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I am going to be real honest and tell you a secret of ours… wedding planners l-o-v-e to plan other’s weddings, BUT, we don’t like planning our own!! We have the same dilemmas and drama as everyone else. We might be able to put a wedding together with the snap of a finger, but there is something about your own wedding that makes you want to pull your hair out. So, believe us when we tell you that we understand how you feel! It is our job to make sure you don’t have some of the same experiences we have. With that said, this is a post of advice and examples from two of the married ladies of Alluring Events + Design. I will go first…I married my number one man back in 2011, long before I considered becoming a wedding planner myself. It was overwhelming. I knew what I liked and what I wanted, but I also new what the traditions and typical wedding festivities were. Looking back, my wish is that my husband and I had done things our way! Instead, we did things according to other people’s opinions and we followed the guidelines of what a wedding was “supposed” to be.A personal example of mine would be… having a First Look. We didn’t do this because ‘traditionally you aren’t supposed to’. Well, I don’t see any bad things happening to the couples who did do first looks!! There is no harm in it, and if it works better for you then do it! I think I would have been much more relaxed and calm if I had seen my husband ahead of time, he is my comfort and security and it would have been really nice. Other examples are things like cake cutting, garter tosses and wedding parties – all things we would have probably done without had we done things our way.So learn from my mistakes and stick to your gut feelings. Have a wedding that reflects you in every way. If you don’t like something then take it out, if a tradition makes you uncomfortable then remove it, if you’ve thought of a fun aspect to incorporate then add it in, if there are guests you don’t want at your day then stick up for yourself, and if you want to change things up and make the day unique to you then absolutely do it your way!{xo, Rachele} Pictures by Shannon Cunnigham PhotographyLooking back on my wedding there are a couple things I would have done differently. I planned our wedding in two months and it was a bit of a whirlwind. This meant there were things I did not put as much detail and effort into as I would have liked.One major area was Paperie. We wanted to stay on a minimal budget, so we ordered the cheapest/easiest invitations we could find online. They were fine, and kind of fun, but they did not reflect the overall design of our wedding. Inexpensive invitations and paperie items are completely fine and are a great area to save on costs, but try to make sure they still reflect you. They are the first glimpse into your big day and you want them to be cohesive with the wedding. Along with the invites, our seating chart was an afterthought. I printed out the table assignments myself a couple days before my wedding! We also had a printed note at everyone’s place settings and I wish I would have made them more custom and spent more time personalizing them. I was working full time and did not ask for help when I probably should have. The lesson here is to ask for help! You don’t have to do it all on your own and you would be surprised how many people would feel incredibly honored to help you with projects for such an important day!It’s funny because I LOVE planning other people’s weddings and helping to fine tune every little detail…but when it came to my own wedding, those small details weren’t as big of a priority, and I wish they had been. You know the saying “Those who don’t do, teach!” Well, “Those who don’t want to plan their OWN wedding, plan everyone else’s!”{xo, Kayleigh} Pictures by Carmen Salazar Photography