Jessica's Country Flowers

By: Jessica Robinson

Weddings are a big thing.  It's no doubt it's one of the most important days of your life.  I've watched weddings evolve over the last 10-12 years and it's becoming overly complicated. 

It seems that couples are more overwhelmed with huge costs, too worried about what others care/think and forget that they are getting married.  It's more about the wedding than the actual marriage.  With all of these reality TV shows and interacting online it's no wonder people are stressed.  You can get pretty engrossed with everything that other vendors say and past clients of vendors are chatting about.  Remember and focus on the true meaning of why you are getting married.

A wedding should reflect you, your style and your budget.  It should NOT reflect what a reality TV shows say or what everyone else is doing.  When did we become so concerned with what everyone else was doing??!  I've always been the type of individual who stood her feet square on the ground, marched to her own beat and didn't give a crap what anyone said or thought about me.  AND I still don't.  I've made a wonderful company out of nothing and my designs have graced the pages of numerous magazines and wedding blogs.  I've always used the freshest blooms, flowers that others couldn't get and set the bar high on style.

Okay, yes weddings can be a HUGE expense.  But why should they?  Do you really need to have 200 guests?  Is that really necessary?  Do you really need to have the exotic orchids in tall vases you saw on some wedding reality show?  Perhaps it's time we take a reality check and get down to basics.  When we got married we wrote up a list of names of our immediate family and very close friends.  In some cases, we are closer with friends than family.  Our list came to about 100 people and we ended up having 80 guests attend.  That was comfortable and didn't cost us an arm and a leg.

If I was to do it again today, I'd probably limit myself to a max of 50-75 guests.  It's not about how many gifts you can collect or who got invited to who's wedding.  It's about the love of your life becoming your husband or wife and sharing that moment with your loved ones.  Period.  Make a list of priorities and try to limit the fuss of overdoing it.  Simplify.  Meaning, have less guests, choose a venue that doesn't require a million guests just to reserve it, simplify the menu and everything else.  The end result will be a wonderful, relaxed wedding with people who you love and a wonderful experience.

Contracts with your vendors are very important.  They protect you as well as the vendor.  They should spell out everything you are getting from that said vendor, wedding date, locations, times and anything you feel is important to that vendor.  Note: most wedding vendors only book a certain amount of events each weekend, so once you reserve their services they turn away business.

If you have concerns or questions, be upfront from the very beginning and ASK those questions.  Compare vendors and interview at least three per category.  Ask how long they've been in business, how many weddings they've designed, ask to see pictures from those real weddings they've done and get your facts straight.  A wedding takes time to plan, so those relationships with the people who will be a part of creating your wedding are really important.  At any point in  your working relationship with a vendor, if you have questions or concerns reach out to them.  If you keep them in the dark, they cannot help you.