Wedding planning is one of the most stressful times a person will ever experience. There is so much to get done in what is sometimes a very short period of time. Unfortunately, common sense does not always prevail when you are pulling your hair out trying to get everything together. As a result, many mistakes can be made when planning this special day. Don’t be the bride who has regrets the day of her wedding or who looks backs at her mistakes. Here are some mistakes that you can easily avoid with a little thought!

1. Cash Bar: No one likes to go to a wedding and have to pay for drinks. Unfortunately this leaves the cost up to whoever is paying for the wedding. Just because you are having an open bar doesn’t mean that you have to break bank. Usually reception halls will offer you a reasonable price or you can choose to have a limited selection available. Your guests will accept whatever you offer them graciously.

2. Blowing Your Fashion Budget: The most tempting time for a bride to overspend is wedding dress shopping. A bride will give herself a fashion budget, see a dress for that exact amount, and spend all the money on just the gown. This is a huge mistake if you are not accounting for shoes, veil, undergarments, and accessories! Give yourself two separate budgets: one for the dress, and one for the rest of your fashion needs to avoid this problem.

3. Partying the Night Before the Wedding: For some reason, bachelors and bachelorettes seem to think that have their last hoorah should be on the night before their wedding. This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Your bachelor or bachelorette party should be at least a week before the big day to give you significant recovery time and get yourself back into the planning swing!

4. Express Honeymoon: After all the stress of the wedding and the planning, many couples want to jet off to their honeymoon the night of the wedding. While this might seem like the quickest way to relax, it’ll only be more stress. Traveling is not always a fun experience, so give yourself a couple days of rest before heading off to your honeymoon. You’ll thank yourself when you’re lying on the beach completely relaxed!

5. Big Demands: As a bride, you are going to need all the help that you can get when planning your wedding. This falls onto your bridesmaids as your helpers to get you through the big day seamlessly. As much as they want to help, if you give them too much work they are not going to be happy. Be reasonable with your bridesmaids and give them a schedule so that they know what to expect and when. If you can keep your bridesmaids happy, they will be happier to help you!