We get it – wedding planning can feel super overwhelming at first. Where do you start? How do you organize everything? What are the best tips for wedding planning? Well, first tip – hire a professional planner you feel comfortable with😉 Secondly, break down wedding planning into three phases. Keep on reading to hear more about our signature planning process – we’re about to make your life a whole lot easier!
For any of our Full Service clients, or even those that have our Management Collection, we operate under a Three-Phase Planning Process. First, VIP Vendors. Secondly, Design. And we wrap it all up with our Reconciliation Phase.
Our company does things a bit differently, even for our Management clients. While the majority of our time together begins about 6 weeks before your big day, we want to ensure you have the tools and resources you need to get there. Cue our VIP Planning Portal. This resource is curated especially for you and your fiancé, and you can share it with your most important planning partners too! Full of tips/tricks/resources to make your life easier over the next year or so, this is what every bride needs for her special day. From a comprehensive planning checklist to a budget tracker and guest list management tool – we’ve got everything in one spot just for you!
San Antonio Wedding Planner | How to Start Wedding Planning
We suggest all couples begin their wedding planning with the VIP Vendor Phase. During this phase, which may last a few weeks to a few months depending on the length of your engagement, you want to secure all those most important vendors! This means your venue, planner (oh, hey!💁🏼♀️), photographer, videographer, entertainment, and even catering. These vendors are ones that (generally) can only do one event in a day. So if you want to make sure you have your top pick, work on those first! Caterers are the exception in this category, because although they can often have multiple weddings in a day, they are a larger ticket item so it’s good to budget for them first.
Next – TAKE A BREAK. Go on dates, enjoy being engaged, and pat yourself on the back for all the work you (or your planner!) has done already.
Once you’ve gotten those VIP vendors down, it’s time for our favorite planning phase – DESIGN! Following our design questionnaire we’ll work on a design discovery board for you, then our full-scale design board. We LOVE seeing these come to life! Check out one of our recent boards below and how it transformed on wedding day!
Phased-Based Planning | Austin Wedding Planner
During the design process we will reach out to florists and rental companies on your behalf to ensure the design board we’ve all agree upon comes to life on wedding day! Any Scarlet Rose Collective custom or rental items will also be listed. Did you know – Design or Full Service clients receive a discount on all Collective items? As a thank you for believing in us and letting our team make magic happen for you on wedding day!
Once the Design Phase is complete we suggest – you guessed it! – ANOTHER BREAK! See how all of a sudden planning seems less stressful and more manageable? 😉
As the wedding day approaches, you’ve reached your Reconciliation Phase. This includes a wrap-up of any final vendors, sending invites and receiving RSVPs (another Full Service Planning perk!), scheduling and completing a walk through, and building out the timeline of the day. This can sometimes feel like one of the more stressful parts of wedding planning, as it is the culmination of months and months of hard work. But don’t worry – we always hear our couples say how much calmer they feel after our walk through at the venue!
Modern Wedding Decor | Scarlet Rose Collective
Before you know it, it’s wedding day! A day to celebrate with your family and friends, and to take it all in as newlyweds. Whether you’ve planned your day and we’re executing it, or if we’e been your go-to for Planning + Design, you can rest assured knowing our team is in your corner all day long! It’s those happy faces at the end of the night that make us feel complete🤗
Want to know more about our planning process and how we execute on wedding day? Head to our contact page and send us a note – you’ll hear from us soon!
Photography contributors:
Anna Kay Photography / Ashley Medrano Photography / Jo Spivey Photography
