About Petal & Plan

Most wedding advice falls into two camps. One shows you a $90,000 ballroom and calls it "simple." The other hands you a pie chart that says to spend 40% on the venue and leaves you to work out the rest.

Petal & Plan sits in the middle, with a calculator open. We write for couples planning a real wedding on a real budget: the ones with a number in mind, a guest list that keeps growing, and a group chat full of relatives who all have opinions about the seating chart.

Our idea of a good wedding plan is a calm one. Know your total, know your guest count, know what is due and when. Then spend on the parts you will remember and cut the parts nobody will miss.

Who we write for

Couples planning a wedding on about $10,000 to $35,000, many doing most of the planning themselves
Anyone planning a small, backyard or courthouse wedding who wants a real cost breakdown
Couples with family setups the old etiquette books skip: divorced or remarried parents, a parent who has passed, blended families, same-sex couples and couples hosting their own wedding
Maids of honor, bridesmaids, best men and parents who have a shower to plan or a speech to write
People who like every task written on the page, not hidden behind a download

No judgment here about your budget, your guest count or your family. We just want to help with the next decision.

What you'll find

Wedding Budget & Costs: sample budgets at different totals, cost per guest math, the costs couples forget and when each payment is due.
Guest List & Seating: building and cutting a guest list, plus-one and kids rules, RSVP tracking and seating charts step by step.
Wedding Day Timeline: full timelines for 2pm, 4pm and 6pm ceremonies, built backward with buffer time, plus day-of coordination help.
Planning Checklists: 12-month, 6-month and 3-month checklists, with every task on the page and who usually owns it.
Invitations, Vows & Speeches: wording for every family situation, vow templates and speech outlines with timings.
Small, Backyard & Courthouse Weddings: real cost breakdowns, rentals checklists and the paperwork couples often miss.
Decor on a Budget: centerpieces, signs and table decor with the cost per table and the supply counts.
Showers & Bachelorettes: ideas with full game rules, supply lists and per-person cost splits.

How we write about weddings

We show the math. If a post says a centerpiece costs $18 per table, the parts list and prices are on the page so you can check them. Prices come with an "as of" date, because they change. Every price is an example, not a quote. Your area and your vendors will differ.

We use solid sources. Costs are checked against vendor and rental price lists, retailer prices, published industry cost surveys and official sources like county clerk offices for marriage license rules. Our editorial guidelines explain the full process.

We never invent couples. You won't find made-up "real weddings," fake brides with quotes, or stories about our own big day. Example budgets and timelines are labeled as examples.

We use AI carefully. AI tools help with research, drafting and images. A human editor reviews and edits every article before it's published and re-checks every number. Our images are AI-generated concepts, styled flat lays or mockups of our own templates, never photos of real couples. See our AI policy.

What we're not

Petal & Plan is a publication, not a wedding planning business. We aren't wedding planners, officiants, lawyers or financial advisers, and our posts are general information, not advice for your situation. For legal questions, like marriage license rules, name changes or contracts, check with your county clerk or a qualified professional.

How we keep the lights on

Petal & Plan earns money from our own planning templates, affiliate links and, later, display ads. If we may earn from a link, we tell you. The details are on our disclosure page.

The founder

Elise Navarro, Founder & Editor

Elise Navarro is the pen name of the independent publisher who founded Petal & Plan, used for its wedding budget and planning checklist posts and for editing every post. Elise isn't a professional wedding planner, so posts are researched from vendor price lists, industry cost surveys and official sources like county clerk offices, with AI tools helping on research, drafts and images. Each post is checked against those sources before it goes live and updated when they change. Prices are examples with an as-of date.

Elise runs Petal & Plan independently, alongside several sister sites. No venue, vendor, registry or wedding brand owns or directs the site.

Posts on Petal & Plan appear under 4 pen names, all used by the same independent publisher. Elise edits every post; Camille Ward, Tara Quinn and Leah Donovan each cover their own topic areas, and every author page says which.

Get in touch

We'd love to hear what is stressing you out about the plan, which post helped, or what you wish someone would just write down. Your questions often become our next articles.

[email protected] · Contact page

One small thing: please don't email us card numbers, passwords or copies of vendor contracts with personal details. We'll never ask for them.