Happy NEW Planning YEAR from Ashley Douglass Events

Whether you got engaged in the last week or six or nine or eighteen months ago, many of your will jumpstart yourselves into planning mode post January 1st.

If I were in your shoes, at the very least, I would begin with a planner and then have them return at the end for coordination. I don’t really have the time to plan my entire wedding, do you? Furthermore, there are many Wedding Planners in Connecticut, Westchester, Long Island and New York City. You may get recommendations but first go with your gut. Who do you want to be talking to repeatidly in the months leading up to your big day and who do you want with you and your family on your big day?

If you are one with the time and patience to roll up your sleeves and crank out excel spreadsheets and drawing books simultaneously – go to town.

Some helpful pointers…..

Trying to bite off everything at once will only create stress, and worse yet, this probably will not bring positive results. It’s hard to design well when you are coming from a place that is emphatically stressed and type A. Think of writers and painters; they can’t create well under pressure.

How do you keep stress at bay? Forgive me for sounding ridiculous —PLAN your WEDDING PLANNING before you begin planning

-First make your master year long schedule and stick to it! This is your new part-time, if not full time, job/hobby/activity/obesession…..

-Create your guest list / guest count

-Decide upon your goal budget or at least your budget for big ticket items, like catering and the price you intend to spend per person with alcohol, gratuity and tax.

DESIGN

I implore you to separate design from the business of things; budget, endless to-do lists, logistics, buttering up mom to agree to the gown YOU want, etc., etc., etc.

Brew a cup of tea and go into your own happy private creative place and leave the other stuff at the door. Planning is not about the perfect table cloth. It is about creating an experience and environment that reflects your day dream that you created and fell in love with.

Think of designing your wedding as designing your new home. You are inviting your friends and family into your space. What feelings do you want to be evoked when you all enter and then dance the night away?

In a perfect world, you will have one or two rough design ideas before you decide upon a venue, oh and say yes to a dress!

I suggest making a list of adjectives; bright, country, city, unpretentious, regal, unexpected, simple, smart, etc. Then decide upon three or four elements; driftwood, sand, mirrors, navy, gold, lavenders, linen, blush pink, diamonds, straw, destressed wood, etc. Narrow the list down, pairing them together; nautical, red, silver, bright, classy, happy; driftwood, white on white, blush, malibu, romantic, graceful; country, wild flowers, benches, old fashioned/antique, like our house; regal, opulent, classy, gold, success.

I have seen people struggle to make a look work that is not congruous with the aesthetic of a venue. By the end they have spent more time and money than planned and they end up going back to square one asking – What works with this specifc space?

Go to town and enjoy yourselves!!!!

Some weekends still available in 2013 & we are now booking 2014.