Your Wedding Vision Plan

You have no doubt created a vision plan or statement at work. Business vision plans, statements or boards serve an important purpose. They keep you grounded while keeping your focus on what a goal, what is most important. Doesn't your wedding day deserve the same focus? Are you worried things will get out of hand or even get completely away from your grasp?

So many brides and Grooms fall victim to a sale, a meaningful friend, and even temporary wedding ADHD.

A vision plan is the answer, my friend! If you are engaged, start one, if you are mid-planning, start one, if you are still dreaming of that special someone, you can still start one! I will lead you step by step in creating your vision plan. Please keep in mind that while Pinterest is very helpful, don't rely on it for your entire vision or you most certainly will go over budget.

Step 1: Find yourself a nice spiral notebook or 3 ring binder with plenty of paper and a few folders. There is no need to go out and purchase one of those over priced wedding planning notebooks. If you like the check lists, download a few of those to include in your book. I used only a few of the pages in my $30 wedding planning book and lived with my spiral notebook.

Step 2: Have a good old fashioned brainstorming session with your fiancé and talk about you expectations, your wants and dreams for your perfect day. Listen to each other and start writing down the ideas you come up with. Start narrowing down your list to the things you both agree on and have a special section for "Must haves" that you will need to discuss further. Discussing themes, size, locations and timing are the most important to discuss if you are just beginning your plans as everything will flow from these items. Make a final list with the most important items in order of importance and keep it front and center of your notebook. This is your vision.

Step 3: Find inspiration. Now is your chance to bring out that Pinterest board or start looking at the many fabulous ideas. Just keep in mind, as you look at ideas online, that these are other couples' big days. You will want your own unique day and not a carbon copy of a wedding from 1, 3 or even 7 years ago! Be sure that the ideas you are searching fall inline with your vision. Don't search a barn wedding when your vision is the trendy downtown hotel. Remember that the pictures are ideas for you to branch off from. When you find pictures or ideas that fall into your theme or vision, don't hesitate to print them off and put them in your notebook. As you visit your vendors, you will have a concrete way to describe what feel or look you are trying to capture. Please do not expect your vendor to make a copy of some other person's work, give them the freedom to do what they do best while understanding your vision for that service.

Step 4: Set a budget. Budgets are an important part of wedding planning but when you have a vision for your wedding, they become extremely important. When you know what is most important to accomplish your vision of the perfect wedding, you will have a clear idea of where you need to spend the money and where you can bargain hunt. If your vision is a small wedding in a lavish location, you need to plan on spending more on your location but your per guest food and entertainment might be lower. If you want to dance the night away, finding a great DJ and venue with a nice dance floor is where the budget should go. If you are a foodie, finding a primo caterer is money well spent. Prioritize your wants for the big day and list them in order of importance, look at this list often as you find your vendors to keep your priorities in order.