The purpose of our “Expert Advice” posts is to discover the real truths to wedding planning. These aren’t meant to be fluffy, feel good articles. Planning your Tampa Bay wedding can daunting, exhausting, and stressful if you haven’t done your homework, and we don’t want to sugarcoat that reality. But luckily for you, Marry Me Tampa Bay is here to help you make educated decisions about your wedding.

We can’t tell you how many times I’ve read a wedding planning advice article only to have been told generic, non-helpful information. To really understand the ins and outs of wedding planning, reading the “butterflies and rainbows” article just won’t do.

If you’re looking for raw, honest wedding planning advice, then we hope you’ll be enlightened throughout this post. We’ve enlisted the help of our preferred wedding vendors, who are true experts in the Tampa Bay wedding industry, to share what they feel couples need to know to make educated decisions. Please read their thoughts with the understanding that they truly want to help you have the best wedding planning experience possible!

An abridged version of this article is available in the 2025 Suncoast Wedding & Event Guide

“One thing that drives me nuts is when a client leaves a voicemail or email and immediately texts to let me know they called or emailed and they would love a response. While I want to answer right away, we are at meetings or events, which makes us a little different than most businesses in that we are not always in front of the computer.” -Katy Martin, Coastal Coordinating

“Wedding vendors are not just working for you; they are working with dozens of other couples. Respecting their time during meetings, being punctual, and sticking to agreed-upon timelines makes it easier for everyone. The more organized and clear you are, the better the outcome,” -Ashley Johnson, B Eventful

“Communication is a crucial aspect of planning a wedding. I often find myself generating proposals and information requested by couples, only to be ghosted. This is frustrating, especially since couples can be demanding and often request quick turnaround times. I always strive to provide potential clients with everything they need to facilitate a meeting or phone call as quickly as possible. Despite sending follow-up emails and attempting to reach out by phone, I frequently don’t hear back. Sometimes, proposals are shopped around for lower prices at the couple’s discretion. However, the least I expect is a brief email thanking me for my time and explaining that they have chosen to go in a different direction. If something seemed unreasonable, feedback would be appreciated, allowing me the opportunity to suggest alternatives. Not being selected by a couple is part of the business, but ghosting someone is just poor etiquette.” -John Elice, Bruce Wayne Florals

“One of our biggest pet peeves is when couples ask us for advice and then interrupt or not listen and instead give examples of what they did when they helped plan a friend’s or family member’s wedding. It is so hard as a professional event planner for others to understand that we are professionals for a reason! Yes, it is a fun job, but it also involves problem-solving, counseling, and stress management. We love to have the input from our clients, of course; however, every wedding is extremely different. Different venues, vendors, guest count, style, budget, preferences, personalities…the list goes on. Just remember that when you are hiring event planners or professionals, they will do what will work best for you while also making the jobs of other vendors a little bit easier too!” -Lauren Gertz, MDP Events

“Having multiple points of contact is not fun or easy. We often see that there are so many more people involved in the wedding planning process than ever before: moms, mother-in-laws, or even best friends. Well, it’s great to have people to help you. It also makes the process very hard. It’s hard to get your wants and dreams crossed when there are so many people chiming in and questioning everything. It makes the wedding planning process much harder and much harder to complete tasks. We completely understand that you want people to help you. We have done this for many years, and if you trust us, just know that if it’s just us and only one other person (but mostly just us), we can work more effectively and faster for you. We see that there are more arguments, stress, and fights when more people are involved with the planning process. It makes it harder on you and more stressful as well. When a client is planning their wedding with just themselves and me, the process is much more efficient and seamless and those couples are way less stressed as well.” -Katy Martin, Coastal Coordinating

“Book an experienced planner and the right amount of planning services. In the nearly 10 years we’ve been shooting weddings, the most chaotic days are when a couple doesn’t book the proper wedding day/design/logistical support. A day-of coordinator is for sure better than you or your mother running around doing it all. However, having partial or full planning is going to result in a much less stressful and more cohesive day, as well as a more streamlined and informed planning process. Add to that typically better design decisions being made, which has a huge effect on the overall look and feel of your day. Working with a planning team that has had several years of experience is going to give you so much more insight and ease than someone who is just starting out. The wild thing is that since your photo team is with you all day, people assume we know every job on the wedding day. We may know some things here and there, but positioning and pairing up a 16-person wedding party in a matter of seconds is just not one of them. Make sure you’re thinking of these things when you’re convincing yourself that you don’t need this planning support!” -Shannon Dewitt, Dewitt for Love Photography

“Vendors genuinely want to make your dream wedding a reality, but there’s often a disconnect between what couples envision and what their budget allows. It’s not about vendors being ‘too expensive;’ it’s about the level of craftsmanship, materials, and time it takes to achieve those results. For example, if you dream of elaborate floral installations cascading from the ceiling, know that this involves hours of labor, specialty equipment, and a team of professionals to set up and tear down. Similarly, a luxury wedding photographer isn’t just taking pictures for eight hours. They’re also spending days editing, planning, and preparing to ensure every moment is beautifully preserved. The best way to manage this? Be upfront about your budget. Instead of saying, ‘I want luxury on a shoestring budget,’ say, ‘This is my total budget. What’s the best way to maximize it for our vision?’ Vendors can help you prioritize where to splurge and where to scale back. -Arron McNeile, McNeile Photography

“While Pinterest inspires creativity and discovery, it can often create unrealistic expectations for couples planning beach weddings. Many Pinterest photos are staged or heavily edited to market the photographer or venue, and showcase setups not feasible due to state or beach regulations or options that far exceed most budgets. Common examples include furniture on the beach, private settings with elaborate string lighting, or arches adorned with thousands of floral stems, all stunning but impractical for public beaches, which close at dusk and have strict usage rules. Private venues may allow these setups, but they come with significant costs. For a fraction of the price, you can have a beautiful beach ceremony and a nearby reception at a restaurant or hotel, complete with a built-in backup plan.” -Brandon Wheeler, Gulf Beach Weddings

“While it is a great way to save money, it is never a good idea to take the florals into your own hands. There are so many variables that can happen. What if the flowers don’t arrive on time or at all? What if the flowers are not great; how are you going to get backups for them? A florist has those contacts to get them right away. Will you have time to prep and process them the day before you put them together? Do you have the containers or products like ribbon to properly make them? Who will deliver them on the day of the wedding? Do you have a fridge large enough to keep them cold? There are so many what ifs in these options. I highly suggest spending the money and getting a professional for this.” -Katy Martin, Coastal Coordinating

“We said dirty hair is ok, but your hair is radioactive! Listen, I know every hairdresser says dirty hair curls and will stay better, but that is only half true. If you have thick hair,  a day or even two is ok because your thick hair will absorb the oils and still look ok, but if you have thin hair, you just don’t have enough hair to absorb the oils, and your hair will just look well, dirty. Dirty is not bad, especially for a martini or a joke, but not always great when you want bridal hair.” -Michele Renee Zerda, Michele Renee The Studio

“Open seating can be successful if done properly, but most of the time, it’s done very poorly and leaves the planner and the guests feeling awkward. Most of the time, couples do open seating, thinking it’s better for the guests because they can pick who they sit next to. However, it can cause a lot of stress to claim the seats you want and not have your group broken up. There are also guests who arrive who may not know your friends, and then they are left having to force interaction and find a table that will welcome them to sit down. It gives me middle school lunchroom vibes all over again! There are also a lot of weddings where guests don’t get along, and assigned seating guarantees that they won’t end up at the same table. If you do open seating, please have more tables and chairs than actual guests so people can spread out. When it’s an exact number, then people will definitely end up being split and across the room from one another. Please consider doing assigned seating. This reduces social anxiety among your guests because they know exactly where they are going and where they belong. You also can control who they are by and keep them from guests they don’t like or match them with personalities that suit theirs, even if they don’t know one another!” -Delaney Driver, Wilder Mind Events

“We don’t like to see so many activities planned, like when a client tells us they want to party all night long, but they want to do an anniversary dance, shoe game, karaoke, faux exit, pictures with families during dancing, and whatever else they have planned besides dancing. Keep it to a max of about two extra activities if you feel like you need to add those, but really all you need is some good booty shakin’ to ensure your guests have a great time.” -Christopher Grainger, Graingertainment

“The garter and bouquet toss is something we are seeing less and less because it calls out the girls who are single, and maybe they don’t really want to be called out. For the guys, let’s be honest, you have to drag them out to even be part of it. Also, the person who caught the garter putting it on the person who caught the bouquet; if it isn’t strategic or one of them is not age-appropriate, it’s just so awkward! We are also seeing a lot of couples who don’t care to do a cake cutting or just do it without announcing it, which I like because it doesn’t break the flow of the evening and can be done whenever needed so they can get that cake cut.”-Carrie Wildes, Carrie Wildes Photography

“Goodnight! We exhausted! It has been such a joy to work with you for the last year to year and a half! We are so glad we have knocked your socks off with our talent, created an environment for your guests to have an amazing night, and created some core memories for you. We appreciate your gratitude, hugs, and kind words, but goodnight! We done! After being on our feet for 13 hours, answering every single question that arose, and breaking records with our steps, we just want to head home, take some Advil, shower, and sleep! We are physically and mentally on empty.” -Staci Mandikas, UNIQUE Weddings + Events