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8 Wedding Planners Reveal Everything Brides Do Wrong Before Their Big Day

No matter how many wedding blogs you can read and hours you can spend scrolling up and down Pinterest boards for ideas that'll up your wedding game, you may still find yourself making a handful of costly mistakes.

Whether it's spending too much money on things you don't really need or convincing yourself you can plan your entire wedding yourself (while also working full-time), there will be a list of things you can — and will — do wrong before your wedding.

To push away panic and anxiety, here are the confessions from eight top wedding planners about the things they've noticed that most brides do wrong before their weddings:

1. Thinking They Can DIY Their Whole Wedding

The number one thing I see brides do is think they can do everything themselves. Planning a wedding is like having an additional 40-hour a week job. It can be difficult to get every little project and idea done. Be realistic with your timing.

— Kia Martinson, ESTOccasions.com

2. Not Figuring Out The Cash Situation Beforehand

Brides forget to put final payments or tips in sealed, labeled envelopes for vendors. Wedding planners would much rather have these to hand out than tracking down the couple or parents at the end of the night when the caterer needs to be paid. This allows everyone to have a good time and not have to worry about writing checks or going through emails to find invoices at the wedding.

— Tiffany Hayden, owner of Detailed

3. Buying When They Can Rent Instead

Purchasing everything when they can rent. It is hard to sell the items you purchased for your wedding because not every bride has the same taste as you.

— Jen Taylor, Taylor'd Events

4. Forgetting To Pack A Survival Kit

No bride should ever leave the house on her wedding day without an emergency kit of bobby pins, mascara, aspirin and mints. Or toasting flutes, comfortable shoes and, of course, their marriage license.

— Elizabeth Brook, Wedgewood Wedding and Banquet Centers

5. Not Sticking To The Budget

One of the things that brides do wrong before the wedding is overspend. I have seen so many of my clients' budget double and sometimes triple as the planning process proceeds. Although brides want the day of their dreams, they need to remember they do have to live afterward. One day is not worth going into debt. Be reasonable and realistic with your budget and planning needs.

— Apryl D. Roberts, Memorable Events by Apryl, LLC

6. Hiring A Wedding Planner Too Late

Hiring their planner last or nearly last is easily the number one thing many, perhaps most, couples do wrong before their wedding. Of course, a planner will still be able to help couples avoid logistical issues and offer etiquette and practical advice no matter when they are hired, but there will be limited cost savings once all or most major professional contracts have been signed. A planner understands how all the parts of the wedding ceremony and celebration work together from vision to results. To achieve what the couple is ultimately envisioning for their celebration, all the individual pieces will impact each other. Some will be in major ways, and others more subtly. A professional planner accounts for all these details, drawing on their training and experiences. So the earlier a planner is hired, the better for the couples' budget, aesthetic and overall experience along their engagement journey and on their wedding day.

— Tracey Baxter, Aisle Do

7. Failure To Have A Backup Plan

Failure to have a backup plan in case a change is needed due to an act of God (tornado, rain, severe snow storm or severe hot temperatures, etc). Many brides assume their wedding day will be picture-perfect, not taking into consideration that windy conditions at an outdoor event can wreak havoc with the ceremony and reception. Murphy's Law does exist.

— Greg Jenkins, Bravo Productions

8. Not Knowing Their Glam Plan

Your wedding day is not the day to figure out if you or your sister know how to attach fake lashes or do a waterfall braid with loose curls. So, leave the primping to the pros. This will give you time to relax and enjoy the day with your bridal party stress-free.

— Andrea Freeman, Andrea Freeman Events