So you’re engaged - CONGRATULATIONS! Or maybe you’ve been selected as maid of honour for your besties wedding - also CONGRATS! Planning a wedding is HARD and after the year we’ve all had - even harder. Often times people dream of the day and have Pinterest boards ready but when the time actually comes to start planning most people don’t know where to begin. Having planned my own wedding and attended countless others in the 11 years I’ve been a wedding photographer across Canada I’ve found some tips and tricks of things that may often get overlooked when you are just starting to plan your wedding. Honestly, wedding planning is tough - and I am no “official” wedding planner but I love to offer help to those who need it. So, if you’re planning a 2021/2022 wedding in Ontario and need some tips on how to get started, send me a message and I’d LOVE to connect with you.

5 Tips For Planning Your 2021/2022 Wedding in Ontario

So you’re ready to start planning - first things first: 2021/2022 are huge wedding years. Consider it the post-pandemic wedding boom so be sure to start planning sooner than later. Vendors are booking up faster than ever so make sure you get going. Here’s a good place to start.

1. Pick the Focus

When I started planning my wedding (which I did myself and I’ll be sharing more about another time) a very wise friend of mine said “pick the focus”. I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant (my instinct was to jump to the fact that photography was the most important thing for me) but when she explained it totally made sense. She suggested that I pick the focus - what’s most important to me about my day and better yet what do I want guests to remember and feel walking away from the day. WHAT. A. QUESTION! For me this totally changed and kick started the way I thought about weddings. What do I want to remember and feel? What do I want guests to remember and feel walking away from the day? Pick your focus. Is that how good the food was? How heartfelt the ceremony was? How fun the party was? How sweet your love story was? Whatever the focus, add it into every element of the day. For us, we wanted people to feel love and be full of emotion. This meant both laughing and crying - and for us music was a big part of that. So we decided to focus on playlists and also words (vows, ceremony, speeches, etc) and I can honestly say people came away remembering the love and joy that they felt that day. The best place to start when planning your 2021/2022 wedding or any year wedding for that matter is picking the focus. What do you want to take away from your special day!

2. Think About What You Take Away From That Day

Something I very quickly have realized in photographing so many weddings is that you don’t actually tangibly take much away from the day. How you felt and the memories you made? That’ll stay forever. However the tangible things you have are basically just your rings, your guestbook, and your photos and video. I think this is something a lot of people forget when they dish out thousands of dollars for decor (not that there’s anything wrong with that at all) but don’t consider the budget they may need to get a good quality professional photographer or videographer, or better yet - both! It’s really important to think about the things you take away - these are the things you’ll show your children and grandchildren down the road.

When it comes to guestbooks, I’m personally loving the polaroid trend. We did the polaroid photo booth station and a book to tape it in and leave a message at our Ontario reception and it went over so well. Not only do we have a book full of hilarious photos of our friends that we never would’ve gotten, we also have their handwritten heartfelt messages next to it all safe in one place. A number of weddings I’ve photographed have also done this and it’s always fun to see guests enjoying themselves figuring out the most fun photo they can get!

With what lasts beyond the day, really take time to consider what matters and budget accordingly. Professional photography and videography are pretty much an investment that I can guarantee you’ll never regret. If you’re looking for a photographer I’d love to chat, drop me a message. If you’re looking for an incredible videographer our friends at Bonsai Creative are two of our favourites. We highly recommend them to any of our clients!

3. Set a Budget

This is KEY. Right from the start be sure to set a budget and do your research to make sure you’re not totally off track with the prices for different services in your area. You’ll want to set an overall budget first and prioritize where you’ll spend your money by what you value. This article called “How to Create A Wedding Budget” from EveryDollar.com is VERY helpful. It considers percentages you should allot to each area and also the average costs. (please note that this is an American resource therefor it should be noted average costs are in USD, costs also vary by region)

Once you pick the focus and think about what you take away from the day you’re ready to budget.

Personal piece of advice: set your budget with your partner. This will save you from a lot of arguments down the road. Be sure you guys agree on it and can afford it!

4. Remember To Have Fun - Include Your Partner In The Planning

Your wedding is about celebrating your marriage - the love between you and your partner. One thing a lot of couples forget is to spend time planning together. If you plan together you get to be sure that the day is filled with meaningful elements to you both, and you also both enjoy it more when it’s a team effort from the start. Make planning fun - have wedding planning dates, pick things out together, enjoy the process. I know everyone says this but it’s true: before you know it the day will be here and gone and it’ll all be a blur. Take time to enjoy the process, together.

5. Most Importantly: Consider The People You Want To Surround Yourself With

Consider the people you want to surround yourself with on your wedding day! This is crucial. I like to take a Marie Kondo approach to who is a part of your wedding: do they bring you joy? If not, don’t choose that. When it comes to your wedding party, guests, and especially vendors - pick people that you want to be surrounded by on your special day. For your wedding party, be sure to pick people that are fun, relaxed, important to you, and that will share in the joy of your day with you. With guests be sure to invite the family and friends that matter most to you. Your day is so much about who you spend it with, be sure to invite guests you want to be surrounded by. It’s your day & it’s also a day for them to share in your joy as they have been a part of your lives.

Lastly, VENDORS! Be sure you have a connection with and you trust your vendors. Especially vendors who will be with you the day of - for example: photographers, videographers, coordinators/ planners. You will spend a lot of time with those vendors on your wedding day and it’s very important to consider how you get along with those people, how they make you feel, and if they’re enjoyable to be around. The Marie Kondo method works here as well - do the vendors bring you joy? Keep them around. One big question people ask is how do you know you connect with a vendor? Sure you like their work but it has to go beyond that. One great way to do this is to ask questions - your vendors often will ask you questions (I know I do) so feel free to have a phone call, ask questions, even grab coffee and get to know each other. As a photographer myself it’s so important for me to get to know my clients well and them to do the same so that on the day of your wedding it’s not like having a stranger around, instead it’s like an old friend. My goal on the day of is to make your day better & more enjoyable & stress free every step of the way - the best way we do that is by getting to know each other and building that trust beforehand.

Ontario Wedding Photography - Now Booking 2022

There you have it. The top 5 things to remember when beginning to plan your wedding! This is the starting ground - there’s lots more to come, but this is a great place to start. If you have any questions about any of the things above please send me a message - I love weddings and with 11 years in the industry I’m happy to help and answer any questions! And if you happen to be looking for a photographer and like what you see please reach out. I would literally LOVE to get to know you and capture your day!

Cheers. xx