Wedding planning doesn't have to be as tiresome, nerve-wracking or stressful as it sounds. Lauren Conrad, who tied the knot with her fiancé William Tell in 2014, should know. The former star of The Hills managed to pull off a top-notch wedding without losing her cool... or her beauty sleep.As she releases her new book Celebrate, Lauren shares her first-hand tips with Cosmopolitan on how to plan a stress-free wedding.
Read on for her wise words...
Make a timeline checklist"I was fortunate enough to have a wedding planner so she was really the one to keep me on schedule, but I would recommend for anyone planning a wedding to put together a calendar.
"It's basically a checklist of things you want to have done each month before the wedding, so that you can stay on track and you're not running around at the last minute trying to get things done."
The guest list"I think it's a better to have a whole group of people who aren't invited as opposed to a select few. So for example, rather than picking and choosing individual co-workers, either choose to invite your co-workers as a group or not."
Accept help"One of the hardest parts of planning a wedding is undoubtedly deciding who to invite and where to have them seated. I think for us that was actually the most stressful part of our wedding, it took SO long – you know, you're trying to make everyone happy. But we let our parents help us with assembling the table plan."
Try on A LOT of dresses"One of the best parts of wedding planning is going to try on the wedding dresses, and you've got to be sure to give yourself enough time. So don't be afraid to start looking right away.
"I think it's important to try lots of different styles – for me personally, I always imagined my wedding dress being a ball of tulle, but then I went and tried on some similar styles and it looked ridiculous. So have fun with it, don't put too much pressure on it, and even if it is different from what you imagined, that's okay, it's just whatever you feel comfortable in."
Forget the bridesmaids politics"Although for me personally, it was a case of the more the merrier (I would rather have a larger bridal party and no hurt feelings as opposed to a smaller one and upsetting people), it's not always that easy. But if you can, and you're worried about those issues, have a slightly larger bridal party. It's more people to have fun with!"On dealing with rebellious bridesmaids, Lauren added: "If you have agreed to be someone's bridesmaid then part of it is being selfless that day. But there are ways around it if anyone's unhappy, you know, like the trend now to mix and match the dresses but have them in the same shade. I think it's fantastic because everybody has a different body type and a different style and that way, everybody gets to pick. But generally, if you have asked your bridesmaid to wear a dress that they think looks horrible on them, they could find a nice tailor to fix it any way that they can – but that's part of the job."
Your bridal look"When it comes to hair and make-up trials, I think you do it until you get it right. Use visuals and consider getting new people if they're just not translating your vision into reality.
"It sounds silly but then these are photos that you'll look back on for the rest of your life; you don't want to be self-conscious on such an important day. It's important to really feel beautiful."
Look around for inspiration"The thing about a wedding is that it should really represent the couple that are getting married. I think it's really fun to go to a wedding that's a little different, so when you're trying to come up with ideas it should be a combination of things that you've seen and that you've liked. Even when you're attending other parties and weddings and you say 'oh I really like how they did this' – take notes as you go along. "If you have something specific in mind, it's great to have a visual – Pinterest is a really great choice for that, especially when you're dealing with a florist or a baker or anyone who's working on the décor. Because with something visual your idea is less likely to get lost in translation."
Make decisions as a couple"Every couple is different, but for me personally, William and I went over everything together, although he was only particularly interested in a couple of areas in the planning. He was in charge of the music and the band and he wanted a say in things like the food and some of the details.
"But when it came down to décor he let me do whatever I want – he knows that's something that I love to do."