I’m a wedding planner, so obviously I am passionate about weddings. The vision, the timeline, the vibes. But I’m even more passionate about MARRIAGE.
Specifically, I am passionate about planning for the marriage, not just for the wedding day. I am passionate about this season of life that we love to call your Engagement Era.
Not because you get to buy a bunch of white outfits and bask in nearlywed glory, but because this is a special season of life that you only get to enjoy once. And how you choose to spend your Engagement Era actually has profound effects on you, your relationship, and what your newlywed experience might look like.
If you’ve landed on this blog, you’re probably currently planning your wedding. Which means I’m the lucky duck who breaks the good news to you!
WEDDING PLANNING PREPARES YOU FOR MARRIAGE, IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE!
6 concepts wedding planning prepares you for in marriage:
#1: Developing a Shared Vision
This is #1 in the wedding planning process! After you’ve taken a moment to celebrate this relationship milestone, it comes time to get on the same page about what you’re envisioning. How many people, will we host near my family or yours, is our vibe more open field or cozy cabin?
These are important questions, and they feel like BIG decisions when it’s for a milestone celebration that you only get to host once. How you navigate the process of sharing and aligning your individual visions is key, and I can promise you that it won’t be the last time you have to align mismatched expectations in your marriage.
#2: Sacrifice & Putting Your Partner First
At some point or another, push will come to shove and sacrifices (or compromises) will need to be made. Marriage is a lifetime of putting the best interest of ‘us’ ahead of ‘me’.
Whether it’s passing on your dream venue in favor of one that’s more wheelchair friendly for your partner’s grandparent, or sacrificing the extra floral budget so they can splurge on the getaway car of their dreams.
From now and forever more, you’ll be asking ‘what’s best for us as a married unit’ and making decisions as a unified team.
#3: Navigating Shared (or at Least Co-Accountable) Finances
Oh the dreaded F word… FINANCES!
Whether you like it or not, finances are changing. It doesn’t matter if you plan to combine finances 100% or agree on a combo system that works for you.
Either way, you’ll soon be managing joint accounts or at least have someone keeping you accountable for shared financial goals and major money decisions. What better way to prepare for f******s than co-hosting the most expensive party of your life?
#4: Handling Stress & Family Boundaries
If you know anyone who has been recently married, especially anyone who had professional support in the planning process, you know this is the most stressful part. T
his is the part we as a wedding planner CAN’T help you with.
We can help take away a lot of the stress and are always happy to be your sounding board, but navigating family pressure and setting boundaries with your soon to be in-laws is one you need to lean on your partner for.
#5: Managing Shared Workloads
This one is no secret either. There is A LOT of work that goes into wedding preparations.
The average couple (without a wedding planner) is estimated to spend 800-1200 hours on planning their wedding!
Even if you have a full service wedding planner, you still need to choose your wedding songs, schedule dress fittings, make that seating chart… and all the other personal to do’s that we just can’t handle for you. The happiest couples find a way to share the workload in a way that makes sense for YOU and your lifestyles.
Don’t be fooled by thinking wedding planning is any different than all the other workloads you’ll need to split over the years. Doing the dishes, fixing up the new house, and nursing a sick family member back to health are all better with someone by your side who isn’t afraid to take responsibility and support where you need it most.
#6: Aligning Priorities
Wedding planning may be the very first time you need to fully agree on priorities together, as a unified couple. Whether or not that’s the case, it surely won’t be the last. We often talk about your North Star or passion points in wedding planning. These are your top priorities, non-negotiable, and aspects of the day you’re most looking excited for. It’s also what serves as the ultimate filter we’ll run every wedding decision through to shape how your wedding looks and feels, which is why it’s so important to be aligned here.
How do you want your day to feel? How do you want to spend your time? What is most important to you at the end of the day, when it’s all said and done?
Similarly…
How do you want your life to feel? How will you choose to spend your time each week? What’s the most important to you when you look back on the life you lived one day?
That’s not to say that planning a wedding alone is enough to count as ‘planning for marriage’. There are so many ways you can be intentional throughout your Engagement Era to actually plan for marriage… but that’s a blog for another day.
In fact, that’s one of the biggest reasons JJE couples choose to hire us as their wedding planner. A professional who helps lighten the wedding planning is actually freeing up your time, energy, and mental space to focus on the things that matter most before saying ‘I Do’.
Spoiler alert: it’s not the menu selections or a perfectly curated Pinterest board.
In case you’ve been a smidge lost in the sauce recently, between endless wedding inspo and the thousands of decisions that come with wedding planning, this is your reminder.
Remember that this chapter in your relationship is about planning for MARRIAGE, not just planning the wedding day.
If you’re looking for a wedding planner who gets that, you’ve come to the right place.
Inquire with us today to learn more about JJE Wedding Planning Packages: https://joyfuljourneyengagements.com/contact
By Danielle Verdezoto, JJE Founder & Senior Planner
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