What we Would Change

Obviously when planning a wedding, there are things that we would probably do differently when looking back at the planning and there are things we wouldn’t change. My husband and I have compiled a list of things that we would do differently vs. things we wouldn’t change.

Things we would change	Things we would keep the same
After working with our venue we didn’t really like how they handled anything and would probably suggest spending more time finding a venue who is willing to work with you to make your dreams come true. We went back and fourth on the contract many times and though we finalized it like we needed and when we realized there were things we needed from them, they were not accommodating because “it wasn’t in the signed contract”. Ultimately get it in writing or they will not make it happened because they never promised it.	Getting a wedding planner early on was a great decision. It was beneficial to have them along from the beginning and they knew exactly what was going on the entire wedding planning process. They were involved with literally email we send out to our vendors and they knew real time what was going on. They also helped us negotiate the contracts with our biggest vendors.
Get a quote on fresh flowers earlier rather than later, we felt that the price of the fresh flowers were extremely inflated. We didn’t have that much time to shop around because we were only a few months out from the wedding.	13 months to plan wedding was a great time frame. We didn’t feel rushed. Most of our larger contracts were signed in 2021 before the holidays and we went into 2022 with the small details and small vendors left. We also only had our outfits left as far as large things that were left to do.
Make sure you plan food out ahead of time, we had our tasting pushed a few times and it seemed like it was too close to the wedding. We also felt like we didn’t have an allocated person from the caterer at the venue who knew what was going on which should have been discussed to prior.	We loved our DJ, wouldn’t change that for the world!
Put a budget in place and stick to it. We did have an initial budget then we added so may expenses at the end that we had not discussed in the beginning. For example a 360 Photo Booth and live paan station.	I loved how all the decor turned out, however I personally spend a lot of time to make sure that my vision appropriately came to life.
Discuss needs and wants with your partner. There are things that both people absolutely will need at their wedding and they should be able to get that. On the other hand, the wants are not as high priority.
Pick out clothing and coordinate sooner. We started looking for my outfits at the end of January for a June wedding. After my clothes were bought my husband still had to get custom clothes made and shipped from India. The time frame seemed a bit tight.
My husband though that the grah shanti and pithi should have been combined and it would have been more fun, but I preferred it to be separate.
If time allows, split up the wedding day and the reception. Have them be on 2 separate days so it gives everyone a chance to relax and enjoy both events.

We will update this information over time if we remember anything else. I think overall the wedding planning can become stressful, but I was lucky that my husband let me have my dream wedding. He was involved in all the decisions but he let me pick want I wanted and I am thankful for that. I loved everything about our wedding day!