If you are going to be planning a wedding ceremony, whether it will be a large and lavish celebration or a private, modest wedding with the important people in your life, then getting the help of both a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator can relieve a lot of stress and provide a clear path towards your wedding day. Even with professional help though, there are still some important tips that when followed will make the entire process easier on you and guarantee that you get what you want from your wedding celebration.

The following is a compilation of the 10 best wedding planning tips from wedding planning professionals, based on their experience and what they have seen work with other couples in the past.

1 - Your Ceremony Comes First 

Often enough, people put a lot of energy and focus into the wedding reception while cutting back on the actual ceremony in order to please their guests. Instead, focus more on your ceremony because it actually sets the mood for the rest of the wedding, which does more for everyone involved than the reception alone. Your guests can find good food, drinks, music, and a standard party experience whenever they go to a party of any sort, but experiencing the magic of a great wedding ceremony is rare.

A great wedding ceremony will leave everyone entranced with the magic of your love for each other. That is what they will be talking about for weeks after, so even though the reception can be fun too, the ceremony should be front and center.

2 - The Wedding Should Reflect You as a Couple 

Your wedding needs to celebrate who the two of you are as a couple instead of only showing recycled aspects of other people's weddings. Looking to Pinterest and other weddings is great for finding and exploring ideas, but make things personal by working the following into the wedding's heart: 

• Stories about how the two of you met 

• Your first dates 

• How you got engaged 

• The struggles you have overcome to be together 

• Your individual passions and the passions you share 

• Family backgrounds and childhoods 

• Your travels together

• Personal styles and tastes 

Many different aspects of your wedding can be based on things that you have seen online or at other weddings, but it is important to not lose the essence of your relationship which is the whole point of the wedding. Keeping the above points at the heart and core of the celebration means you will maintain an authentic and original event.

3 - Practice Self-Care 

Planning a wedding can take some time and effort, but if left unchecked it can also take over a couple's life leading up to the big date. This can make the whole process tiring, cause avoidable stress, and make couples panic about getting married, so during your engagement period it is recommended that you practice self-care as a couple. This can include: 

• Setting times and days where wedding talk is off-limits 

• Keep working date nights into your spare time 

• Focus on living in the now instead of focusing on your big day 

• Remember that your wedding will only last a day or two and then it will be over, so don't stress 

• Remember that it is more important to have your family there instead of an over-the-top party 

• Relax and take your time planning it out 

Remember that your marriage is a celebration of starting a new phase in life and in your relationship. The wedding itself is not the final destination that needs to be perfectly planned to the last detail. So long as you have your family and friends there, it will go well. Your life before the wedding still needs to continue, so avoid letting "wedding talk" take over every waking moment together.

4 - Think About Your Guests' Experience 

You will likely already be thinking about the guests' experience of the wedding, but keep your guests in mind outside of the wedding as well, especially if they are travelling. Your wedding date should take into consideration things like: 

• Parades 

• Local school graduations 

• Nearby conferences 

• Tourist events in your city 

Each of these things will affect how difficult getting to your location is going to be, along with finding parking and accommodation. It is best to book a date when the surrounding area isn't busy so that your guests' experience of the wedding isn't tarnished by unexpected surprises. 

5 - Choose a Wedding Dress After You Have Found a Location and a Date 

The perfect wedding dress is one that matches the time of year, the venue, and the surrounding environment. Choosing a dress first means that it either won't match the environment, or the venue and everything else will need to be altered to match the dress, which can take a lot more work and look forced. Even if you have the perfect wedding dress in mind along with the clothing for the bridesmaids and groomsmen, wait until you have found your location and decided on a time of year before you make the final decision.

6 - Don't Worry About the Small Details on the Day 

As the happy couple, your job is to enjoy your special moment and act as hosts to your guests by spending time with each of them and interacting with each other's family and friends. The easiest way to stop worrying about the small (or large) details on the day is to hire a wedding coordinator you can trust to bring everything together while you celebrate your union. Even asking a trusted friend to oversee the wedding and fix any issues that come up will do. Just know that on that day, it shouldn't be your job to fix every little thing or to coordinate everyone's roles.

7 - Plan According to Your Budget 

Your budget needs to be the thing that determines your wedding expenses to avoid racking up debt that takes years to pay back. Start out by writing a "must-have" guest list, and then figure out your budget before you even look at venues or anything else. If a luxurious wedding is not in the budget, then perhaps there are some decorations, foods, drinks, and even entertainment options that you can look at to provide a classy atmosphere without blowing your budget on the venue alone and cutting back on everything else.

8 - Get the Most out of Your Budget 

It is easy to save money by repurposing items from your ceremony for the reception, such as moving floral arrangements into the reception area or using them to line the stage if there is a band. Wedding invites should also stick to the standard rectangular envelope size to avoid racking up additional postage costs, and any flowers or food leftover can be donated to charity so nothing goes to waste.

9 - Be Swift with Your Decisions 

Focus on making informed, quick decisions when planning a wedding to keep stress to a minimum. If you get stressed by indecisiveness and worry about every single option then things will likely become more difficult. This doesn't mean you should be careless with your decision-making, though.

Focus on making informed decisions by utilizing the available information and understanding what it is that you want. There will always be multiple options to choose from, so don't feel like you have to spend hours thinking about every option. Find the one that suits you best, go with it, and don't stress about whether some other option would have been better.

10 - Wedding Photography Is a Priority 

Out of all the things to cut back on to save money, the photographer is not one of them. The photographer is there to capture the event with the best angles and lighting so your memories are preserved. Even if your wedding is a complete success, it won't look good in the photos if you hire a bad photographer, and you can't go back for a redo.

A good, experienced wedding photographer can make the most modest wedding look as magical as possible. 10 years in the future, once you have forgotten the minor details of the wedding, those magical shots will still look fresh and be a great reminder of one of your life's landmarks.

At the end of the day, your wedding is the stepping stone to the next part of your life together as a couple. Don't sweat the small details, because the meaning of what you are doing on that day combined with having close friends and family there with you is what really counts.