Less Stress Wedding Tips & Planning

One of Nashville’s best event planners, Angela Proffitt, gave us some amazing tips & insight on how to better plan your wedding with more ease and less stress!

We all know the process can get overwhelming from time to time, but there are steps you can take (and even not take!) that can help everything go more smoothly.

Here are some helpful tips from wonderful wedding professional, Angela Proffitt:

-Go Paperless:

Instead of carrying a large notebook or binder that could be stolen or ruined by spilling water or coffee on it, use online software, templates, etc. to help manage your vendor contracts, guest list and details. Use dropbox and/or google drive; free applications that help you stay paperless and allow you to share documents with your friends, family and wedding party, if you choose.

Try out Dropbox for FREE

-Use Pinterest:

While some brides don’t have time to sit on Pinterest all day, it is so helpful for a planner and designer to quickly glance at a brides Pinterest page to get an idea of the style you like. Even if you do have a planner, take a few hours and give them an idea of what you like to help with the communication process.

Get inspiration by following Angela on Pinterest here

-Have a Website:

Build a website to better communicate to your guests. Avoid getting emails, text messages and facebook messages the week of your wedding by putting all the details online. If you are worried about privacy, there are even sites that allow you to password protect.

Check out Weebly

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De-stressing yourself and your wedding is very important. That way, you can actually enjoy the process rather than feeling completely frustrated throughout! After all, your wedding is one of the most special days in your life – you’re meant to have the time of your life!

Angela advises brides to go ahead and start preparing earlier on than later to help reduce stress.

“Hire a planner and designer you can trust, to manage the details of the logistics for you; from the beginning. Don’t wait until the month of to hire a planner. At that point, there are Coordinators out there that can do this for you, but why not have someone guide you through the entire process, each step of the way? Professional planners do this everyday and can help you save so much time in sifting through all the BS (bridal stress)!”

Angela explained to us that, for her, the process isn’t solely about the wedding – it’s also about getting to know the couple and having the communication be as open (and honest!) as possible.

“For us at Vivid Experiences, it’s impossible to be successful in managing our clients expectations unless we really understand who they are as a couple and what they want on the most special day of their life. This takes time, and over the planning process we really build that trust up so the client can relax on their wedding day!”

So, communication is key, lovely brides-to-be! You shouldn’t hold anything back from your planner. They need all of the information possible in order to make your wedding spectacular … and so that you don’t have to worry! You’ll be able to relax and have fun celebrating with family and friends.

Of course, there are some requests that are difficult to fill, which Angela describes as “managing [the] reality versus what magazines and television sell; which is not always reality.”

(Even though all of the weddings Angela helps create usually end up looking like something out of a dream!)

But the issue with “realistic” versus “unrealistic” isn’t something foreign to this veteran planner.

Clients know that they are in good hands with Angela & her team because they are constantly gathering information, learning from their experiences, looking for the best options, and coming up with solutions for any problems that may come up.

“Offering education by sharing past experiences helps show value and gain trust. Building trust comes with time. You have to earn that. They know they can count on me and my team when we manage the entire planning process, which helps calm their nerves.”

Having planned hundreds of weddings, Angela has noticed over time that her favorite moments of the process are the first & last 30 days of planning and execution.

“I love the first 30 days of the planning; helping the client choose the right venue, talking through the design and sketching ideas; watching their eyes light up and reading their body language in seeing what excites them is awesome. I also love the last 30 days of planning; where we pull together all the details, after the RSVPs have come in so we can finalize the seating chart, and all the fun details that come along with it, such as: escort cards, place cards, menu cards, etc. This is where we really try to focus on the client’s’ personality and do something unique. I will have to say my very favorite part is seeing the clients faces when they walk into their party on their wedding day. When they see it come to life!”

By taking Angela’s less-stress tips to heart, your wedding will be a breeze!

Whether you’re planning a destination wedding or somewhere closer to home, make sure to look into hiring a planner today! They are here to help you and take some of that unnecessary BS (bridal stress!) off your shoulders.

Communication is important – but so is staying organized!

Remember Angela’s tips while planning your wedding:
go paperless, look for inspiration, pin those ideas, and create a website for easier communication with your friends and family. Use those tools of technology!

It’s your special day, and you deserve to enjoy it with your friends & family without having to worry about much at all!