Five Recommendations for a Stress-Free Bride - Texas Ranch Wedding Venue Sparrow Creek Ranch

Often, I see "The Best Day Ever" as the headline when SCR brides post their wedding photos. I light up when I read those words. That "best day ever," planning-wise, started with a conversation with me! The venue is 99% of the time the first vendor a couple talks with in detail about their day. I’ve listened to 100s of hours of brides telling me stories, their struggles, and their hopes for their wedding day.

Here are FIVE LESSONS you can use to become the ultimate stress-free bride like Hannah,

"...I had several people tell me I was the calmest bride!”

Photo by Emily Short Photography | The Grove at SCR

1 Talk to your photographer and venue about Ceremony Time!

• Many couples arbitrarily pick a ceremony time that hurts their day for photography purposes and flow.

• Ceremony time dictates the entire timeline! It is not something to pick arbitrarily! Talk to your venue and photographer, and of course, planner, if you have one! The size of your wedding party, first looks or not, ceremony location, and more all go into determining the perfect ceremony time, but in general, you want to start by searching for sunset time on the date where you are getting married. Then, move the time back to yours as your starting point for ceremony time discussions!

Photos by Kenzie Galyean Photo + Film, Double Knot Weddings, and Astone Photo & Design

2. Be proactive from day 1 on your RSVPs and guest list.

• The stressful and awkward “please, please send in your RSVPs” messages are fun for no one.

• Time and again, I see brides scrambling for RSVPs. You can start collecting those RSVPs from day one with text, call, email, DM, website RVSP, and more. As you start to talk about your wedding, if a friend mentions they have it on their calendar, mark that as Yes/TBD. On the contrary, if someone mentions they are so sad they’ll miss it—you got it—mark that down now!

• SCR couples use what we call their “SCR Planning Sheet”, which is a big google sheet packed with planning tools, to keep track of RSVPs and invitations. I love looking at those sheets months in advance and seeing the RSVP tab halfway filled out.

• There are ONLY BENEFITS to keeping track of RSVPs and asking guests about it way before the cards are due.

• Did you know that when couples hire full-time planners, the planner activity occurs months in advance after RSVPs? How else can they pull off these elaborate Pinterest-worthy weddings? It all comes down to guest count. Tables, chairs, decor, timing, catering and bar orders, and so much more.

• There is no reason to let this monumental piece of your wedding day be something you wait for anxiously on the sidelines.

Photos by Kenzie Galyean Photo + Film, Double Knot Weddings, and Mandy Lorraine Photography

3. Only invite people who make you happy.

• You’ll hear this over and over, but it’s so true! Do not worry what others think; it’s your day.

• “It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own. Marcus Aurelius,Meditations, 12-4”

• No one’s temporary comfort is worth the stress of additional guests who don’t bring joy but do cause financial strain.

Photos by Lori Jo Photography, Double Knot Weddings, Taryn Ashlee Photography

4. Do a First Look!

• Read a few photography blogs on why first looks are so amazing, and give a couple precious time together that’s just them and not rushed! Don’t make the decision lightly! But for this blog’s purpose :

• First Looks removes so much stress and “rush rush rush” after the ceremony.

• Needing to do all your portraits after the ceremony adds a time-sensitive, light-sensitive (sunset) 45-minute minimum addition to the evening and an important one! You want amazing bride and groom portraits on yoruw wedding day! You and all your vendors will be more relaxed with a First Look on your wedding day.

Photos by Double Knot Weddings and Loreno Burns Photography

5. Book with Sparrow Creek Ranch “More than just the venue!”

• Stress comes from all the unknowns of planning a wedding for the first time! And only time! You are expected to know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it without any training! But not at SCR; with over a decade of weddings, we are here to be by your side! Our couples constantly say we are ‘mroe than a venue’ and that is our goal. To no just be your Texas Wedding Venue but your wedding resource from day one!

  • “I cannot say enough amazing things about this place. First, Kalli was so helpful the entire time. She was quick to answer questions and sent tons of helpful information and checklists, which helped me every step of the way.” MOB March 2024

  • “When choosing a wedding venue, there were certain things that were a must for me, and SCR met all my expectations and MORE! …Kalli gives you all the info you need to help the process, and her communication skills were wonderful!” BRIDE 2023

  • “Kalli has pretty much all of the legwork taken care of for you from the organization she offers for day of event, mock timelines, seating arrangements with SCR blue prints to recommended vendor, it saved me so much time and stress by using her recommended vendors and they did not disappoint. Not to mention all of the included decor is a HUGE bonus! Kalli has impressed me beyond measure, she was always a reliable source if I ever had any questions or needed any help along the way she was there to answer extremely quick. What made everything better is that Kalli genuinely cares about the venue and the couples getting married there. You can just look at the venue and see the dedication they have put into it.” BRIDE 2023

  • ”Kalli is SO helpful throughout the entire process. She really cares about those getting married at SCR, and she makes what would normally be a stressful process so easy!” BRIDE 2023

  • “I can not say enough about SCR. Working with Kalli was easy and she was very helpful and thorough to make sure my daughter's wedding was a success.” MOB 2023

  • “SCR WAS AMAZING! So helpful and hands-on throughout the process.” BRIDE 2023

  • “Kalli does such a great job of making sure that this process is so easy for the bride. She also answers any questions in a matter of hours. If you're looking for your wedding venue, this is it!!” BRIDE 2023

Kenzie and Kylan Galeyan - Photo and Film | The Grove at Sparrow Creek Ranch, North Texas Wedding Venue