Top 3-5 areas to focus planning on

For me it was venue and photography; the way I see it is that your photos are one of the few tangible reminders of the event so I wanted a beautiful setting. I also just really love beautiful decor and spaces in general. Also to that effect, flowers to further enhance and decorate said venue.

Our biggest three were photography/videography, venue, and food/beverage. We wanted to ensure that our photos and videos accurately captured our day and were great quality (since they'd be our lasting memories from the day forever), we wanted our venue to represent our personalities (for example, we didn't want to get married in a barn or ballroom, because neither of those fit who we are), and we wanted to ensure that our guests were properly hosted and treated to fantastic food and beverages.

For us it was location! FH and I were raised in 2 different states (so family was spread out), and I spent 10 years in a third state (where I consider “home” and where all my closest friends are), so location was a huge questions mark for us. So ultimately we decided to look for a destination location. After that, it was all about guest experience!

Venue, florals (I'm a plant lady), and a photographer ok with taking direction since we have four photographers in the groom party alone.

Hmmmmm, top 3? A venue that also had space for our wedding ceremony and the quality of food. The last focus was on the atmosphere we wanted to project - fun, lively party! - so I guess that would be the DJ.

Venue, floral/ décor, and photography/ videography were my top 3. The way people feel in a space casts a huge influence on their perception of the event (even if they aren't aware of that), and photos and video are what preserve those memories. Unless the food and music really stand out (in a good way or a bad way) people really don't remember that as much.