Image by Emma Durkin Photographics via 5 Steps to Becoming The Ultimate Organised Bride

An important part of planning your wedding is knowing what you DON’T want, which clears away the clutter of too many wedding ideas swirling in your head — and all those suggestions from other people — allowing you both to get clear about what you DO want.

When you’re at the start of your wedding planning stage, or just a few steps into it, you might find yourselves getting overwhelmed by how many tasks there are to complete, how many decisions to manage, how many things to pay for … and then there’s your parents telling you how things “should” be or who you “should” add to the guest list.

Clear those swirling details right from the start by discussing what you DON’T want as part of your wedding day. It might be ‘We don’t want a big wedding. We don’t want a formal wedding. We don’t want a sea of flowers at the ceremony … just something simple.

Here are some free worksheets to get you started making your own DON’T lists.

And here are some tips to more organized planning:

  • Involve the groom! Whatever he doesn’t want isn’t going to be part of the day, either.
  • Show these lists to your parents as soon as possible. This should eliminate any pressures they may be putting on you for a huge guest list, a religious ceremony, or anything else that’s not a part of your wedding dream.
  • Share your DON’T lists with your wedding vendors. They want to fully embrace what you want, and it makes their job easier when they have an organized list of what you don’t like right in front of them.
  • Consider these DON’TS for other parts of your wedding weekend. You might not want an outdoor wedding, but maybe an outdoor bridal shower would be great.

Ms Gingham says: I’m a big fan of laying it all out in the open from the start to hopefully avoid conflict later. Make sure you talk it over with your hubby to be so that you’re both on the same page so to speak!

About Sharon: Sharon Naylor is the author of over 35 wedding books, including her newest: “Bridesmaid on a Budget”, “Smart Guide to Wedding Weekends”, and “1001 Ways to Save Money and Still have a Dazzling Wedding”. Her two books for the mothers of the bride and groom are bestsellers, and she has appeared on such top shows as Good Morning America, ABC News, Lifetime, Inside Edition and more – sharing tips and insider secrets to help you plan your dream wedding on a budget, personalized to your love story. Visit her site Sharon Naylor for more on her books, free worksheets and appearances. She lives in Morristown, NJ with her husband Joe and is at work on her next two wedding books.