Meagan Gilpatrick from Maine Seasons Events gives some advice to brides about Wedding Planning! Website: Maine Seasons Events

Image by Sharyn Peavey Photography

Some morsels of advice when working with a Wedding Planner:

1. Be prepared to communicate your likes and dislikes, bring pictures, magazines, etc. to convey your wedding vision.
2. Be clear on who is contributing financially and how much.
3. Follow the lead of the planner when prompted to make key decisions relating to vendors. The coordinator will keep you on track with your planning timeline.
4. Be prepared to listen to the recommendations of the planner. They have experience and inside working knowledge of how things will work best, and they know which things to avoid.
5. Prioritize your top 3 areas of focus for the wedding: Is food the most important element to you? What is second and third? Photography and music? Or is it décor and location? Having the key wedding elements prioritized prior to planning can ensure your budget is allocated in alignment with these priorities.
6. Once you have made a key decision, don’t change your mind. Make thoughtful and rational choices and stick to the plan. Changing details increases expenses, time and work for everyone involved. Make sure that you choose things you really love and feel good about, then once you have decided on your flowers, food, colors, etc., don’t continue to look at pictures in magazines, read wedding blogs, etc., searching for ideas – you will inevitably find a picture of something you think you like more than what you have already chosen. Trust your first instinct and don’t choose something unless you feel confident about it.
7. Having said that, be prepared to choose your battles – a venue that you love may have restrictions that you don’t like. Is the venue location worth having to end your reception by 10 in the evening? Maybe it is. If so, it is always worth asking for an extension, but if the final answer is “no”, then be prepared to work with that.
8. Obvious, but worth mentioning: Be kind, be polite, be friendly. Treating vendors with respect and trusting their professional talent to do what they do best is simply good manners, use them.

Some current trends in weddings:

1. Color, color, color! Customizing every element of the wedding to tell a color story, integrating everything from beverages, stationery, table linens and the bride’s shoes. Couples are choosing non-traditional color combinations to create unique and memorable events.
2. Personal Accents: Many couples are getting hands on with their wedding preparations, from designing their own invitations, to building the Chuppah, sewing their own veils and making their own wedding jewelry. Couples utilizing a skill or talent to create personal and unique wedding elements is an increasing trend now.
3. Many more couples recognize the value and in many cases, the necessity, of having an independent professional coordinator throughout the planning process and increasingly, on the actual wedding day. Hiring a wedding planner or coordinator for some element of the wedding – even if it is only for rehearsal and wedding day coordination, and planning for this service in the budget is a critical step for many couples.
4. Thinking outside the flower box when choosing table centerpieces: food, vintage toys, buckets, tea tins, recycled and repurposed items are finding their way to the table tops of today’s weddings.