Wedding Planning Do’s and Don’ts (From a Photographer’s Perspective) | Post One of Four: Do What You Want | Wyoming Wedding Photographer

Planning a wedding is a juggling act. Tradition, budget, pressure from family and friends, and your feelings about how the day should go all get thrown into one crazy weekend of set up, high emotion and eventual clean-up after it’s all said and done.

At this point, we’ve seen a lot of weddings. We’ve seen things go very well, and we’ve seen things go not so well. The problem is, we’ve seen people plan details that not only complicate the actual wedding day, but they don’t really add any value for the couple, and sometimes they even contribute an element of hazard to the day. Couples end up focusing on something that really doesn’t matter one iota when it’s all said and done, instead of focusing on each other and the family and friends who are gathered to help them celebrate.

After watching a lot of unnecessary stress unfold on various occasions, we’ve put together a list of some of the biggies, and I’ll be rolling those out over the next few weeks in a series of posts.

First up, DO WHAT YOU WANT.

Do what you want. No seriously. I know this sounds ridiculous, but we’ve seen so many people plan a wedding that includes everything that they thought a wedding entailed and nothing that actually meant anything to the bride or groom. Don’t let what society has always told you a wedding day should look like dictate one of the biggest days of your life. If you don’t really dance, don’t hire a DJ to blast dance tunes all night — it will probably make for one really sparse dance floor and a really frustrated DJ. If you are more of the ‘sit outside, drink beer, and make s’mores at the campfire’ kind of people, do that. Really want a mellow brunch? Why not? Tailoring a day to fit your personalities is going to make for a much more fun day for you and your guests alike.

All the photos you see above were from Amber and Matt’s wedding, and they were pros and making sure their day was exactly what they wanted. Chill campfire, s’mores, beer and T-rex. It was amazing. Most importantly, it was totally “them.” They got married in the Snowy Mountains at St. Albans Chapel and had their reception at Brooklyn Lodge outside of Centennial, Wyoming. We really loved their big day and all the amazing, kind people who helped them celebrate.

Which brings me to my next point; think about who you really want around you when you’re marrying the person who means the most to you. If you both want everyone you know or have ever known to come, great. Have a huge party. If you want the day to feel more personal and you want to have time to visit with each of your guests, opt for a smaller guest list. I realize narrowing down a guest list is hard to do, but think about booking a destination venue; people tend to be more understanding when a couple is opting for a smaller guest list for a destination wedding. Even if it’s a small, secluded mountain wedding that is a day’s car ride away, guests may be less offended than if they’d been left off the guest list at a venue in your hometown.

Ok, plan on, friends. Let us know if you have specific questions for us by clicking my logo at the bottom of the page. Have a great weekend!