YORK, Pa. — February is National Wedding Month!
Weddings can be one of the best experiences in a couple's life, but getting everything just right is often a very stressful process.
Whitney Hostetter, co-founder of Emerald and Whitney, has some helpful tips to make sure your special day runs smoothly. She and her team are wedding planners based in Lancaster.
Hostetter says the days and months after you first get engaged can be very overwhelming, especially as family and friends start to ask when the big day is going to be.
To cut through the noise, she recommends that couples start with two tasks: making a budget and reserving a venue.
"Venues can vary drastically in price, especially here in the Lancaster area," Hostetter said.
Central Pennsylvania offers many kinds of venues, from rustic farm to fancy and modern. Venues can be indoor, outdoor, historical—anything you can dream up.
After couples have their date and venue squared away, they can move onto other aspects of the event, such as picking vendors and hiring a wedding planner.
Hostetter says planners can help make every aspect of a wedding less stressful, from finding vendors to staying within budget to handling any crises that may come up. This can be especially important on the day of the wedding, when the bride and groom are likely already dealing with plenty of stress.
"If you run out of alcohol, is there someone there to go out and get something for you?" she said. "That's where planning can come into play. Like us, we will actually go out and buy things during the day if the bride needs something.
Often, what couples need is to save money. Hostetter's biggest budgeting tip is to be flexible about when you get married.
"The traditional wedding day is a Saturday, and a lot of brides really want that, but if you're willing to do a Friday or Sunday wedding, you can shave thousands of dollars off of the venue sticker price," Hostetter shared.
And for the people who truly don't have a preference for day of the week...
"You can get married for basically nothing on a Monday," she revealed.
No matter where or when a couple decides to have their wedding, the most important part of the day is celebrating their love.