The top three challenges of wedding planning

14th March 2025 Family

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Once the initial period of celebrating your engagement has come to an end, it’s time to get into the planning process. This is an exciting time – it’s great fun to create your dream day – but it can also be challenging. Most of us aren’t event organisers by trade, and so planning a big party for all your family and friends can feel a little overwhelming, especially if you don’t have a professional wedding planner on board. 

If you’re just at the start of your planning journey, here are three things to watch out for – plus some tips to help you find enjoyment in this unique phase of your relationship.

The overwhelming variety of choices

There are so many amazing wedding vendors out there, offering every variety of entertainment, food, outfits, flowers and table decorations that you can imagine. Whilst the benefit of this is that you can find something that aligns with your exact vision for the day, if you haven’t got something specific in mind, it can be hard to make any choices. Even if you do, it’s easy to get swayed and suddenly question all your previous decisions in favour of something you’ve seen on Pinterest or social media. 

Try to get a clear vision of what you want, as well as a budget for each item, at the start of the planning process. Then, make a cooling-off rule: if you want something, wait for a week (if time allows). If you still want it, then you can properly consider it. 

Sticking to you and your fiancé’s opinions

Once you announce you’re getting married, the opinions will start to flow in. Everyone from your parents to your distant cousin will have thoughts on how you should run your big day, and that can be hard to ignore. However, ultimately, it needs to be a day that reflects you and your partner, and also a day where you feel comfortable and happy. 

Therefore, make a pact with each other to stick to your opinions, and discuss any potential changes together before you go ahead. By being polite but firm with your loved ones, you can avoid committing to any amendments to your wedding day unless both you and your fiancé are in agreement. 

Finding time to step away 

Finally, wedding planning takes up a lot of time, and it’s easy to let it seep into every conversation you have. Even if you enjoy the process, you still need a break, or you risk overthinking things and not being able to actually enjoy the day when it arrives. 

Try to set dedicated time for wedding planning, so that you can truly embrace it – and then put it away again. By tackling it in little chunks, you’ll stop yourself from getting overwhelmed, as well as keeping that spark of excitement alight. You could even make it into a date night with your partner, making a nice meal or getting a takeaway, so that it feels special and romantic.