The Venue

Your venue is the largest detail choice you'll make, as well as one of the most costly.

Your venue sets the backdrop for the whole day and provides the ambiance, setting the tone of the wedding.

This is the most critical choice. Ensuring you have the correct venue for your day can be the one and only detail alone and still pack more punch than all the other areas together.

Think big picture here, do you want your day to feel timeless, elegant, and romantic? Then you need to pick a timeless, elegant, romantic venue; such as an estate, chateau, or villa.

If you want your day to feel intimate, organic, and breathtaking; likely a scenic park for an elopement is the right choice for you.

If you want to add in elements of your faith, personality, and relationship; then you need to pick the venue that fits that.

The venue sets the scene for the whole day. It's the most important detail.

Florals

A lot of people overlook florals. They're expensive and tend to be short lived.

However, florals are extremely important. Florals add the color palette and elegance to the day.

They bring beauty to the plain and ordinary, and draw a natural, timeless feeling.

I will argue that natural, real florals are superior to fake florals in the experience due to our senses.

Scent, visual, and tactile. The one thing that fake florals can't replace is the aromas related to real flowers.

These aromas can help to set off emotional responses in the brain, such as relaxation, happiness, and arousal.

Florals deserve a budget of their own, and can be done DIY if needed!

Lighting

Ambiance matters. Having sufficient light, and the right warmth of light is extremely important on your wedding day.

This is not only important for your photography, but just as important for your and your guests' experience of your day.

A full sun ceremony in the middle of summer is likely going to result in someone getting heat exhaustion, as well as squinty photos.

As well a harshly or poorly LED lit indoor space can result with just as many issues, such as headaches and eye fatigue.

Try to keep lighting natural, and artificial lighting to the mood of your wedding.

Music

Your music choice might be one of your top priorities, as it should be. It brings the emotion into the celebration, communicating appropriate behaviors and mannerisms. If you want a cool, calm, collected atmosphere leading up to your reception, having some smooth jazz, classical, or instrumental music might be the way to go. I always love to see live music at weddings.

It's not just setting the atmosphere, but providing entertainment as well.

If you're having a DJ, be clear about what you do and don't want to hear on your wedding day.

Clarify the different aspects of your wedding (ceremony, cocktail, reception, etc) to ensure things feel and flow how you envision.

Food

Food is feelings. When you serve guests at your wedding (and yourself) you need to think about what that food communicates.

Is there something cultural about that meal important to you? Is it your favorite food? Does it digest nicely so you can get on with all the festivities? Choosing your food wisely to have fullness, fulfillment, and joy, while not keeping you from feeling your best is an extremely important detail. The visual aspect of food is also important for your enjoyment of food,

beautiful displays or well plated meals can really enhance the experience of your catering.

Furnishings & Decor

What you furnish and decorate your wedding with conveys your own style, mood, and elegance. While people often go for cheaper plastic options for cutlery, plates, and cups; I strongly urge against it.

The sensory experience you and your guests receive from authentic materials is much greater. As well, most of the time you can tell in photos the quality of the dinnerware. On the same realm, linens elevate a look, as well as your chairs. Not only for guest experience and comfort but for visual aesthetic as well.

A beautiful floral display and a stunning venue can be ruined by cheap folding chairs & tables. Your furnishing, decor, and dinnerware should match or exceed the elevation of your venue to create a cohesive story and feeling for your wedding day.

Attire & Accessories

Your choice in attire is of utmost importance on your wedding day, it tells people who you are, as an individual and as a couple.

As well as your accessories. Making sure you have the small details of your accessories such as hair pins, necklaces, watches, earrings, ties, cufflinks, etc nailed down provides a polished, refined look that will be memorable to you and your guests.

Your guest attire remains just as important, if you want a cohesive refined look to your day, your guest should have a generally refined dress code. This is also a very fun way to get your guests involved and excited for your wedding. Think about colors and styles you do and don't want to see in the crowd.

What's too much?

Now that you have an understanding of the details and their role on your wedding day, it's time to talk about quantity.

There is such a thing as too much, but you get to decide that. All the details in your wedding should flow cohesively, one not over powering the other, each one with intent. Each detail sets the tone for the day in its own way. Every aspect creates a memory of your wedding day to last a lifetime.

Going with trendy, over abundant details can heavily date your wedding, feeling decorated, not designed.

Hiring a wedding planner whose work you love can take all the stress of this away;

communicating the exact feeling you want on your wedding day.

At the end of it all, it's what you like, what's important to you. It's a lot of planning, curating, and thought that goes into details.

Make your wedding day feel exactly how YOU want it to.