TRI-CITIES, Wash. -A lot goes into planning a wedding. It’s important to have a checklist or some sort of reminder for all of the things you need to do before the big day.
Stefanie Dodson, Owner of Bliss Events, said in the last eight years of her event planning business she’s mostly focused on weddings.
She said planning far in advance makes the event itself less stressful.
“The shortest I’ve ever had someone contact me is about a month out and that’s pretty tough,” Dodson said.
If you want to plan the event without a wedding planner or coordinator, getting help from someone you know outside of direct family and the bridal party will allow you to enjoy the day without stressing about setting it all up according to Dodson.
She said making sure to hire reputable vendors for things like photography, food, and even the venue can make things go smoother.
“We have a saying in the industry, you have a ‘friender’, which is like a friend who can do this which sounds great but sometimes it doesn’t turn out the best on wedding day,” she said.
When she meets with two people that want to plan a wedding she says figuring out their budget and guest list are a top priority.
“Realistically every guest is money out of your pocket. You’re feeding them, you’re giving them drinks, rentals, silverware. All of those things add up when you have 100 guests or 200 guests,” she said.
Something else people overlook is the legal paperwork that goes with a wedding ceremony according to Benton County Auditor Brenda Chilton.
When the wedding season picks up at the beginning of May the auditor’s office is on the lookout for incorrectly submitted licenses and is ready to contact the newlyweds to help them with those details, Chilton said.
“Most wedding officiants are familiar with the process, but there are instructions for the officiant within the packet as well and most importantly you need to make sure that everything on the certificate is signed,” she said.
Getting a license at the right time is important. In Washington and Oregon licenses are good for 60 days after you get them, but also require a 3-day “cooling off period.”
The three days are meant to give the couple time to consider and is something that was implemented decades ago during wartime according to Chilton.
“It wasn’t uncommon for people to say ‘Hey let’s get married before I deploy.’ And so the legislature created this cooling off period to allow for couples to say, hey wait a minute. Is this really what we want to do,” she said.
Dodson said after planning many weddings and going through her own the best thing to do is enjoy the day of.
“Little things go wrong, little things are going to happen, nothing is going to be perfect, but at the end of the day – you’re surrounded by all of the people that love you most. You’re marrying your person. Those tiny little things don’t matter,” Dodson said.
