How to Start Planning Your Wedding

Who Am I?

Hello! My name is Ryan (the one with his face circled) and I am the owner of Gray Mustache Studios. As one would assume based on the picture, I am married, and that is my wife, Olivia. So as you go through any of my guides, know that I've been on both sides of the camera when it comes to a wedding day. Behind the camera, I've spent time both in the photo and video industries for several years. Now, Gray Mustache Studios (named for my dad - feel free to check out the full story here!) is my quote-unquote home.

Where To Start

Now, I'm sure you have a friend or family member who has given you their wedding opinions. Heck, technically this whole thing is me giving you my opinion. But at the end of the day, the wedding industry is constantly changing. The wedding your parents had is nothing like the wedding your aunt had and was nothing like yours will be.

My number one wedding day rule is simple; it's your wedding, make the decisions that make you happy. The opinions I give throughout this aren't gospel. No two weddings are the same. What is right for you and what fits into your budget might not be right for someone else.

When starting your wedding journey, sit with your partner and figure out what matters to you. What do you want to get out of your wedding? How much can you/do you want to spend? That last one might have to get tweaked as you start to look into pricing, but most decisions are made based on budget, and that's okay. Before you continue, start there, see what matters, then start your research.

Next Steps

Now that you have your initial thoughts and budget down, where do you go from here? Well, there's a few ways. Aside from anything tangible like your dress, suit, or flowers, my top three things that I recommend booking are your venue, photographer, and DJ. These are the things you remember the most. Where you were and how the food was, how the music was (whether you like to dance or not) and the thing that you take with you forever, your photos.

In my opinion, the easiest place to start is to have either a date in mind, with no loyalty to any venue, or have a venue you want, with no specific date, The nice thing about starting with a venue is most, if not all, have a preferred vendors list. These lists are vendors that have worked at the venue before, so they know the lay of the land. You don't have to go with these vendors, but if you have no issue one way or the other, they're a great option. I'll go over each of these in detail over in my other blogs.

Last Song

All of the posts you’ll see are a guide to share some things I have picked up over the years from not only working but also planning a wedding myself. Don't be afraid to go against the norm, and don't be afraid to say no to people. Lots of people will give their unwarranted opinion on what they think you should do, and 90% of the time their opinions are outdated. Go with your gut and go with what you want. It's your special day.