Recommendations for Your Maryland and Northern Virginia Wedding Planning
Have you booked vendors for your wedding yet? Maybe you have the venue and the caterer, but aren’t sure what else you need. Not only that, but you know what time you want to get married, and that’s about it. In this judgment-free zone, we encourage you to check out available resources to help planning the details of your Maryland and Northern Virginia wedding. Read on for some tips to manage your wedding timeline.
Look to Social Media
One of Complete Northern Virginia’s most popular Instagram Reels is one with a sample timeline for a 5:00 PM wedding ceremony. We try to provide helpful content for clients. Sometimes we find a topic that really resonates and isn’t just about whether you book your event with us. If it’s helpful to you, then it’s helpful to us. So we’re linking that reel here so you have a general idea of how your day might be structured based on the time of your ceremony.
Spend Quality Time With Professionals at Bridal Shows
At our last bridal show, our Coordinator was there and had so many valuable discussions with Northern Virginia and Maryland brides. There were no strings attached and no sales pitch. Just recommendations.
- Should you get a Coordinator?
- How much should you try to do yourself?
- What is one hard and fast rule about the reception (a seating chart)?
- What’s trending?
- Should you get a block of hotel rooms for the out-of-town guests?
- What about a Hair and Makeup team?
- How much should that cost and how long should it take?
- Who would you recommend?
- Do you have so many questions you aren’t even sure what to do?
Let’s book a consultation and see if the answer is to use our Coordination services!
Have a Value, Not Cost Mindset
Maybe there is a little skepticism on the part of couples who are trying to have the best day ever but stay on a budget. Budgets are important, and we’ve said before in other blogs that if you have a budget, you need to stick to it. In Northern Virginia, a bride will find herself overwhelmed by opulence, quiet charm, cozy family-centered vibes, and fairytales.
Some of the little things add up, and the value of what you are booking may take a back burner. When you’re thinking about photography and you see the price tag, ask what makes the package valuable?
Considerations like experience, the ability to make you feel comfortable, portfolios that not only knock your socks off, but transport you back in time to that very moment and provoke deep feelings. There may be a list of questions you want to ask every photographer, but beyond the right answers to the questions, how do you feel when you see the work, talk to the photographer and get a feel for their approach to the big day?
At Complete Northern Virginia, our photographers will impress you, for sure, and the edited photos will always be impeccable and consistent, but our main concern is a photographer’s ability to reach you and capture the moments that make you sigh, smile, cry, and know you made the right choice.
If you have sticker shock over the price of a professional DJ, be sure you know what you’re getting and determine the value vs. the price. Wedding market information will tell you the median price for various services in the area and can be very helpful when making a pros/cons list.
The one-in-the-moment experience you and your guests will have at your wedding is the reception vibe, right? You’ll see your video and photos later.
The venue and the food of course have an impact, but did they have fun? Did the DJ engage with your guests, play the bangers and the favorites, make you feel like you and your new spouse were the stars? Was the DJ setup professional and did your guests tell you the next day how much fun they had?
This is what you will be looking for-not just the right songs for a dance with a parent, but how did the night go when it came to the entertainment?
Using Friends and Friends-of-a-Friends
No shade being thrown here- having an experienced, talented friend can be the key to a wonderful event. One of the drawbacks is the friend/family member vs. paying (or not paying) client. Clear communication and expectations are critical.
Those friends in the industry can help you determine how you want to proceed and if any vendor you are looking into has a good reputation. Have they never heard of the vendor you’re considering? It is not necessarily a red flag, but good information to have in your back pocket as you explore and ask questions to make sure you’ve found the right vendor. Will your relationship with this friend hold firmly way beyond the vows and end of end-of-the-night farewell?
Researching wedding professionals in Maryland and Northern Virginia can be fun, but it can mean a lot of phone calls, website clicks, and ghosting (so we hear!). Combine as much as you can in one place and have a good sounding board for those times when you feel overwhelmed.
Enjoy Your Engagement Time
Coordinators and Planners are usually up front about having a mindset that your wedding will not be perfect. That may strike fear in the heart of a bride, but having a reasonable expectation will help steady a bride. As you near the big day, make sure to take time out to enjoy each other. What brought you together and led to the proposal? Keep those factors in mind and let go of the little things. And if you find that is a struggle, give a second thought (or a third) to a Planner or Coordinator. No pressure, we mean it!
At Complete Wedding + Events Northern Virginia, we offer 5 services that can be bundled for less than $10,000. We welcome you to consider us as an option for your big day. You can check in with us and ask all the questions you want by visiting our website.
