2.3 million couples worldwide get married every year meaning there are more than 6,200 every day. Before you can walk down the aisle and say ‘I Do,’ you’ve got to start by planning your big day.
If you’re looking for a guide that will help you when it comes to planning a wedding you’ve come to the right place. We want to help your special day go as smoothly as possible by providing you with some vital wedding tips.
Continue reading now and check out this need-to-know wedding checklist.
Give Yourself Time
Unless you want to elope or get married tomorrow you need to give yourself ample time to plan your wedding. The reason being is you need to make several decisions including:
- The time of year you want to get married
- Venue availability
- Budgeting for the wedding
These are just a few things that will affect your wedding timeline, but the bottom line is you don’t want to rush through your plans. Planning your wedding is the time to relish in the fact that two people are becoming one, but that joy can be overshadowed if you’re frustrated and overwhelmed with all the planning you have to do.
If you’re someone that needs to stick to a schedule ensure you have a plan for how to tackle everything you need to get done. As you get each task on the checklist complete you can mark it off and rest assured that you’re on track.
What’s Your Vision?
Now is when the fun begins starting with your vision for the wedding. Do you know what style of wedding you want because there are tons to choose from?
If you and your partner enjoy traveling you might want to have a destination wedding someplace exotic. Or if you want to enjoy your wedding without spending a ton of money you could always go the DIY wedding route and do as much of the decorations and cooking for the reception yourselves.
Whatever style you choose ensure it’s something you and your partner want. The last thing you want to do is look back at wedding photos and wish you could’ve done things differently.
Another reason you need to know what your vision is for your wedding is that it will help you choose the right backdrop or venue for your nuptials.
Set a Budget
We understand you and your soon-to-be spouse want to enjoy your wedding, but you don’t want to spend all your money in the process. Do some research and set a budget you’re comfortable with spending.
You don’t have to spend thousands to achieve the wedding day of your dreams. If you don’t know what things like food or the venue typically cost before you begin the planning process you could end up spending more money than you wish to.
If necessary you can always ask your family or friends to help cover some of the cost like purchasing their wedding attire or helping cook the reception food.
Choose the Venue
When you typed. ‘how to plan a wedding,’ into your search engine one of the first things you might have seen as an answer is to choose your venue. The venue is the biggest decision to make and will take a significant portion of your budget.
We recommend finding your venue first and inquiring about the packages they offer. Most venues will have packages that include:
- Décor
- Food and beverage
- Reception space
- On-sight wedding coordinator
Keep in mind the more items provided in a venue package the higher the price is going to be. Also, when touring venues you want to have at least 2 or 3 dates in mind just in case they are booked on your first choice.
Another thing to think about is whether the date you’ve chosen is during peak season or off-season because that will also drastically change the price you end up paying in the end.
Decide on the Wedding Party
The people that will be a part of your wedding party should be people that have supported your relationship and have been there for you no matter what. If you want to you can always find a creative way to ask them to stand at the altar with you as you make the biggest commitment of your life.
After you’ve gathered your wedding party you must find a way to stay organized. Once you begin sharing dates with everyone things can become confusing quickly.
There are tons of apps that allow you to share schedules or communicate back and forth without it becoming overwhelming for everyone. These tools also allow people to make edits or changes based on their schedules.
The Guest List
With the presence of the pandemic the fewer people, you have at your wedding the better, which can leave you wondering who you need to invite. It’s essential to know how many guests your venue can support, but remember the more guests you have the higher the price will be.
As you create your guest lists you’ve got to think about what you truly want. Do you want to invite tons of people to throw an epic party or are you someone that likes for things to remain intimate?
If you’re not paying for the wedding yourself it’s likely the person that is will want some of their friends to attend the wedding. Ensure you take the time to communicate clearly what your wants are when it comes to the people that are in attendance during your big day.
Vendors Are Important
The next thing to do is begin searching for the vendors that will help your day go off without a hitch. You should sit down with vendors in person to get an idea of what to expect during your wedding.
For example, before you sign off on the menu for the reception you need to attend a tasting. The last thing you want to do is have food at your wedding that you don’t want to eat.
When you meet with the vendors there are several things you need to know before signing a contract. What time will they arrive to set up?
Will they be responsible for their own cleanup? When do you need to make the final payment?
Hire a Wedding Coordinator
On the day of your wedding, you don’t want to worry or run around finalizing small details. This is specifically why you need to hire a wedding coordinator to run things for you.
They’ll ensure all guests are seated before your wedding begins and do things like paying the vendors before the night is over. The wedding party will take their cues from the wedding director and you get to take the time you need to enjoy your day.
Hire a Photographer
How are you going to remember the best day of your life if you don’t take pictures? If you want to save money you can ask a family member or close friend to act as the photographer on your special day.
Most photographers offer packages that are priced differently because of what’s offered in them. For example, you might find one package where the photographer shows up only during the ceremony and the reception.
While another package you can choose at a higher price has the photographer at your wedding from the setup to the end of the reception. Think about what type of photography you’re looking for as far as how many photos you want or the duration of time you’d like the photographer to be present.
The photographer should be there to capture your send off. Speaking of send-offs you can read more about sparklers on the blog Wedding Sparklers The Definitive Guide for Savvy Brides.
Get Your Attire
Attire is another part of your wedding that will be expensive, but there are some tricks to bring the price down some. We recommend you check your area for wedding expos where you can find discounts on attire and rings.
When choosing the attire for your wedding ensure it compliments what your partner is going to wear. Also, give yourself time and get your attire in advance because if alterations need to be made you don’t want to send it off at the last minute and it not be ready for the day of the wedding.
Don’t Forget the Rings
Start searching for your wedding rings as soon as possible, especially if you want them to be custom designed. Depending on the time of year you’re purchasing the rings you could get a good deal or discount for buying two at once.
On the day of your wedding don’t forget to give them to someone whose responsible and won’t lose them.
Planning a Wedding Made Easy
Planning a wedding can sometimes be overwhelming and frustrating, but it doesn’t have to be as long as you follow the guide we’ve given you above. Before you start booking your venue or planning your reception you need to decide on a budget.
Once you’ve done that everything else will fall into place as you continue your planning. Don’t forget to scroll through some of the other blogs created covering beauty and fashion.
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