According to The Knot, there are approximately 2.6 MILLION weddings taking place in 2022. That’s a lot of weddings! If you’ve started your planning at any level, you have discovered that it will be a very hectic year for events in and around Nashville. Venues and vendors are booking up quickly which can add stress to an already anxious process. I’m here to give you a few tips that can minimize that stress and streamline the planning.

Tip #1: Hire a wedding planner

Trust me, I am not just giving you this tip to plug my own business. There is so much value in hiring a wedding planner to guide you through this process. There are many reasons to hire a planner, but I’m going to highlight the important reasons for this year specifically. First, wedding planners have numerous connections to vendors in the industry. As vendor’s availability begins to tighten, your wedding planner will have a list of great people with which they have established relationships. These relationships enable special favors and help with last minute emergencies that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to be accommodated. For example, shoutout to Claire with White Ink Calligraphy! I had a client decide they wanted several different hand painted acrylic signs for an event in November (aka busy season) a week out from the event. If they would have gone straight to Claire the answer would have likely been no because she was slammed. However, because Claire and I have developed a great working relationship throughout the years, she was able to make this happen for my client. Second, wedding planners are in tune with what’s going on in the industry and can guide you on the best time to book vendors. Last year, the industry experienced many unforeseen issues that were brides wouldn’t have necessarily anticipated. For example, there was a severe floral shortage in the months of October/November. Also, rental companies were closing their books to events due to being at maximum capacity. An informed planner will know details that are not common knowledge and help you navigate this crazy year and keep you on track.

Tip #2 Get to booking!

Have I said venues and vendors are booking quickly? Hire your planner and get to booking! Elizabeth Events has more weddings on the books this year than we ever have…and it’s only January. We have been planning for our current full planning clients and have run into vendors already being booked for weddings that are 10+ months out. Normally, I would suggest spacing the planning out a little bit more, but this year, we’ve had to front load planning with our clients to ensure we get to work with our top vendors. If you have yet to book a planner/venue/photographer yet, in that order, tic toc! Thankfully the Nashville event industry is replete with amazing vendors in each category to make your wedding day amazing! But, don’t wait.

Tip #3 Don’t ghost your vendors

Approximately 95% of brides who reach out to us for an inquiry end up ghosting or responding several weeks/months later. We give our best effort in keeping track of date inquires and following up, even if we have been ghosted, to let brides know that someone else is interested in their date. However, this is becoming more difficult with the mass influx of inquiries. If you have responded to our email or set up a phone call with us, you’re on our radar to let you know if someone is wanting to book your date.

Even if you aren’t ready to book, it’s very important to respond back. Be very honest with what stage you’re at – we promise you, you aren’t going to hurt our feelings (as long as you’re speaking nicely!) even if you’re no longer interested. Prompt responses are the best way to secure your date!

Tip #4 Send out your save the dates

Odds are, your wedding guests are likely going to be invited to multiple weddings in 2022. I highly recommend sending out “save the dates” once you have your venue and date locked in to afford your guests ample time to plan!

Tip #5 Make time to enjoy your engagement

Although this can be a busy and stressful time, don’t forget to enjoy being engaged to your fiancé. Don’t lose sight of the reason why you are planning. Make sure to communicate what’s important to each of you regarding the wedding and find things that you can plan together (especially if one partner is less interested in the planning than the other). It is possible to enjoy the planning! I also encourage you to keep the date nights going. They don’t have to be elaborate or expensive, just make sure you’re spending quality time together enjoying this new season of your relationship. Plan together, keep it fun, and remember to invest in quality time together!

I hope these tips help set you on the right track with planning your 2022 wedding! 2023 brides, you can learn from this too! 2023 is likely going to be a busy year as well. If you are looking for a planner to guide you we would love to help. You can inquire with us HERE & follow us on Instagram HERE for helpful tips along the way!