If I Were a Bride Planning My Wedding in 2024: The Perspective of a Chicago Wedding Planner

As a Chicago wedding planner who lives and breathes all things weddings and events, I have learned that there are so many different ways to personalize and prioritize decision making as you plan your magical day. Read on to learn some of the big and small decisions I would make and elements I would prioritize accordingly if I were a bride planning my wedding in 2024!

A top priority would be simplifying day-of logistics as much as possible.

A key piece of this would be involving as few locations as possible. Ideally, our venue would be able to accommodate both a ceremony and reception as well as provide bride and groom suites where all wedding party members could get ready onsite. Bonus points if its property is beautiful and all photos could be taken onsite as well!

Keeping everything at one or minimal locations is ideal in that it is an obvious opportunity to save on transportation costs, but also in that it minimizes the chaos, confusion and sometimes inevitable hold ups that can come with wrangling large wedding parties and families to get from point A to point B. Another underrated perk is that less time would need to be dedicated to traveling, allowing you more time for photos and/or time with your new spouse!

This to say, if you are reading this as you are planning a wedding in 2024, you may have non-negotiables such as a church ceremony, a specific salon or house that you know you will feel most comfortable getting ready in, a particular location(s) you have always dreamed of taking your photos, etc. If you are going to include multiple locations in your wedding day plans, my best advice would be to keep distances as close together as possible!

Experience > aesthetic!

I often remind my couples that the element many of their guests will remember most about their wedding day is how they felt - the food, the dancing, the environment as a whole. A skilled catering team to provide a smooth, efficient (and tasty!) dinner experience for your guests is an underrated priority!

I love the idea of spreading your wedding budget out over the course of the weekend versus putting everything into only the day itself. So often I see rehearsal dinners fall to the back burner due to overwhelm at the cost of the wedding day itself. Totally understandable, but I view rehearsal dinners and this time leading up to your wedding day as an opportunity to celebrate intimately with the people very closest to you! They are a great opportunity for guests on either of your wedding party "sides" to meet eachother and mingle, setting the tone for good vibes and fun the following day. Rehearsal dinners are also a great time for those who will not be giving a speech at the wedding to have an opportunity to share memories and stories! Post-wedding day brunches are lovely as well. It is worth noting that I strongly advise against "DIYing" either of these options (meaning you or a friend/family member hosting versus reserving a space at a restaraunt/venue). The purpose of a full wedding weekend is to celebrate to the fullest with your people, not have them stressing about cleaning, groceries and the works!

The aesthetic components of your wedding day are of course important, but as we know all too well, money is not unlimited and priorities need to be made as you plan your day. My advice would be to strive for balance, but ultimately to prioritize the overall experience for you and your guests over major splurges on items such as personal attire or decor pieces.

I would pay my vendors for deliveries.

This one may sound bizarre, but I have seen many weddings where week or day-of vendor deliveries were a corner that couples chose to cut and instead asked parents/friends/friends of friends to take responsibility for picking up and delivering XYZ item to the venue day-of (cakes, desserts, personal floral pieces, etc.). The desire to save in this area is totally understandable, but I have personally worked a wedding where a cake fell apart during transportation to the venue, and had a staff member of the bakery not been the one delivering it (thus they were able to fix it fairly easily  upon arrival), an attempt to save a small sum of money could have costed the couple much, much more. Aside from potential disasters, the other piece of this is that it would be a priority to allow my family and friends to be present and enjoy as much as possible on my wedding day rather than having to worry about the logistics of transporting X goods from here to there. Delivery fees are never anything crazy and I would gladly pay professional vendors to assume this responsibility!

I would put thought and intention into how to best show my appreciation to everyone involved in our wedding day.

Some of your guests will have traveled from across the country, others will have splurged for an evening of childcare that they had to plan out weeks in advance - situations differ but it would be a priority for me planning a wedding in 2024 to show thorough and genuine appreciation to my guests! A post-ceremony receiving line is a common way of doing this, but the coordinator in me knows all too well that these can be very tricky to control the timing of as it can be hard to keep greetings brief, especially with a larger guest count. Personally, I would opt to open up our reception with a brief but heartfelt thank you speech to our guests followed by going table to table during dinner. Traditional handwritten thank you notes to each guest post-wedding day are so important in my opinion as well!

Even moreso than your guests, your vendor team, family, and wedding party will all have contributed to your day in meaningful ways, whether that be dedicating their time, financially, emotionally or perhaps all of the above. If I were planning my wedding in 2024, in addition to verbal expression, I would handwrite personal notes to each of these individuals expressing my thanks and what that person means to us as a couple.

I would do a first look!

Once again, the coordinator in me REALLY prioritizes the logistics and efficiency of the day, and I would choose a first look over and over again for many reasons. Knocking out the majority of your photos prior to your ceremony allows you to keep cocktail hour brief (or skip altogether and go right do dinner!), making the most out of your guests' time and keeping the flow of the evening moving smoothly. Of equal importance to me is that with a first look, you are able to see eachother much earlier on in the day thus get to spend more time together! For many couples, seeing their partner helps to alleviate nerves and pre-ceremony anxiety as well.

I would forego boutonnieres!

This one is self explanatory and very minor but worth mentioning! Boutonnieres often fall apart throughout the day, and if I were planning my own wedding in 2024, I would rather spend this portion of my floral budget elsewhere! 

I would not overspend or overstress about appearances and attire!

Something that I did for my wedding back in 2020, and would do again in a heartbeat, is skip out on expensive jewelry pieces and instead use this as an opportunity to squeeze in my “something old” and “something borrowed.” I wore my Grandma’s pearl necklace and borrowed my earrings and garter from a close friend - not only was this a cost effective route to take, it was so special to me to have these pieces belonging to two women so near and dear to my heart with me all day and captured in my detail photos!

While feeling confident on your special day is SO important, it is of equal importance to prepare yourself to roll with the punches and have realistic expectations come wedding day. If you are getting married during the summer, you are going to sweat. Your makeup may run. Your curls may fall. As the evening progresses, the train of your dress may become stained from dirt, leaves, beer - you name it! Give yourself time for touch ups as needed but remember that noone will notice these things the way that you do and try not to overstress what cannot be helped! Which leads me to my next point…

I would prepare myself in advance to let go of everything that cannot be controlled!

I always tell my couples to prepare, prepare, overprepare, and then let go! What will be will be and I am a huge believer that you and your new spouse’s energy sets the tone for the entire celebration. Whether it may be those inevitable last minute no-shows, complicated family dynamics, guests stuck in traffic - whatever the source of your stress, if it is beyond control and cannot be resolved, choose happiness in that moment and let go!

I would do an exit of some kind at the end of the night!

Rather than quietly departing at the beginning of takedown, I would opt to end out the evening on the highest note possible! It is worth mentioning that at most weddings, only a fraction of guests still remain at the very end of the night, but I would do a fun and simple exit of some kind with our remaining guests.

All Photos by Courageous In Love Photography