Weddings mark the start of a new life for the bride and groom. It serves as a testament to the couple’s unbreakable vow and an occasion that brings family and friends together. But planning a wedding doesn’t come without challenges – and challenges mean potential mistakes.

Having a perfect wedding means you have to know what can make it imperfect. To help you out, here are the top five mistakes couples make and how you can avoid them when planning your own wedding:

1. Starting Without a Guest List
Before you can start doing anything related to the wedding, the first step you have to take is to create a guest list. This will serve as your guide on the size of the party and everything else related to it.

While the occasion is made for the bride and groom, the guest count is an essential factor in determining the venue and catering. After all, they are the ones who will fill up the event hall. More importantly, they will share in all of your wedding day memories — so make them count.

Make sure to narrow down your guest list as much as you can. Even just 10 additional people would mean an additional table, more chairs, linen, flowers, and food to add up to your wedding expenses.

2. Not Setting a Wedding Budget
Even if you have all the money to spare for your big day, you still need to allocate a specific amount before you can start planning your wedding. Why? To avoid surprises and headaches on your special day.

Although some last-minute costs may pop up every now and then, having a set budget will do wonders for your first few days of married life. This will keep you from spending more than you need to while still covering all the important costs during the event planning. It can also help reduce your stress before, during and after the wedding.

3. Forgoing a Checklist
A wedding planning checklist will help give you the peace of mind that all the essentials for your big day are covered. It is also a great way to organize the particulars of your dream wedding, accomplish things more efficiently, and help avoid making more mistakes in the process.

On top of those, having this list ready for your use anytime (saved on your phone’s notepad, for example) will aid in the scheduling of easy-to-forget-yet-equally-important tasks like choosing wedding favors or applying for a marriage license.

4. Doing it All on Your Own
Many brides-to-be think that they can prepare everything for their wedding. While it isn’t wrong to try to do it all, doing so can be counterproductive if your goal is to make your wedding the happiest day of your life.

If you wish to create great memories that are untainted with stress during your wedding day, it is imperative that you hire a wedding planner. These professionals are experienced and skilled in the trade and can take on the pressure of planning the most magical wedding for you. Aside from this, they will also fight for your vision and make your dream wedding happen no matter what it takes.

5. Not Reading the Fine Print
Before you can even sign your marriage contract, you will still have to deal with a lot of contracts and legal agreements for the preparation of the event.

While your event planner can take off most of the nit and grit from your hands, you should still make sure that you read the fine print of every document presented to you before signing them. Not only will this help you get a better grasp of the specifics of your wedding but also ensure that you get the most out of what you’re paying for.

To Your Happily-Ever-After
Unique and memorable weddings don’t just happen overnight – it takes a lot of effort and hard work in planning to get all the details right. 

Knowing the possible mistakes you might make will allow you to steer clear of poisoned apples along the way and, ultimately, have the fairytale wedding you’ve always wanted.

AUTHOR BIO
Masha Cain is a founder and a managing director of Fabulous Day Weddings & Events. Masha's idea of having a wedding planning agency came from having a wedding planner at her own wedding. Now, 5 years later, there are over 100 successful weddings designed and planned by Masha and her team.