Can You Plan a Wedding without a Planner? Here’s What to Expect.

Wedding planners used to be the reserve of Hollywood movies, luxury celebrations and society weddings, but as the wedding industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar business, it's become much more common for couples to hire a professional planner to help them navigate the wedding planning process. Whilst some people might look horrified at the suggestion that you might go it alone and plan your own wedding, contrary to popular opinion, you absolutely can plan a stylish celebration without hiring a wedding planner - it just takes a bit of insider knowledge, a willing wedding party and some good organisational skills!

Whether you’re working with a smaller-than-average wedding budget or are planning a more intimate wedding day, ditching the wedding planner can mean freeing up your funds for other, more important aspects of your wedding celebration. The idea of going it alone might seem a bit overwhelming at first, but we’re here to hold your hand and guide you through exactly what to expect when planning your own wedding.

Defining your wedding vision

Now, this is one part of the planning process that you definitely don’t need a wedding planner for - with a plethora of inspiration out there on Pinterest and Instagram; you should be able to find the right wedding theme for you with very little effort. This is easily one of the most enjoyable parts of wedding planning, so let yourself have fun with it! What style of wedding would fit you as a couple? Maybe you’re dreaming of a relaxed beach celebration or a bohemian backyard wedding, or perhaps you’re all about bold colours and dopamine decor.

Seek out imagery that inspires you to create a mood board to refer to when selecting and working with your chosen wedding vendors.

Setting your wedding budget

Sticking to your budget is a key ingredient to a successful wedding, and a good wedding planner can be worth their weight in gold when it comes to managing the wedding finances. Whilst there’s no substitute for an experienced planner’s knowledge of exactly how to break down your finances and get the most out of your budget, this rough breakdown of an average wedding budget could come in handy. Just remember, these are flexible and will totally depend on the style of wedding you’re having.

Reception venue and Catering: 45% Photography and Videography: 15% Flowers and Decor: 10% Entertainment: 10% Wedding Attire and Makeup: 8% Wedding Website and Stationery: 2% Wedding Favours and Gifts: 2% Wedding Cake: 2% Transportation: 2% Contingency: 4%

Choosing your wedding venue

Getting a rough idea of the number of guests will help you narrow down your venue options, so before you begin the search for your dream venue, it’s always wise to get clear on who you want to invite. Once you know roughly how many guests you expect to attend, you can look for the perfect venue for your big day - one that fits your vision and can accommodate all your guests. This is also the time to think about access requirements for any guests with impaired mobility and whether you want onsite accommodation for your guests.

Most venues will have a wedding coordinator assigned to each booking, and whilst it might be tempting to treat them like a substitute for a professional wedding planner, remember this isn’t their job! That said, when it comes to all things related to your wedding venue, you can certainly make use of their expertise to help guide you through the planning process as well as help things run smoothly on the actual wedding day.

Inviting your guests

Once you’ve got your wedding date locked in and know exactly who you want to invite, it’s time to send out those all-important save-the-dates. Without the help of a wedding planner, using a custom wedding website like Say I do can massively reduce the workload and stress of inviting your guests and collecting RSVPs, not to mention acting as a digital hub for all the important information your guests need to know. You can send out digital save-the-dates and invitations at the touch of a button, collect RSVPs for meal choices, and even ask guests to choose a special song to add to your wedding playlist.

A wedding planner would usually help you with tracking responses, chasing those guests who are a bit slow to reply and liaising with the venue to ensure dietary restrictions are catered for, amongst other things. A Say I do wedding website takes a lot of the hard work out of this, with the ability to quickly and easily send reminders and keep track of dietary requirements - and it even comes with a built-in seating planner so that you can wave goodbye to a wall full of post-it notes!

Hiring your wedding vendors

A good wedding planner usually comes with a little black book full of helpful (and, more importantly, recommended) contacts, which can certainly make things easier when it comes to finding the right wedding vendors for you. The wedding photography and wedding floristry markets, in particular, are very saturated right now, and this can make it pretty tricky to find your ideal match. There are lots of ways to find your wedding vendors, but your wedding venue is a great place to start - they will probably have a list of recommended suppliers who have worked with them before. You could also look at other local venues and suppliers' socials to find wedding photographers, videographers, and florists that you like.

On top of helping you source the right vendors, a wedding planner works with them to ensure they have all the details they need. Therefore, in the absence of a wedding planner, this falls to you. Make sure all your vendors have all the information they need ahead of the big day, including emergency contacts and an up-to-date timeline.

Planning a wedding yourself really isn't rocket science, but it does require epic organisational skills! Don't be afraid to ask for help from those around you - having a motivated, close family member or two (or your best friend) on your team can really make all the difference!