning journey! You can save inspirational photos for styling your wedding as well as create pins with your own links to products you want to purchase at a later date.

Create a Pinterest Account

If you’re new to Pinterest, you can create a new personal account with the Wedding Gmail that you just created above!

If you’ve used Pinterest before but you’d like to keep your Wedding Pinterest separate from your personal, you can create a secondary personal account under the same name, also using your wedding Gmail!

Explore the App

Now that you have it set up, feel free to explore the app if you haven’t used it previously. I use the Search Bar like google and type in keywords or phrases that relate to various wedding categories.

Don’t Get Sidetracked

We will be going in-depth on how to style your wedding later in the series. For now, please stay focused on the tasks at hand because you will have PLENTY of time to start pinning your ideas later!

Final Thoughts

Give yourself a high-five! You’ve made another step in the right direction to set yourself up for a stress-free wedding planning journey. Let’s keep moving forward while the momentum is up! It’s time to dig into the numbers so that you know what you can afford.

Kudos on gearing up for an organized wedding planning adventure! Whether you're a 'Tech' or 'Paper Bride,' getting organized now will set you up for a much easier planning process from beginning to end. Now, let's delve into the numbers so you can finally get things going!