16 Genius Wedding Secrets Straight From a Wedding Planner

Before you attempt to tackle everything at once (never a good idea), take a step back to figure out the most important matter of business: your budget. "It's so important to identify a good wedding budgeting tool and work to outline the big-picture costs," Jennifer explained. "When you do budget, leave about a five to 10 percent cushion. You'll need it!"

What's one thing you can skip out on? A guest book! "It's something so many buy and incorporate only to realize there's no long-term purpose for it," Jennifer told POPSUGAR. Seriously — will you sit down and look back at that book, ever? She also recommends ditching those mini emergency kits curated for brides. "While they're a great marketing idea, there's no wedding emergency that can be fixed by a kit the size of a Coke can."

For starters, Jennifer recommends writing vows for one another. Not only will this be beautifully romantic in the moment, but you can also cherish them forever and ever. But don't forget to make your family and friends feel loved, too. "I love when couples really champion heartfelt toasts and make it a point to thank those in the room, even going so far as picking a few people individually to thank mentioning why," she explained. "It's authentic and genuine."

"While I love luxe, traditional paper invitations, its OK to be economical here," Jennifer said. "At the end of the day, whether you go a bit 'budget savvy' on your invites or do a digital invite, the invitation process happens before the wedding day. I always propose that the majority of money spent on the wedding is harnessed for the actual wedding day."

If you're planning on a destination wedding, you don't have to commit as much energy to the decor, which can majorly cut costs. "Most destinations are so beautiful on their own, which is usually why you marry there in the first place," Jennifer said. Touché.

Remember that planning a wedding is a marathon and not a sprint. Jennifer explained, "So many brides go out of the starting gate wanting to plan overnight. They push themselves, their partner, their workday, etc. to the limits and start the journey off pretty stressed." But it's key to stay calm so you don't forget vital details, like tipping your vendors. "On average, you want to tip approximately 10 percent per vendor."

As far as easy ways to keep your guests happy and smiling, Jennifer insists on transportation — whether that means to and from the hotel or from the ceremony to the reception. "It's great when people arrive at the wedding feeling really taken care of, putting transportation behind them so they can move on and enjoy it all," Jennifer said. "Alternatively, valet parking and/or general guest parking is the second best option."

If your Pinterest wedding board is bursting at the seams, take this as a helpful note from Jennifer: "I recommend doing your own welcome notes or table seating place cards. It's something simple that you can do well in advance." And if you're feeling inspired, you can take these specific projects to the next level, but don't take on too much.

There's a reason so many of those fancy personalized wedding planners exist. "I love helping clients, colleagues, or friends build a wedding binder," Jennifer told POPSUGAR. "It's such a simple, traditional, uncomplicated tool to keep all of your documents and communications regarding the wedding handy."

"Create a Dropbox folder that you and your partner can share that has subfolders of the categories of your vendors and venue," Jennifer advised. "Save every digital document when it comes in over email, giving it a clear name and date, and then place it in the corresponding folder. Save the email itself in a special wedding-themed folder on your computer." In short, save it all, but make it organized.

"Shoot your wedding party an email or PDF no less than two months out with details of the wedding itself," Jennifer recommended. This will help answer any questions that your bridal party has to avoid confusion and make sure everyone's on the same page.

Obviously, the married couple deserve to enjoy their first meal together. As crazy at it sounds, make sure this is scheduled so you can experience this dinner in peace. "Put it in the timeline, and make sure the caterer and catering manager or maitre d' helps with this," she urged.

"One way to make sure your wedding is as eco-friendly as possible is to find out how your caterer or venue is dealing with waste and to ensure that all bottles and other elements are being recycled," she said.

"Its so important to plan for the wedding you can afford now, not the one you hope you can afford come the wedding day," Jennifer said. That doesn't mean you can't have everything you dream of, so long as you plan accordingly and wisely — and potentially with the help of a really, really good wedding planner.