Heidi Hutch is the kickass Catering Sales Director at the Versailles Ballroom NJ wedding venue, with over 10 years of experience making brides and grooms smile. She shared her top 5 essential stress-busting wedding planning tips, and we illustrated Heidi’s sage words of wisdom with pictures of cats… because, why not? Read on, then click here to learn more about Heidi Hutch, one of our wedding superstars extraordinaire.

1. Be organized
Whether you love or loath color coding and excel spreadsheets, take it one step at a time and find a way of keeping your wedding planning untangled that works for you. Bonus: once you have all the tasks laid out, you can start assigning them to your nearest and dearest. #notmyjob

2. Hire vendors you trust

You can’t do it all – you need the right people in your corner. Do your homework by reading online reviews, then pick vendors that listen to you and your wedding vision, and will go the extra mile to make it happen. You’ll feel your stress melting away. (Pst: Check out reviews of our Versailles Ballroom NJ wedding venue, to see why our brides and grooms heart Heidi, Angel, and the rest of the team.)

3. Don’t overthink

It’s so easy to wake up in the middle of the night worrying that the peacock blue you picked was too blue, and maybe you should have given sunflower yellow a second look, and oh my god, did you pick all the wrong flowers?!? Just take a deep breath, and remember to trust your first instincts. Your wedding is going to rock.

4. Don’t spend more than you can afford

That doesn’t mean that you should choose the cheapest option. Just be realistic about your budget, and find the vendors that offer the best value – the most bang for your buck – and just splurge on the extras that really rev your engine. Just because your second cousin got gold leaf embossed invitations doesn’t mean you need to. And how much do you want a tiny kitten in a pink ribbon on a pile of cash? So much.

5. Stop trying to please everyone

If anyone tries to make your wedding all about them, they can just talk to the tail. It’s about you and your sweetie. Don’t be afraid to unleash your inner lion when warranted.

And don’t forget to take our quiz to find out… What’s Your Wedding Spirit Animal? Get stress-busting wedding advice tailored to your inner animal, plus free goodies when you come in for a personal tour. #weddingcat