You probably won't get the date you always wanted.

When booking venues they ask what your preferred date would be. This is pointless since it's most likely already booked, which I learned the hard way.

Instead of getting attached to a date, choose a month and a day of the week that you would prefer and go from there. Stay flexible with your date to avoid getting disappointed over and over again.

Everyone and their mother is having their wedding on a Saturday. Most of them will be booked already.

Along with the date thing, it is hard to want your wedding on that perfect day of the week: Saturday. It's a convenient day, which means everyone wants to have their wedding then.

If you can be flexible about the day, you will probably have an easier time getting a venue, but having all of your guests show up will be a little harder. This is something you will want to figure out early.

Start planning quickly!

I thought I could casually plan my wedding until it started getting a little closer, but that is not the case.

You have to book most vendors a year in advance if not sooner. If you want your dream wedding, you either need to plan quickly or settle for a long engagement.

Pick and choose your battles.

As mentioned many times already, flexibility is incredibly important when it comes to wedding planning. If you can't get exactly what you want, have a plan B and a plan C and maybe a plan D.

But that doesn't mean you have to settle on everything. If there is one thing that you've always wanted, you may have to settle on something not as important. Know what you REALLY want and know what can be compromised on.

Your wedding doesn't have to be like everyone else's.

As someone with no experience planning a wedding, I found myself looking at other recent weddings I had been to figure out what I needed to have. But just because every other wedding ever gives favors to guests does not mean you have to too. I

f there is something you don't like about most weddings then you don't have to include it in yours. It's your personalized experience that can include and exclude whatever you want.

No one's opinion matters (literally no one).

You don't have to accommodate anyone for your wedding. You only have to accommodate yourself. You don't have to make a decision that compromises your happiness to make things easier for others.

As long as you understand the consequences of the decisions being made and are fine with them, then no other opinion matters at all. If your dream venue is 2 hours away, don't settle for one an hour and a half closer to make things easier for others. It's not that inconvenient, and if it is that's not your problem.

Guests lists are hard.

Do you invite your childhood friend's grandma?? What about your extended relatives who you haven't seen in over a decade? Make your list early so you can make adjustments before the final invites are sent out.

Include everyone who you think should come then get picky and shave it down. These are all mouths you have to feed so make every invite count.

Keep your priorities straight.

I have been planning my wedding since I was 13 years old, and I completely understand wanting every single thing you've dreamed about.

But that's not always practical (unless you're extremely wealthy, then do whatever you want). Your wedding is very important, but it's just a one-day celebration for about 5 hours then it's over.

If you have a car payment to make, and you want to put a downpayment on a house in the next year, understand that the wedding might not be the most important thing to accomplish on your list of life events, especially in terms of lasting impact.

Don't lose sight of what's most important.

Becoming a bridezilla is no joke. You may not realize how stressed you are over-planning such a big event until you're constantly getting in fights with your S/O about details that mean nothing.

The wedding is about celebrating your lasting love for your partner, not about the exact flowers that are in your bouquet. Instead of stressing out, enjoy the process because you hopefully will only get to do it once.

You probably only have one shot.

As much as it's beneficial to be flexible and know what to compromise on, this is still the one chance you get to make your dream wedding come to life. Not everything has to be practical, and if you want to go all out that's no one's business but yours.

And if you want to do something small and intimate, that is also no one's business but yours. You don't have to justify everything you want, and you can probably make most things happen so don't let anyone tell you no. Be practical, but also don't settle.