Planning a wedding comes with some trial and error since you're learning a lot of things as you work through the process and make decisions on everything from the venue to the vendors.
With that said it's easy to make mistakes that are easily preventable had you known what to do beforehand.
Iris Li, founder and lead planner of Blue Lavender Events in Toronto, has been in the wedding planning business for 10 years.
She's seen couples make a lot of common mistakes over the years and says there are easy ways to avoid them.
Here's her advice.
Booking a venue before setting a budget
Li always recommends setting a budget before booking vendors and especially a venue.
The Toronto wedding planner says a budget will show a couple what they can realistically afford and that will help narrow down options as well.
"That is going to directly correlate to your budget and drive your venue search and everything. It's like your Northstar," Li told Narcity.
Buying a dress before booking a venue
A bride-to-be shopping for a wedding dress.
Once a budget is set and a wedding venue has been booked, it's time to start wedding dress shopping.
"Your venue is sort of going to dictate the style of dress that you buy," Li advised.
Hiring a wedding planner after booking the venue
If you're planning on hiring a wedding planner, Li suggests doing it before booking the venue because most couples don't know a lot of the costs associated with weddings.
"What will happen is they [the couple] could potentially book a venue that would eat up more than half their budget not knowing that right? And then they're kind of locked in to certain terms in their contract that they can't get out of or we have to sort of help them backtrack," Li explained.
Li says a wedding planner can help a couple navigate a budget and go through everything they need to know.
Assuming a non-traditional wedding venue will be cheaper
A rustic wedding reception.
A wedding planner can also help an engaged couple go over the various costs associated with different types of venues.
Couples may assume a non-traditional wedding venue like Evergreen Brick Works or Steam Whistle in Toronto will cost less than a traditional venue like a banquet hall, but according to Li that's not necessarily the case.
"It looks like it's less expensive because you're booking just the space, but that space doesn't have a kitchen built in or the catering that's in house or the furniture," Li added.
"That's why they [traditional venues] seem more expensive is because they have that infrastructure."
Not being flexible with a wedding date and budget
The Toronto wedding planner always advises couples to not be too tied to a specific wedding date.
"It really limits your options to the venues that are available to you. I would say more so to target a season," Li shared.
Another area to stay flexible with is your budget.
Many times couples will have a massive guest list and a "champagne vision on a beer budget," Li noted.
"If you want to have that dream wedding, it may mean cutting back on your guest list. If not then increasing your budget and if that's not an option, then potentially looking into off season or like a weekday wedding or even pivoting your vision to like a brunch or like a luncheon."
Not trusting your vendors
A wedding videographer filming newlyweds on their wedding day.
Gennadii Chebeliaev | Dreamstime
Another tip Li has is to ensure you trust your vendors with the jobs that they're doing, whether it's videographers or photographers.
"You're hiring professionals for a reason. You have to sort of trust them for the job that they do. That's how everyone works their best is if they feel like they have your full trust."
Booking vendors out of order
Another common mistake some couples tend to make is booking vendors out of order and unfortunately, that mistake can end up costing money.
Li suggests starting with the service providers that you need in-person on your wedding day like musicians, a make-up and hair artist, photographers and videographers.
If you start booking things ahead of certain vendors, like booking audio and visual equipment at your venue before getting your musician, you may end up having to back-track and re-work quotes.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.