Getting ready for a wedding can be very stressful. There are many tools you can use to help you plan a traditional wedding, like downloadable checklists, professional Instagram accounts, and blogs. If you want to do something different for your wedding, you may be “blazing a new trail” or “charting a new course.” Lastly, it’s fun because it looks like jackpotjill, but you may have to work harder than usual.
Don’t be scared even if it looks scary. Read on for some tips that will help you plan your unique wedding:
Tips for Planning a Non-Traditional Wedding
1. Define What You Mean by Non-Traditional
Okay, even though this topic seems simple, it needs to be talked about. The word “non-traditional” can mean a lot of different things. Is it right that your two willing parties agree to a ceremony that isn’t typical? Awesome. Both sides need to explain what they mean when they say “non-traditional.”
I know this seems obvious, but if you can agree on something now, it will save you a lot of trouble later. Several non-traditional wedding themes, like “let’s get beautiful tungsten wedding bands” and “wedding in the bush presided over by a minor deity,” will clash. It is very important to stress this point.
2. Dream Big
You are in the “ideation” stage right now, if you’ll pardon the business jargon. Even without the jargon, this is an exciting step in the process. Just start tossing around ideas and see what sticks. There is no way to come up with a bad idea if you click here. Except for stupid ideas, which are offensive.
To be clear, just because you have big goals doesn’t mean you have to buy the most expensive items from every store. Even if you just do as much of the wedding planning as you can on your own and put the money you save toward a down payment on a house, that’s not the usual way to do things. Set high standards for the part of the style that you are most interested in.
3. Enlist Help
This could be anyone from a creative friend to a person who plans events for a living. Even though hiring a professional wedding planner isn’t cheap, most couples are glad they did it after the wedding. Any wedding is going to be stressful, but when the ceremony is different than usual, the stress goes up even more. If you’re thinking about not hiring a wedding planner, we strongly suggest that you do.
4. Plan Ahead
Yes, it is smart to start making plans for a wedding early. We’re not saying anything very new. If you want something unusual or special, you should know that you might have to work harder and wait longer to get it. When time is of the essence, it can be very helpful to even try to be a few weeks ahead of a more typical timeline.
For unusual weddings, you may have to be engaged for a long time, which isn’t for everyone. Whether or not this is true for your wedding depends on what you want, but it is a very real possibility for many couples who choose to go their own way instead of following the norm.
5. Lead with the Venue
If you don’t want a traditional wedding, your first step should be to find a place to hold the event. Start by putting the area out of your mind as soon as possible. It’s best to book a place as soon as possible because for some people it can be a big source of stress.