Wedding planning advice from a yoga teacher
It’s the beginning of the year and that means that a lot of our friends and loved ones are getting engaged. It’s the beginning of an awesome journey as a couple. When I first started teaching yoga I made it a piece of my offerings to provide wedding yoga. It’s the one thing I look back and wish I had set up for myself while planning my own wedding.
You might be wondering why a yoga teacher is talking about weddings. Honestly I have no idea it’s just advice I wish I had when I was wedding planning so I figured why not write a blog on the topic!
Many of you may not have known me at that time when I got married but we had 3 celebrations. The first was our elopement in Zion National park, the second was an Elvis vow renewal in Vegas and the third was a celebration/ reception in my home city of Philadelphia. So I do consider myself a little bit of an expert on this stuff haha!
Although it might be tempting, resist the urge to DIY everything!
This was my number one mistake. We thought we would save soooo much money by DIY’ing flowers, decorations set up and break down. What we didn’t account for was the time it would all take. Instead of being relaxed and just getting ready, we were running around in our wedding clothes hanging decorations and arranging flowers. If I had it to do again, I would have outsourced as much as possible. Trust me when I say that DIY is not your friend.
Hire a planner or coordinator
I thought we were saving money again because I’m so organized that I thought I could handle everything. The issue I faced was that anytime someone needed something, I was pulled away from enjoying my wedding and tasked with handling the issue. You do not want to be the point person on your own wedding day. Let someone else handle it.
Make sure the clean up is included with your venue or by your vendors
You know what's worse than setting up your wedding in your dress? Cleaning up your party in your wedding clothes. Hire someone to handle this for you so that you can leave and keep enjoying your night.
Friends and family will offer you help, thank them, then hire a professional
We were assured by so many friends and family that they would help us set up and break down. While 2 or 3 of them did, the rest didn’t come through. If someone offers to help thank them, then hire a professional. Not only do you want to make sure a professional is handling it, you want your friends and family to be able to enjoy their time at your wedding.
If it is not in the budget, make a timeline for each person who offered to help and what exactly they will be doing. For the few friends that did help us, they showed up and asked “what can I do?” and I was like “bro I don’t know, just do something” (lol I was stressed). Find those super reliable and organized friends, give them a timeline that you need them, then make it clear that you are relying on them to get the tasks done.
Make sure your vendors are people you want to hang out with all day long
When you are shopping around for vendors, remember that you will be spending ALLLLL day with these people. Especially your photographer and videographer. Make sure that you not only love the work they produce, but that you also want to hang out with them all day. You will spend 8-10 hours with these folks, make sure they are your type of people! I loved our wedding photos from Zion, but it was awkward AF during a lot of the moments. The photographer we hired in Philly for our reception was so much cooler and the photos show us being more light hearted and having fun. The relationship with vendors that you are working with will help set a tone for the day!
A lot of people are going to give you advice, you don’t have to listen to it (this blog post included)
I was told “you have to have a reception, you have to have a cake, you have to have chair covers, you have to have shoes that match your dress, you have to have favors” Truth be told… I didn’t have to do any of that. Most of it I didn’t do. Remember that this is a day for you and your partner. This is a day you get to let your personality shine through as a couple. Don’t let other people’s unsolicited advice force you to let go of a vision you are connected to for your wedding.
Make time for yourself
I love to offer yoga on the morning of the wedding for this exact reason. The couple is usually so caught up in getting everything done that they forget to slow down and absorb the awesomeness of the day. Make time in your schedule to sneak off alone as a couple. Make time to eat. Make time to start your day in a way that makes you happy.
Leave time in the schedule for free time
In the few weddings that I have coordinated I always see this one. There is so much the couple wants to fit into the night that they forget to leave time to just dance and enjoy themselves. Back to back scheduling looks great on paper, but it might take away from your wedding day. After the ceremony and eating, let it be a relaxed evening of fun and celebration!
I have so many more little tidbits that I could offer and I am happy to help answer any questions or chat with you. Leave me your questions in the comments if you have them. If you have additional tips, share those too!
If you would like to schedule bachelor/bachelorette/ wedding yoga for yourself, fill out the form below so we can coordinate a time that works best for you! Yoga, mimosa’s and zen… What better way to start your day :)
