Today I went to Vivace’s (located in Portland, Oregon) to meet with Jala from Embark Creative and indulge in a scrumptious fresh strawberry crepe and white chocolate mocha. Being one of my favorite places, they know my order well and the barista began talking to me about his sister’s wedding. He mentioned I needed to do a blog about how to deal with parents while planning your wedding. I immediately agreed, as I’m sure his sister isn’t the only reader in need of assistance in this area. Without further ado…

Parents always want what is best for their children. This is especially apparent during their children’s wedding planning. Many parents will go out of their way to advise their children on what, they think, would be best for the wedding. Although many brides start planning their wedding when they are little girls, what they don’t realize is parents start about the time their child is born.

My first word of advice would be to get together with both sets of parents at the very beginning of the planning process. Find out how much they want to contribute financially and how involved they want to be in the planning process. Let them know how much their support is appreciated. If there are things that you aren’t as passionate about having just so or feel that it’s one of your parents expertise, let them be in charge of that area. Divide up responsibilities so that everyone can feel like they are doing their part. Do you have things that are particularly important to you to do as a couple? Make that clear during this meeting. The more open you are, about what you want and don’t want help on, the smoother the process will go. Planning your wedding should be a fun process and the minute it’s not fun, reassess why you’re planning this big event. Spend time on the things that really matter to you, let others help and don’t be afraid to tell people when you appreciate their input, but need to make a decision on your own. This is your day!

Cheers!