Why Defining Your Wedding Vision is Important and How it Can Make or Break Your Big Day

When I ask brides to describe their vision for their wedding, often they describe what they want for their centerpieces.

“My vision is log rounds on the tables and candles.”

Uh, what? Ok. That’s great. But we’ve got some work to do girl…

Friends, your wedding vision is about so much more than what’s on the tables.

Developing your vision should begin before you’ve even booked a single vendor. This will ensure that every detail and human involved in your special day creates a cohesive feeling and experience for you and your guests.

Many of the 911 calls I receive from brides who are quite a ways into the planning process and feel lost and stuck are brides who didn’t develop their vision first and are trying to make a non-ideal venue fit their vision and they realize too late that that’s going to cost them a whole lot of money. Or, most often and much worse, they come to the realization that their wedding just isn’t going to be as amazing as they hoped because they made choices early on in the planning process that do not fit their vision at all and they don’t have the budget to make it work. That’s hard for even a seasoned wedding professional to hear. I want every bride to love her wedding and be obsessed with every detail.

Sometimes I think there’s a frantic feeling that takes over brides after they get engaged and they feel pressure to book a venue fast to secure a date, no doubt because the first question they’re being asked by EVERYONE after flashing that rock is “so when’s the big day?”.

Brides, it’s ok to say “we are hoping for a fall vineyard wedding” or “we are working with our amazing wedding planner to narrow it down” or “we’re enjoying being engaged and how special it is so we are taking our time to plan”.

Developing your vision is as simple as taking some time to really be still and then…close your eyes…imagine it’s your wedding day. You’re feeling overwhelmed with joy. What do you smell? What do you taste? Who is around you? What do you hear? What do you feel beneath your feet? What does your dress feel like? What do the trees look like?

All of these elements are part of your day. Which means they should be part of your vision. The elements you define will greatly impact your venue and vendor choices.

When I begin the wedding planning process with a client I ask them to describe their ideal wedding in 3 words. If their words are “comfortable, boho, warm” I’m going to suggest much different vendors/venues for them than clients who have the words “classic, fun, black tie” or “barn, floral, laid back”. I then always keep these words in my mind as I am vetting locations and professionals for those clients. Because every wedding should reflect the couple it often means that when planning your own wedding, relying only on the vendors your friends/family have used may not be the best fit for your vision. Within the Minneapolis market alone there are thousands of vendors and hundreds of venues, so having an experienced wedding planner who knows the ins and outs of the venues and can examine the style of each vendor and guide you to the ones that fit your vision and your budget is invaluable.

It’s also good to take into account things that you and your fiancé enjoy when developing your vision. If you’re wine lovers for instance use that to influence the venue choice and perhaps do a wine tasting for your cocktail hour with a charcuterie spread, or if you love boating and being on the water consider a venue near water such as a marina or yacht club. Or let’s say you and the future hubs are foodies, you’ll want to check the catering policies when looking at venues to see if you can have a stellar hand picked caterer and custom menu or if you are limited to one caterer and one menu. If you just want a rockin’ dance party skip some less important items (like *cough cough* favors) and splurge on a bomb DJ or Band.

There are so many ways to personalize your wedding day to fit your love story and completely wow your guests and a well developed vision will help you do so and avoid feelings of regret once you’ve tied the knot.