Last week I introduced the Focus 3 as a great way to set your priorities for your wedding and align your vision and your budget so your wedding day truly reflects you and your groom in a meaningful way.
Now that you’ve begun to develop your Focus 3, the next step is learning to keep them a priority and logistically use them in your planning journey. I created the tips below to help you take action on creating an all around fabulous wedding with a Focus 3. I've also included some of my favorite moments captured from our third focus area, photography!
Tips for keeping your Focus 3 a priority
~Decide and lock in the Focus 3 elements first (or as early in the process as possible). It's key to make sure they are taken care of before too much else gets in the way and distracts you from what is most important.
~Write down your Focus 3 (make sure your groom is included!) and share them with your family, your planner, and your vendors. Having everyone on the same page will provide support for your vision instead of letting others distract you from it.
3. photography
rehearsal dinner photography
Photos by Sarah DeShaw
~Allow your Focus 3 to be “splurge” items. You certainly don’t always have to spend a lot of money to highlight what is important to you, but chances are, to get the best of the best in your Focus 3 areas you will be spending a bit more. If you do this in the beginning while the wedding fund is fresh, you can rest easier with the remainder of wedding budgeting because you know the Focus 3 areas have already been covered financially.
Allow your Focus 3 to be “splurge” items.
~Use the Focus 3 as a guideline when making hard decisions. For example, we really, really wanted chic lounge furniture around our dance floor, but it just wasn't fitting into our budget. Had we not already splurged on the church and our attire, we could’ve made it work, but it simply wasn’t a Focus 3 item so it had to go. Once I realized that splurging on this did not fit within our Focus 3, I was able to peacefully let it go and rest knowing our wedding was still going to be just what I wanted even if it was sans lounge furniture.
wedding day photography
Photos by Sarah DeShaw
~Stay true to your heart. It will be tempting to justify “trumping” your Focus 3 or letting other elements creep in as more important. But remember, you created the Focus 3 before you sat in that amazing floral design meeting, tasted that mouth-watering cake, or saw the magic of the designer shoes that are “just your color!” These things can be exciting in the moment, but the Focus 3 came from your core, not a fleeting moment of stimulation, and they will carry your wedding memories for years to come.
Love is what we celebrate and if that is your focus, you cannot fail.
~Most of all, remember, you’re marrying your best friend. At the end of the day, if everything fell apart and he stood waiting for you at the altar, your wedding day would still be a success. Love is what we celebrate and if that is your focus, you cannot fail.
reception photography
Photos by Sarah DeShaw
At the end of the day, I realized every little moment built the ideal wedding day for us. There is a part of your wedding that cannot be known or felt until the day arrives, and if you let it, there is a sweet gift found in those unexpected moments. From the things we planned (the heartfelt vows) to those we didn't (the insanely good moves our guests brought to the dance floor), it all came together in a perfect fashion to be a day that would be forever ours.