ASK LESLIE

1. Create organizational systems

I know, how boring does that sound? But when you’re planning a wedding for 50 people or more, it’s really important to start streamlining your communication with them. Create a spreadsheet with all of your guests names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. Have columns that say “Sent Save the Date”, “Sent Invitation”, “Accepted for Rehearsal Dinner”, “Accepted for Wedding”, etc. If you do it now while you have more time, you won’t be scrambling later to organize all the information.

2. Line up your Save the Date information and build a wedding website

If you’re having a destination wedding here in Montana and most of your guests will be traveling, it’s a good idea to send a Save the Date with a link to your wedding website for them to make travel arrangements. Save the Dates should be sent at least six months or more before the wedding date. Call local hotels and set up a few room blocks (I like to call a high-end, medium, and budget hotel so that all guests have something to choose from) and put that information on your wedding website List the major airports that are within reasonable driving distance, and make sure to encourage people to reserve a car if they are staying far from your venue (Montana isn’t very cab friendly) Interview a few graphic designers and get the ball rolling on design and production if you’re planning on doing a printed Save the Date.

3. Talk to your bridesmaids/groomsmen and maid of honor/best man/best people

If you haven’t already, make a plan to ask your wedding party if they’ll be a part of your special day. A simple phone call will do, but since we’re suckers for nostalgia, we love handwritten cards, little gifts, or even a video sent via email (for the creative types out there!)

4. Go shopping for your wedding attire

As if I even had to bring this one up. Clothes shopping for all of our weekend outfits (and wedding attire--dress or suit) is important because you’ll get a sense of what’s out there AND there might be good “last season” sales at some of the major boutiques Now is when a lot of trunk shows are happening as well so even if you’re not in the market to buy, you might find something that you love design-wise that you could find more inexpensively online.

5. Gather vision inspiration

While I do love Pinterest, I am a HUGE fan of a digital vision board deigned in Canva or another platform that you might prefer It’s something you can scroll through, get inspired by, and edit as your wedding day approaches Plus, having this to share with your vendor team will help them understand your wedding day wishes visually, as one person’s purple is another persons magenta

6. Enjoy your engagement

So much pressure surrounds planning a wedding that our couples often get stuck in the trap of “Ohmigosh I have so much to DO ” Remember that your wedding will be perfect no matter how much you plan or don’t plan Remember to enjoy your engagement as much as you possibly can (romantic evenings in, trips to the beach/mountains, and lots of talking). The planning part can come later