Reader Request: Wedding {Vendor} Splurges

A sweet reader that is recently engaged reached out to me a few days ago to ask what vendors I was happy to have splurged on for our wedding. I was thrilled to help and wanted to share with anyone else that may be planning their wedding.

Wishing we could relive the night of our engagement! :)

We all know that a wedding is expensive, but I truly believe it is worth every penny, every meeting, and every decision to bring your dream wedding day to life! When I was newly engaged, I created a {very} detailed spreadsheet that would help me document each detail, expense and ultimately keep me within our budget. Thankfully, it worked! So first and foremost, I highly recommend creating a spreadsheet or having some form of organization that works for you so you can understand where every dollar is being spent. Everything adds up quickly {I mean, very quickly} so it's easy to lose track of the amount of money that you're actually spending. I'm happy to share the spreadsheet that I used with anyone, feel free to email me.

Looking back on that amazing day, every vendor was extraordinary and I couldn't imagine our wedding day without each of them and their level of expertise.  But I'm so, so, so happy that I splurged on our Photographer and Wedding Coordinator! 

ONE. Our Photographer {Renee Sprink with Renee Sprink Photography}

We met with dozens of photographers, either face-to-face or over the phone, and I knew that I wanted to find the perfect photographer for us. To find that "perfect" photographer may seem impossible but it really isn't, I promise! 

I wanted someone that I instantly connected with, someone that I felt comfortable around and someone that shared my same style and vision when it came to photography.  The style of photography that I wanted would be described as classic, southern elegance and timeless. When I looked through the samples provided by our photographer, I realized her style and vision aligned perfectly with what I had imagined. 

I can't stress enough how important it is to know what you like and dislike when you look at wedding photos. Some photographers are more "trendy" versus "traditional" or may edit in a way that you like or don't like so take the time to determine your style of photography before you make a decision. 

Our photographer was absolutely amazing. She has now become one of our dearest friends and will be our forever, family photographer. She gets us. She makes us feel comfortable which allows her to capture the most beautiful and special moments. But most importantly, she goes above and beyond to make sure we are happy with our photos and the quality of them. 

Splurge on your photographer! Your pictures will allow you to relive your special day over and over again. Plus your photos are the only thing that you have to look back on and share with your children, grandchildren or great grandchildren! 

 

A few of the many moments that Renee was able to capture that still bring me to tears when I look at them...

 

TWO. Weekend Wedding Planner {Kailey at A Southern Soirée}

I knew from the very beginning that I wanted a weekend Wedding Planner that would be there to help with the final details, handle all the weekend logistics, make sure our family, wedding party and guests had all the information they needed to have a stress-less weekend and to help organize and check on the vendors throughout the weekend.

Many people advised me to spend money on something else but my gut and heart kept telling me differently. I can confidently say that this was the best decision. Our Wedding Planner and her Assistant made the weekend run smoothly, allowed me to enjoy and take in every moment of our wedding weekend and handled any big {or small} hiccups that came up. They are focused on making sure you and your soon-to-be husband have the best day of your life, seriously! Kailey coordinated every, single detail down to making sure we had food, bottles of water and glasses of champagne waiting for us in our hotel room on our wedding night! 

 

Even if you have a Wedding Planner at your church or reception venue, I still highly recommend a Wedding Planner that meets your needs. Kailey was there during the entire weekend because I knew that our church and reception venue coordinators had a lot of other responsibilities and events taking place in addition to our wedding. I knew that this was a weekend that we couldn't "do-over" so I wanted to invest in vendors that were there to make sure every detail was special and unique.

If you're like me than you can relate when I say that I've been dreaming about my wedding day since I was a little girl. So it's absolutely okay to have someone there to take care of you and remove all possibility of stress. Our wedding planner is another person that I was so thankful to have by our side every step of the way! 

If you have planned a wedding, what vendor(s) were you happy that you splurged on?!