You’re getting married. Congratulations! Which we’re sure you’ve heard a lot lately. Probably followed closely by questions about the date and details of your “big day.” Maybe after that comes good intentioned wedding planning advice, which is great, but can also quickly become overwhelming.

Of course, you don’t plan weddings every day so recommendations are helpful. However, when they come from multiple people with their own unique styles, none of them exactly like yours, you can spend a lot of time researching and narrowing down choices. It’s stressful at best.

At Adams Pointe, we DO plan weddings every day. You name it; we’ve seen and handled it.  Here are our top six tips for planning a stress-free wedding.

1.Start Early

Choose your wedding date and work backwards from there to give yourself the time you need to enjoy your engagement. Once the wedding date is set, we recommend giving yourself at least six months to plan accordingly. If your wedding date falls in one of the more popular months to get married (like June), you might consider adding a few months as a buffer since those dates are often booked as much as a year in advance.

2.Choose Vendors with Experience

Sure, your uncle might “have a guy.” Yes, Aunt Lucy is a wonderful baker. Of course, grandma’s garden has an abudance of gorgeous flowers. But “guys,” home bakers and backyard florals aren’t necessarily suited for your wedding day. If ever a time called for using vendors with specific experience, it’s now.

At Adams Pointe Conference Center, we’ve worked with just about every wedding vendor across the Kansas City metro. Our wedding planning team knows the best, and more importantly, the absolute worst. We know who shows up and is professional. We’ve seen who arrives late for set up and leaves early. We’ve seen hits with guests and total flops.

Over the years, there have been wedding vendors who are reliable and do their roles to perfection. Our wedding planning team is consistently impressed with:

Complete Weddings + Events for music/DJ.

Cardinal Cake Co. for wedding cakes.

Village Gardens for bouquets and floral arrangements.

3.Pick an All Inclusive Venue

Here’s the conundrum. The more people, companies, vendors, places, etc. involved in coordinating the details of your wedding, the higher the risk of something going wrong. It becomes a matter of one hand not knowing what the other is doing.

Here’s the fix. Hold your wedding at an all inclusive venue like Adams Pointe Conference Center to reduce the risk of miscommunication and details falling through the cracks. An all inclusive Kansas City wedding venue, like Adams Pointe, employs its own experienced banquet and set-up staff whose job is to know exactly how to anticipate and prepare for your wedding party, your guests’ and your needs.

All inclusive wedding venues can take a lot of worry and stress off your shoulders because they handle almost everything associated with your wedding day. Venues, like Adams Pointe Conference Center, take care of set-up, clean-up, tables, chairs, linens, audio visual equipment, servers, bartenders, catering and décor. Not to mention, a wedding coordinator is at your service who will manage every single thing leading up to your big day. Some all inclusive venues, Adams Pointe Conference Center included, have settings for holding both the ceremony and reception at the same place for even more convenience.

4.Create a Realistic Timeline

You have a set amount of time for your wedding, so it’s common for wedding parties to jam as much as possible into a short timeframe. In the end, this leaves brides and grooms feeling rushed and like you’ve survived a whirlwind by the end of the day.

Accept that things take longer to finish than you expect. Give yourself plenty of time to take pictures before the reception. You can get to the reception even sooner by taking some photos before the ceremony. Don’t keep your guests waiting, set a reasonable dinner time so you’re not scrambling to get things done while food is waiting on you to be served.

Talk with your DJ about setting a timeline for your reception events. Toasts and cake cutting run smoothly with a skilled and personable DJ who directs your guests’ attention. And remember, you want to leave plenty of time to dance, celebrate and enjoy the party you have worked so hard to plan.

5.Entertain Your Guests

It is your day, but your guests play a big role in setting the mood for your reception. Happy guests, happy reception. Provide drinks and hors d’oeuvres at the reception venue while they’re waiting for your wedding party to arrive. Having an experienced banquet staff goes a long way toward making your guests feel welcome and comfortable. Consider a fun activity guests can enjoy while waiting. It can be as simple as setting out signs with your wedding hashtag for guests to post on social media or as interactive as a photo booth.

6.Offer Hotel Accommodations

Hosting your reception at a venue that offers lodging on-site helps ensure the safety of your guests and is convenient for guest traveling from out of town. At Adams Pointe Conference Center, getting home is as simple as walking down the hall. Contact us today to plan your special day!