We are thrilled to introduce our featured day-of coordinator for The Big Fake Wedding Minneapolis – St. Paul, Denae of denae brennan weddings & events! Denae just gets it, so of course we had to ask her to contribute to our coordinator series on the blog. Today, Denae is offering her advice on 5 important things to remember during your engagement!
denae brennan weddings & events is a boutique wedding planning company specializing in memorable events filled with ridiculous amounts of joy. I started this wedding planning journey in 2012, and have a decade of event planning experience under my belt. I have planned everything from golf tournaments to galas, company picnics for nearly 4,500 guests to intimate fundraisers for just 30, but found my true calling in weddings. Why weddings? Because I love marriage. I believe marriage is an incredible adventure – maybe the best of all – filled with love, passion and ridiculous amounts of laughter. You deserve to kick your marriage off with a personal, meaningful ceremony followed by one heck of a party, and I can help you do that, stress-free. The joy I get from seeing my clients happy, laughing and dancing the night away on their wedding day fills my heart. I am truly honored to get to play a role in such an important day in peoples’ lives!
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5 Important Things to Remember During Your Engagement
He asked, you said yes, now the fun begins! Being engaged is a thrilling and special time. It can also be a time of stress if you let it overwhelm you. Here a few things to keep in mind during the exciting months leading up to your wedding:
1. Hire professionals for your wedding day. Planning a wedding can seem like a second full-time job. Want to save time? Hire and work with professional vendors. Having a friend shoot your photographs or your aunt do your centerpieces may seem like a good way to save money, but in the end you’ll spend more time giving them direction and oversight (and DIY-ing anything always costs more than you think!). When you work with professional vendors, it’s not only their job but also their passion to make sure your wedding dreams are realized. They have the knowledge and proper resources to make your life easier during the planning process and your stress level low on your wedding day. Want to save loads of time (and your sanity)? Hire a wedding planner! A wedding planner will help you find all of those reputable vendors and can save you immeasurable amounts of time and stress throughout your engagement.
2. Remember to be a fiancé. Wedding planning can be all encompassing and it’s easy to get caught up in constantly wanting to talk about flowers, gowns and details. Don’t forget to take time during your engagement to just enjoy being a fiancé! Go on dates with your partner and don’t talk about the wedding. Instead focus your conversations on what you want your marriage to look like. It helps keep perspective on why you’re planning (and stressing about) the big celebration in the first place.
3. Try not to get overwhelmed by options. In today’s world of Pinterest, Instagram and wedding blogs, the options seem endless. These tools are all wonderful sources of inspiration, but they can also make it extremely difficult to make decisions when it comes to your wedding. There are so many beautiful ideas out there! My advice is to stick with your gut. Once you decide what you want your bouquet to look like, stop looking at bouquet ideas! Make decisions based on what you and your fiancé want your wedding day to look like. Choose details that make sense for you and who you are as a couple, not because it’s on the most popular wedding blog.
4. Have fun! Your engagement is a very special time in your life. You and your partner only get the title of fiancé for a short time so don’t forget to enjoy it! Planning a wedding can be difficult and stressful (to alleviate that stress, see #1…), but more than anything it should be fun. You get to try on gorgeous dresses, taste delicious cake and dream up beautiful floral arrangements. You get to look forward to the first day of your marriage, and dancing the night away with your closest friends and family. Be sure to keep “have fun” at the top of your priority list throughout your engagement, and of course on your wedding day as well!
5. Above all, remember that at the end of your wedding day, the most important thing is that you are married to the love of your life. Hire professional vendors, keep perspective on what’s important and know that the details will work themselves out. The reason you are doing it all is to be able to call each other husband and wife. After the champagne has run dry, the music ends and the last guest has left, look to your new husband, taking with you nothing but wonderful memories of your wedding day, and know that all the planning was totally worth it.
Photo Credits:
Brandon Werth Photography (1 + 2) | Amy Rae Photography | Kelsea Fehlen
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