WEDDING PLANNING 101
What Donnie Brown wants you to know.
• You really should hire a planner. I cannot broach this list without including this. A good planner can save you their fee in better contract negotiations, a detailed eye on the budget and cash-flow and keeping the client from making mistakes or being oversold by commission-happy vendors. You can also hire a planner for month-of so you can enjoy your wedding and not have to personally manage it yourself.
• Develop a perfected budget and live by it. Don’t meet anyone other than a planner with a budget that has been developed carefully. A good budget is the very heart of the planning process.
• Avoid hidden charges. Did you know that most catering
contracts add 25-45% more on each dollar you spend for service charges, gratuities and taxes? If you are not careful and don’t understand this, you may end up considerably over budget and in trouble with he or she who is paying!
• Make good decisions about how many people you invite. If you are hoping for 175 guests and send out 150 invitations with a potential of two per invite, you are likely going to have 250-275 guests in attend- ance. Each guest costs money.
• If you are having differences of opinion with parents and other members of your inner-circle, remember, this is your wedding. It should be the wedding you want. Give in on items that you don’t really care about in order to have control over those issues you do want without exception.