Last year, roughly 1 million couples were forced to postpone or fully cancel their weddings due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent social distancing. The wedding industry was one of the many industries negatively impacted by the pandemic and which left many wedding vendors without a steady income throughout 2020. When the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine began in 2021, the wedding industry experienced a major boom as American couples began to reschedule their postponed weddings. Things have not slowed down, and today, wedding planners have reported fully booked venues, a scarce number of available photographers, and rising catering prices.
As millions of couples are already queuing up to say “I do” in 2022, popular Temecula, CA, wedding venue Abbot Manor hopes to share their industry tips and tricks! Abbot Manor recognizes that planning the perfect wedding takes time, patience, and, most importantly, advice! With more than 30 years of experience in the wedding industry, here is Abbot Manor’s biggest do’s and don’ts of wedding planning!
Do: Hire a Professional Wedding Photographer + Videographer
Oftentimes, young couples can be surprised by the costs of a wedding photographer and, to save some money, will hire a family friend or amateur photographer to take photos for half price. While this will save a large sum of money, it will also likely leave the bride and groom with blurry, poor-quality images of their special day. Although it may be tempting to save thousands of dollars by hiring your youngest cousin to take your wedding photos, you will likely be left with photos that cannot be framed or put proudly on the mantel. A professional photographer will be able to provide couples with clear, beautiful shots of the most important moments of the wedding as well as great photos of the wedding party and extended family.
Don’t: Include Wedding Registry Info on Your Wedding Invitations
A major faux-pas that many bride and grooms-to-be accidentally make is including a link to their wedding registry on their wedding invitations. Wedding invitations should only be used as a way to announce your wedding day and invite beloved guests to your nuptials – not as a way to ask for gifts. Although it is certainly easier to put all wedding-related information on the same card, it can come off as tacky and impolite. Instead, couples can inform wedding guests of their desired wedding gifts by:
- Asking immediate family and the wedding party to spread the information regarding the registry by word of mouth.
- Including on your wedding invitations the web address of your wedding website. Here wedding guests can find everything they need to know of the wedding, and wedding schedule, as well as the registry.
Do: Read Every Contract Closely
It should come as no surprise that wedding planning involves a large amount of paperwork. Unfortunately, when looking at your fifth contract of the day, it can be easy to overlook important clauses or information that may create problems on the wedding day. Before putting a deposit down on a venue, hiring the caterers, or booking the wedding band, be sure to closely review every detail of the contract, including:
- Date
- Location
- Time
- Deposit
- Additional fees
- Colors
- Quantities
- Etc.
If a contract is miswritten, say the caterer’s contract has the date of the wedding written incorrectly, this means that when the day of the wedding comes, the bride and groom will still be on the hook for the full cost of the caterers, without any of the actual wedding meals. Additionally, wedding planners should be cautious of clauses that prevent them from leaving a review of a vendor after their service, one-sided terms, extreme cancellation policies, and additional fees. It is crucial to carefully ready any policies that dictate future changes in the scope of services, i.e., that rates will be revised if any significant changes are made. Although these policies are regarded as standard practice in the industry, it is always important to be fully aware of all aspects of your contract before moving forward. Finally, it is always recommended that wedding planners check that the contract dictates what will happen if the vendor cancels before the wedding date, not just the wedding party.
Do: Enjoy your Big Day!
All too often, brides or grooms will become so absorbed with creating their perfect day that they forget to enjoy it. An excellent example of this is brides and grooms who are committed to speaking with every one of their guests and find no time to speak with their new spouse. Or perhaps the bride wants her shoes to be scuff-free for her wedding, so she does not break them in and instead must wear painful shoes for both her wedding ceremony and reception. Making a wedding glamorous and perfect will never be as important as simply enjoying your wedding with your spouse. Find time for each other throughout the day, either by scheduling a “first-look” or a last private dance at the end of the night.
