Make Wedding Planning Enjoyable With These 7 Expert Tips From choosing a venue to curating a menu, buying a dress to looking for a photographer, wedding planning is stressful! It is an exciting but dreadful experience. The wedding itself is fun! However, the months leading to such a monumental event are nerve-wracking. It can put a strain on your time, money, and even your relationship! If you are planning to tie the knot, read on! I will share some tricks to make wedding planning fun! 7 Tips to Make Wedding Planning Enjoyable Planning a wedding should not be tedious! Get ready for the big day while having fun as a couple by doing the things mentioned below. Go On a Vacation and DayDream A holiday is a fool-proof way to de-stress, even when you are planning a wedding! As you start your preparations for walking down the aisle, book a vacation! It doesn’t have to be grand. If you have financial limitations, even a night at a hotel is fun. If budget is not a concern, head to the beach, try camping in a forest, or go on a cruise. Photo by Abenteuer Albanien on Unsplash Alt-text: Turn your vacation into a wedding planning session. Turn your vacation into a planning session. Taking a few days off from work and everything else will make it easier to focus on the nitty-gritty of the wedding. Imagine this... you are lying on the sand, enjoying the sun, drinking cocktails, and just talking about the wedding venue that you want, the people you would like to invite, the food that you want to serve, and the theme of the wedding. Going on a vacation is especially good if you’re going for a destination wedding. This is your chance to scout for potential locations. Shop Rings Together Photo by Beatriz Perez Moya on Unsplash alt text: shop wedding rings with your partner I am not talking about the engagement ring here. You are already planning for the day when you say “I do,” so the assumption is you are past the stage. Rather, what I’m suggesting is that you go find wedding rings together. Hop from one shop to another together. Try as many rings as possible. Take as many photos as you can. Look at them when you get home or share them with your friends. Experiment with different stones and materials. Download apps that will let you create custom rings and see how they fit. Research is also an important part of the process. You probably have questions like, are diamonds better compared to lab sapphires? Is platinum a better setting, or should you go for white gold? You can find the answers to such questions through online research. Eat and Drink as You Scout for Suppliers Food and beverages are among the highlights of any wedding, so it requires careful thought. Should you go for a formal plated dinner or a buffet set-up? Would you like to serve American, Japanese, Thai, or Chinese? Is a mobile bar a good idea? Go out with your partner to eat and drink. Start by researching a list of the top five restaurants that can provide food and drinks to weddings. Visit each of them to try their offerings. While doing so, take it as a chance as well to talk to the manager or anyone else who will take care of reservations for wedding catering. After trying several suppliers, list down the pros and cons. Don’t forget to ask the supplier about things like customizing foods for special dietary requirements and other terms and conditions. Turn It Into a Competition A little competition won’t hurt! It can be between you and your partner, or it can also involve your close friends who are willing to extend a helping hand during the wedding preparations. Can’t decide on the hashtag to use for the big day? Ask your friends for help. It can be as simple as having a Facebook post or Instagram story inviting people to suggest witty hashtags. Ask them as well for creative ideas on wedding themes. Whoever wins can get a free restaurant or hotel voucher or whatever nice prize you can think of. Challenge your partner to a friendly competition. Try sending emails or calling suppliers individually and see who can get the best deals! Get Your Friends Involved Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash alt text: wedding planning tip - get friends to help While most of the work when planning a wedding is between the couple, you can also involve your friends to make it fun. Beyond asking them to participate in a competition, there are other ways to encourage involvement. For instance, let’s say that you are going on a fitting session for you and your entourage. Once you are done, plan to have afternoon tea or cocktails with the group. This is a time to catch up, plan more, and de-stress. Want to save money? Plan a night out with the girls and turn it into a makeup session. Watch online wedding makeup tutorials and try as many looks as you could with your girlfriends! On the wedding day itself, one of your friends can turn into your makeup artist! Build a Wedding Website If you are a tech-savvy couple, you might want to consider creating a wedding website as a part of your preparations. Many website builders are available online, including those that are free! Best of all, they are easy to navigate for most people. The website will serve as a one-stop-shop for anything wedding-related that you would like to communicate to your guests. Think of it as a digital wedding invitation. It will contain essential information, such as the day, date, time, and venue of the wedding. Upload pictures of attire inspirations, so your visitors won’t have a hard time thinking of how to dress up. Include a registry as well to help others plan their wedding presents. Even after the wedding, the website can still be useful. It is where you can upload wedding photos. Don’t forget to upload a thank-you note as well. Celebrate Your Wins Photo by Al Elmes on Unsplash alt text: wedding planning tip - celebrate your wins Have you sealed a deal with a magical venue for a destination wedding? Go out and have an intimate dinner. Did the wedding dress fit perfectly? Enjoy a sumptuous afternoon tea. Done distributing the wedding invites and getting confirmations from your guests? Sip a bubbly! Whatever it is, once you have accomplished something on your checklist, celebrate and reward yourselves for a job well done. This way, you can forget for a moment how stressful some days have been! Final Thoughts The day when you finally say “I do” is going to be one of the biggest moments in your life. Hence, it should be perfect and memorable! Anyone who has planned a wedding before will agree—it is exciting but stressful. Do not let it turn into a nightmare. Instead, make it fun by doing the things mentioned above. From going on a vacation to kick off the planning process to celebrating your wins, there are plenty of ways to make it enjoyable. Is there any other wedding planning tip that you would like to add to this list? Share it by leaving a comment below!

15 Backyard Wedding Ideas You'll Love   Let’s all agree that we truly underestimate our backyards. After all, they do offer the perfect, free venue for a beautiful intimate wedding. Not to mention, you can incorporate just about any theme when hosting a backyard wedding. You will definitely have a free hand in making desired changes, and no one will stop you from carrying out any modifications. Your backyard is your perfect budget-saving, intimate wedding venue. Here are a few tips for incorporating creative ideas for your backyard wedding: 1.   DIY Wedding Arch Now is the time for you to let your creativity work its magic. To start off, you have a beautiful, green backyard with plenty of space. Set a place for the aisle and where you will stand after walking down the aisle. This is where you can set up your desired wedding arch. It can be as simple and minimalist as a wooden stand covered in dangling flowers. Or, it can be as lavish as a wooden backdrop filled with your favorite flowers. You can also add a traditional Persian carpet to give it an artistic feel. 2.   Flower Petals Archway The archway should be simple, yet beautiful. The bride walking down the aisle should feel like a princess walking on a bed of roses. Take a bunch of petals and just spread them on the archway. You can also contrast them with the décor theme or with the wedding dress itself. The fragrance of the petals and the delicacy they represent will turn a simple path into a more elegant one. 3.   Plenty of Fairy Lights Here is your chance to go wild with the fairy lights. They will light up the backyard so it looks like a magical garden full of fireflies. You can hang them from the trees and the bushes surrounding the backyard. Plan the lighting setup so that you don’t overdo it, but it still looks dazzling. 4.   Decorate the Entrance A flawless entrance can make a big difference. Accentuate it with candles and topiaries and make an elegant curtain entrance. You can open and shut the drapes whenever necessary. If you are going for a tent in the backyard, a draped entrance would be perfect. However, if it is an open-air wedding, you can still decorate it with candle stands, fairy lights, and lots of flowers. Jot down your ideas and pick out the best ones. 5.   Wooden Signs A backyard wedding gives you ample options to experiment with your creativity. Wooden signs to give directions will help your guests look around, and will match the backyard aesthetic as well. Hand-painted signs look even more beautiful. You don’t have to dig them in the ground. Instead, put them in a rustic bucket and fill them with flowers. This is a great way to utilize any extra wood lying around in your garage. It is also very budget-friendly! Find great wooden sign ideas here! 6.   Lanterns from the Thrift Shop Don’t underestimate what you can find at a thrift store. You can find lamps that uplift the ambiance of your backyard wedding. You don’t have to try finding matching lanterns – if they mismatch, it will only look better with the backyard theme. You can place them on tables or hang them on their own as well. Their vintage designs and antique color schemes will match the rustic theme, so jot them down in your decor list. 7.   The Candles These budget-friendly sticks add soft lighting to your backyard wedding, allowing for great pictures! You can place them as centerpieces in glass jars, hang them, or simply line them up on the entrance or the archway, they deliver in every way. The different candle sizes when incorporated creatively can transform the entire décor in a big, noticeable way! 8.   Set a Photobooth Station Set up a creative photo booth station that all of your guests can have fun with. This is the perfect way to incorporate personal touches into your wedding and make memories. Add in some extra props so your guests can have more creative fun with them. It’s the little things that help make unforgettable memories, so jot down photo booth ideas that you think go perfectly with your theme. Need a photo booth? Find photo booth vendors here. 9.   Utilize Nature in Your Backyard The best thing about your backyard is all the flourishing grass, trees, and plantation. This way, they act as décor for your wedding day. This way, you don’t have to spend money on extra decorations, because nature is the best backdrop for a wedding. Add a few fairy lights, ribbons, hanging bottles in jute pockets, or rustic crates, and your simple wedding décor is complete. 10.   Air Plants and Succulents A more natural way to decorate your backyard is with plants and succulents. They look absolutely breathtaking when you do it the right way. You can choose between lanterns, candles, or succulents to keep as centerpieces on guests’ tables. And imagine the plants hanging from your backyard trees; gorgeous, no? This is a great way to add some green elements if your backyard doesn’t have a tree or many bushes. It aligns with the entire green atmosphere but also stands out as a themed decoration. 11.   Intimate Seating Style Your own space will allow you to plan the perfect seating for your big day. Backyard weddings are intimate and focus on close family and friends. It demands a family-style seating plan that is a blend of formal and casual. Set a warm tone and bring in long tables where all of you can sit together and celebrate. 12.   Big Statement with Small Things A budget-friendly, intimate wedding is your chance to make a big statement with little things. Every little detail leaves an impression, which is difficult to do at a big wedding. Add a tiny bag of herbs with the cutlery, place small printed quotes for each guest, or add shawls or drapes at the entrance if the guest's feel chilly. There are plenty of things that can make a difference and lift your guests’ spirits. 13.   Live Guest Snap Book Wedding albums take a long time to complete, so here is another instant idea. Set up a Polaroid station and place an open guest book on it. Snap a Polaroid of every guest that arrives, paste them in the book and ask each guest to write something about the couple under the photo. This is a great way to make some wedding memories that even albums can’t provide! 14.   Fire Place We all need an after-party once all the ceremonies are done and dusted. Build a brick fireplace and set a few benches around it; a perfect seating for an intimate after-party celebration. Gather your close friends and family, drink hot chocolate, and celebrate your big day in style. Your ultimate backyard wedding will help create beautiful memories for you to remember. Plan it well, jot down your ideas, and enjoy your big day! Check out our planning tips for a stress-free wedding day. You may still need some wedding professionals to help you plan your amazing wedding. Find your wedding photographer, planner, and DJ all on 360SiteVisit. A backyard wedding is not for you? Find your dream wedding venue virtually here.  

Destination wedding in a magical venue Destination weddings are immensely popular. And it’s not hard to see why! A destination wedding lets you get married in a gorgeous location, offering excitement, wonderful backdrops for photos, and perhaps even better weather and adds a real sense of glitz and glamor to your big day. So if you are dreaming of tying the knot somewhere special and are searching for inspiration, look no further! This is a list of some of the most magical spots for destination weddings, catering for all tastes, whether that means leaving California to Mexico on a cruise, or a remote forest glade halfway up a mountain. And don’t forget, a destination wedding doesn’t have to mean packing your bags and going abroad! There are a couple of amazing options for stunning destinations a little closer to home as well. Antigua, Caribbean With golden sand as soft as sugar, stunning blue water, and a gentle breeze drifting through the palms at your back, it’s easy to see why Antigua is one of the most popular destination wedding spots in the world. There is a load of charming boutique hotels and luxury resorts too, so your every whim can be taken care of. Thanks to the laid-back atmosphere and warm, friendly welcome, the Caribbean in general and Antigua, in particular, are huge favorites when it comes to choosing a destination wedding venue. Cozumel, Mexico The beautiful island of Cozumel lies just a few miles off the coast of the Riviera Maya in Mexico’s remarkable Yucatan peninsula. It is Mexico’s only Caribbean island, surrounded by glittering turquoise waters and one of the largest coral reefs in the world. The combination of wild natural beauty and exquisite luxury found in the resorts and boutique hotels on the island, as well as the ancient mystery of the Mayan history that remains in this wonderful part of the world, make it a fantastic place for a destination wedding. You can tie the knot on the beach, in the remarkable, magical surrounds of a cenote, or even in a ruined ex-convent - the choice is yours. Once the ceremony is done you can enjoy the pristine beaches, snorkel or dive the stunning coral reefs, or just indulge in a little retail therapy in San Miguel de Cozumel, the island’s main (and only) town. Bermuda Bermuda offers a load of the best things that Caribbean destinations have to offer - incredible climate, warm waters, amazing beaches - but it also comes with a few extra benefits all of its own. For starters, it has an incredibly elegant and sophisticated atmosphere - perhaps thanks to its proper British history and heritage, which makes it an incredibly chic place for a wedding. The beaches are something else as well, with remarkable pink sands making for truly iconic wedding photos. Just to add to the mix, the beautiful pastel-colored architecture of the towns and villages is just divine and makes it a genuinely magical place to get hitched. And of course, perhaps the biggest selling point is that it is only a couple of hours’ flight from the East Coast! What more could you want from a wedding destination? Puerto Rico Another exotic spot that offers all the joys of a more far-flung location but much closer and with all the comforts of home is Puerto Rico. Old San Juan is a charming, beautiful town full of spectacular architecture and a genuinely wonderful vibe, while the locals are friendly, warm, and welcoming. The beaches around Puerto Rico are truly stunning (check out the bioluminescence at Mosquito Bay!), while the weather is as good as you’ll find anywhere in the Caribbean. Best of all, it’s a US territory, so not only is transport easy, but you won’t even need your passport, and your cell phone plan will still work! A destination wedding in Puerto Rico offers all the delights of a tropical paradise with none of the administrative complexity - you don’t even have to worry about sorting out whether your marriage license will be valid back home! The Loire Valley, France The Loire Valley in France is just a couple of hours away from Paris, the official city of love and one of the most romantic places on earth. It is a blissfully beautiful spot for an old-world wedding, full of rolling hills covered in vineyards, fairytale chateaux, charming little medieval villages, and some of the best wines in the world. Pretty much everything you could ask and hope for in a dream destination wedding location! Tie the knot in the shadow of a centuries-old castle, drift down the river on a barge, or add in a wine-tasting tour before the main event - anything goes in this picturesque corner of the world. Plus, take advantage of the joys of French cuisine and get local caterers to prepare the food - you’ll have a wedding breakfast that will be the talk of your social circle for years to come! Tamarindo, Costa Rica For a lush jungle escape complete with eye-catching beautiful beaches and a pristine tropical backdrop, Tamarindo in Costa Rica is a wonderful far-flung destination for the wedding of your dreams. Costa Rica is also one of the most eco-friendly countries in the world if being green is high on your priority list! Getting to Tamarindo might be a little daunting - most international flights fly into the capital, San Juan, which is some way away. But with a little extra digging, you might be able to fly into Liberia, in Guanacaste province itself, which is only a stone’s throw away! Delta, American, Alaska Air, and Jet Blue are just a few of the US-based airlines that service this excellent part of the world. Sea Bright, New Jersey If the prospect of adding a tricky-to-get-to exotic destination to your wedding planning work fills you with dread, don’t panic. There are loads of amazing destination wedding locations and venues much closer to home…right on your doorstep, even! You don’t even have to sacrifice the beach and ocean views if you choose the right one. Windows on the Water in Sea Bright in New Jersey offers a private beach for the ceremony itself (the only private beach in the area), as well as the stunningly elegant and sophisticated Empress Ballroom for the reception, with glorious views out across the wild Atlantic Ocean. There are plenty of excellent hotels and accommodation options in Sea Bright itself, which makes this a wonderful choice for couples planning a larger affair. If you looking for other venues in. North Jersey, you can visit them virtually on our wedding venue directory page Amalfi Coast, Italy For classic romance and high culture, nothing beats the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Think stunning cliff-top towns, hundreds of hidden bays, and food and drink that will blow your mind. Italy’s Amalfi Coast is one of the most picturesque coastlines in the world and makes for an unforgettable destination to tie the knot. Getting married in Italy as a foreigner does come with some speed bumps - there are a number of bureaucratic hoops to jump through, and you’ll need to be ok with a Catholic wedding ceremony! - but the intense romance of this amazing part of the world more than makes up for it. Big Island, Hawaii A little closer to home yet still exotic and glamorous, Big Island, Hawaii offers the best of both worlds. Your guests won’t need their passports to join you for your big day, but you won’t have to miss out on the glory of a sun-drenched beach wedding either! Hawaii is a wonderful destination wedding choice for alternative, adventure-loving couples, as you can throw in a spot of jungle trekking or catch some sunrise waves before or after the big event itself! It’s like the honeymoon starts as soon as you say ‘I do’! Hamburg, New Jersey Not all destination weddings have to be beach-themed, of course. If you are after something a little more pastoral and backcountry-esque, then have a think about Hamburg in New Jersey. Set amidst the glorious Sussex Skylands mountains, the Adirondack-style landscape is the perfect framing for couples who love something a little more rugged. There are resorts, hotels, and ranches aplenty that offer amazing wedding experiences, like the Crystal Springs Resort and Spa with its underground aquarium, Biosphere Tropical Pool Complex, and full-service spa equipped with sauna and steam rooms. Your guests will love exploring the surrounding countryside, maybe indulging in some wine tasting or taking in a quick round of golf before the big event! There’s even a ski resort for the most adventurous guests…or the happy couple themselves! Bar Harbor, Maine Finally, for couples looking for an alternative vibe, Bar Harbor in Maine offers breathtakingly beautiful views, classic New England sophistication and style, and a series of iconic lighthouses that add a wonderfully rustic touch to any wedding photograph! It is the epitome of seaside chic, elegance, and sophistication, but with that distinctive American touch that makes it all feel right. New England can be chilly for much of the year, so a Maine wedding is best planned in the summer months, to really take advantage of the gorgeous natural beauty it is so famous for!