My Perfect Wedding

Listen up engaged couples! I want to share my wedding journey to help you all plan yours. Pretty much every girl’s dream is to have the perfect wedding, so when I got engaged in January of 2020, the planning immediately began (lowkey it began before I was even engaged ha). Immediately you want to get everything booked and in place because these venues and photographers get booked out monthsss in advance. Below are things you’ll want to get booked/purchased right away.

Venue - this should literally be the number one thing you’re concerned with when you’re first engaged. I legit booked it 8 months in advance and had to do a Friday because all Saturdays were booked. I will say not choosing a Saturday is a cheaper option so I wasn’t too upset about it. I chose Union Station - Grand Hall. I loved the historic feel and my mom and grandma had many memories there when it was a train station years ago. It’s pricey, but they were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Photographer & Videographer - this should be your next concern because these fill up quickly as well. You’ll probably have to reach out to a hand full before you find one that has your date available. Below are some amazing photographers and I used Braden Visuals (@bradenvisuals) for my videographer. I believe he’s moved out of Indy now, but you never know, he might be down to travel back to shoot your wedding!

Sweet Caroline Photography (@sweetcaroline.photography)

AC Made Photography (@acmade_)

Drea and Co. (@martina.drea)

Starla Kay Mathis (@starlakaymathis)

Wedding Planner - having a wedding planner is so convenient! Even if you’re great at planning, the day of you never realize how many things actually need to get done that won’t be done by the venue or vendors. I used Blush and Blossom Events (@blushandblossomevents). I may be a little biased because the owner is my sister, but their services literally helped me be calm & relaxed on my wedding day (something most brides are not!).

DJ - I was very picky about my DJ! I wanted someone who was friendly, professional, and knew all the rap/hip hop songs I’d want played. I used DJ Diamond Productions (djdiamondproductoons.net) and loved them. Prices were very reasonable and they had everyone on the dance floor.

Dress - mine took about 6 months to come in and you have to leave time for alterations as well, so you’ll want to get right on it! I got my dress from Nancy’s Bridal (@nancysbridalboutique). It ended up being the first and only place I went to find a dress. Customer service was impeccable and dresses are to die for!!

After you get these things booked, get these booked shortly after.

Makeup Artist - you’ll probably have to do a few trials before you find the one you love. I had Lady Stephanny (@ladyztephanny) do our makeup and she literally made me and my bridesmaids look flawless! I knew right away when we tried our trial run that she would be doing my makeup for my special day.

Hair Stylist - this one can be a little tricky because your everyday hair stylist might not know how to do wedding updos and such. Luckily mine did! I actually used two to make this process a little quicker with how many bridesmaids I had. I used All Things Heavenly (@maliksmom_) and Tress Me Beauty Bar (the_colorspecialist).

Cake - this part was so fun! I’m a foodie, so I love trying tasty things. Confectioneiress has always been my go to, but I did try Carmel Cakes and they were very good as well. I ultimately ended up going with Confectioneiress.

Florals - I’m telling you right now, if you are on a budget (which most of us are), Flower Boys is the way to go! They offer three types of packages, one where you just order your flowers through them and you make your arrangements on your own, a workshop package where you order them through them and they help you create your arrangements, or the normal package where they order them for you and create all your arrangements. I went the workshop route. It was extremely affordable and actually really fun! My mom, sister, and friend help me make all the bouquets and arrangements and they looked great!

Once you have all this planned, you just have to worry about the little things - save the dates, wedding invites, linens, a photo booth, and any other rentals you’d like. I noticed how expensive these things can be so I actually ended up creating my own rental business, JW Event Rentals (@jweventrentals). Check out my rental pieces for your special day!