13 Wedding Planning Time Saving Tips

Wedding planning time saving tips are crucial when you’re in the midst of making sure everything is taken care of.

The issue with planning your wedding is the rest of your life doesn’t stop. You’ve still got stuff to do, plans to follow through on, and things to take care of. And once you’re engaged, you have to plan a wedding on top of all that. Chances are, you were already busy, and now you’re doubly so.

Because of this, I’m going to share with you my best wedding planning time saving tips. Wedding planning is already time consuming, it doesn’t have to take any longer than needed, right? If you know what to watch out for, you’ll be able to maximize your efforts so you don’t waste a moment. This is always a good thing, especially when you’re super busy.

Wedding planning time saving tips don’t have to be complicated. In fact, many of the ones in this post are quite simple. However, they may be good reminders for you. They may also be things you haven’t really thought about yet. Perhaps you’re about to go down a path that will cost you a lot of time. I’m here to help, if that’s the case.

Let’s get into it!

1. HIRE A PROFESSIONAL WEDDING PLANNER (OR AT LEAST SEEK ADVICE)

Okay, okay. I know that a professional wedding planner isn’t in everyone’s budget. However, there are some benefits to hiring one, or at least learning from one.

A wedding planner will help you save time in a few different ways. For starters, tasks can be delegated to them. Phone calls, research, booking appointments – these are things that a wedding planner can help with. And, beyond that, they can help streamline decisions. An experienced wedding planner will be able to showcase the pros and cons of any choice and help the couple they are working with plan accordingly.

If you don’t have the budget to hire a wedding planner, start by finding and following a few of them on social media. Many share their tips and have resources to help you. To learn more about wedding planners, check out this post.

2. SPEND TIME ON YOUR WEDDING VISION

I recently wrote a whole post about creating your wedding vision.

Essentially, it’s what you want to see, hear, and feel at your wedding. Spending some time focusing on your wedding vision can help you streamline what should (or shouldn’t) be at your wedding. You’ll be able to “know” what’s going to work, because you know what you want.

So, take the time to create your wedding vision. Follow the advice in this post to do so. Once you have it, you’ll spend less time searching for what is right, and debating what will work at your wedding. Big time savers right there.

3. DECIDE ON A WEDDING THEME

A wedding theme is a sort of “guiding light” for your wedding. I wrote all about them in this post.

Deciding on your wedding theme is a crucial wedding planning time saving tip. A theme can be as simple as determining what colors will be found throughout your wedding. It can be more involved as well. In either way, a theme will allow you to focus on what to buy, make, procure, and have at your wedding. You won’t waste time on items that don’t fit the theme.

4. CREATE A WEDDING PLANNING SCHEDULE

Any good planner knows that when you take the time to create a schedule, it actually saves you time in the long run. This is because you don’t waste time on items that you’re not ready to accomplish yet, and you can focus on what’s next.

To start your wedding planning schedule, simply lay out all the items you’ll want to accomplish. If you need a little help, check out this post on planning your wedding in one year. Start with the large items first, and then whittle them down. As you get closer to your wedding, you’ll have more and more details to take care of. It also helps to plan out what to do each month leading up to your wedding.

5. ASK YOUR COMMUNITY FOR HELP

Ah, delegation. The ultimate wedding planning time saving tip. When you’re strapped for time, ask someone else to help out.

Now, you need to be a bit strategic about this. You can’t ask just anyone to do just anything. And, you don’t want to ask others to take on tasks that will require you to explain a lot to them, train them, or hover over them. So, start simple. For example, you can ask your partner to research bands. Ask your mom to make some phone calls to potential bakers. Ask your maid of honor to research activities for your bachelorette. Assign strategically and then check back in later.

6. AVOID DWELLING ON DECISIONS

You know what takes a lot of time? Trying to decide on things.

Look, if you like to take your time making decisions that’s okay. However, eventually there comes a point where you are just taking your time. And something has to be decided on, so you can spend time on other items. If you’re having trouble making a decision for your wedding, check out this recent post. It will help, I promise.

7. UTILIZE A CHECKLIST

I honestly don’t know how others function without a checklist.

I mean, wedding planning is a lot of work. And, it’s a lot of mental energy to remember what needs to get done. Why spend any time trying to think about what’s been accomplished and what’s left, when you can have a simple checklist?

It doesn’t have to be a checklist, per say. It could be whatever works for you. A file with notes on everything to accomplish. A mind map that only you can decipher. It can even be post-it’s on a wall. Or, an app. Whatever it is, just have something that you can reference and see what’s been done, and what is left to do.

8. MAKE YOUR TASK LIST SHAREABLE

A lot of people don’t think of this one when they think of wedding planning time saving tips.

If you are planning a wedding, with the help of others, help them see what’s left to do. Look at it this way. If your partner wants to help, and they don’t know what is left, they will have to ask you. And you’ll have to stop what you’re doing, reference your list, and respond. It all takes time to do these things!

If your partner, family, or friends have access to your task list, they can look at it themselves. And, they can help you tackle some tasks. An online google spreadsheet or a program like Asana can even have names assigned to certain tasks, so everyone knows what they need to do. It also makes sure that no one doubles up on the same efforts, which can waste a ton of time.

9. KEEP NOTES AND DOCUMENTS IN ONE SPOT

Did you know that the typical person spends one hour each day looking for stuff? Isn’t that crazy? What else could you do with that time? Honestly, if you’re planning a wedding, lots!

If you want to save time planning your wedding, keep your notes and documents in a centralized location. For example, your guest list and addresses. Your vendor’s information. Any contracts that you’ve signed. It could be a spreadsheet, an email address, a folder, a room in your home, etc. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you know where everything is, with a system that works for you.

10. OUTSOURCE DO IT YOURSELF PROJECTS

Okay, Martha Steward, this tip isn’t for you. However, for the rest of you, let’s talk.

DIY projects can take a ton of time, if you don’t know what you’re doing. They take planning, procuring, spacing, setting up, cleaning up, and sometimes scratching the idea altogether. Not only that, they cost money. Often, it’s faster, cheaper, and much more effective to just order the craft that you’re thinking. Or, hire someone to take care of it for you.

11. DIRECT QUESTIONS TO YOUR WEDDING WEBSITE

This tip takes a bit of time to set up, but once it’s done, it’s done.

When you set up your wedding website (reference this post on why you want a wedding website in the first place), take some time to ask, and answer, questions. Put all the information on there. Where to stay. What to wear. What the weather may be like. Where to find the registry. Getting to and from airports, and the venue itself. When someone asks you a question about your wedding, add it to the website.

If you do this, and people ask you questions about your wedding, you can send them the link to your website. And, many people will be proactive and go strait to your website before asking you questions. This is a huge wedding planning time saving tip, if you do it right.

12. DON’T OVERSCHEDULE YOURSELF

Have you ever done a HIIT workout? The kind where you go hard, then rest, and then you come back even harder? Wedding planning can be a lot like that.

One way to save time while wedding planning is to actually create time. Take breaks. Don’t overdo it with the plans. Block off time where you are unavailable, because you are taking care of YOU. When you’re overtired, stressed, or overwhelmed, your mind gets cloudy. It’s harder to accomplish items. Motivation goes out the window. And, things take longer than they should. So take some time away from life, where possible.

13. KEEP THINGS SIMPLE

The number one wedding planning time saving tip that I want you to remember is to keep it simple.

Yes, I saved this one for last. I want it to be the one that you read last, and remind yourself of the most. The more complicated you make things, the longer they will take. You’ll have more to decide. More tasks to take care of. More items to find, keep, and transport. When in doubt, go with the easiest, simplest path. You’ll save a lot of time if you remember this.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Alright friends. There are lots of wedding planning time saving tips out there. Some are great for almost any wedding. Some only apply to certain situations. All are worth learning about. Remember to take time to plan, to think things through, and to involve other people. Don’t waste time dwelling on easy decisions, making things way more complicated than they should be, or on projects that get you in over your head. You’ve got this! Happy wedding planning!