Recently engaged?
Gone to a wedding expo?
Feeling overwhelmed?
Welcome to the world of wedding planning.
I though I should do a little bit of a blog post on where to start when planning your wedding.
As it has become a tradition of being at the Oakfield bridal expo I hear a lot of feedback from brides. I hear a lot of feed back from my current and past brides about the whole wedding planning thing..
There are some brides that are naturally gifted with planning skills, others not so much. Specially when it comes down to making Choices about things that you want vs whats hot right now.
So I have broken down 10 things that can help when you start on this exciting journey.
No 1: Decide what you want from your wedding.
A big traditional event with friends and family? A non traditional gathering of a few friends? An elopement? Or maybe even just a wedding at the magistrate and a little bit of a reception..
The options are endless, best is to take some time just you and your fiancé and try and figure out what you both want for the day you become one.
No 2: Get down and dirty with the numbers.
Since you have a better idea of what you want out of your day now is the time to estimate a budget. This might not be the exact figures but it will give you an idea of how much you can spend and on what. It will also give you an indication of what you want for your wedding would be possible.
A big NO and something you should try to avoid is to start a marriage with loads of debt.
No 3: The guest-list…
As a lot of reception/ restaurants or any form of venue will need to know how many people this is a good place to start.
My best advice here is keep it to close friends and family.
People you know will stick around for the next 10years. After all, this is the actual reason why we have guests at our wedding to be witnesses and as a witness these guest will play a key role to help you should your marriage ever hit some rocky patches.
No 4; Identify the big things
Most wedding needs a few things:
A bride and groom with their outfits
A date
A venue or location to get married
An officiant or pastor or magistrate to actually get married
A photographer to capture some memories and moments that will become invaluable in the years to come.
A witness or two etc and some food to feed them.
And last some pretty decor details, whether its flowers or other details to make this day more special.
No 5. Start getting in the actual cost figures to see how your budget compares. Make the tough choice to cut on things if you’re over.
Or safe the extra money if you are under.
No 6. Time to fill in the blanks.
For me this is a crucial step. You have the idea, the suppliers you would like to use. Now you have to create a program for your day.
Then take each activity and see what more is needed to perfect this day.
No 7. Relax take a break from wedding planning.
Step away from the stress and just spend a weekend a week or a few days not talking and stressing over it just enjoy being engaged and the excitement of what the future brings.
No 8. Time to meet and greet.
Once you know what you want and where you want it.
Time to do some research on your suppliers, then setup a meeting with each have a chat and see who of them fits best with the day you are planning.
No 9. The booking process.
Here is where the fun really starts. Now you get to bring all things into motion. Start booking the big things. And tick them off one by one. What always help is a little excel checklist of all the suppliers needed with details of things they need from you and you from them.
No 10. Time to start the trials, pre shoot, cake tastings and most of all the site visits. When you reach this point things will pretty much run them selfs. You just have to keep an eye out for updates from suppliers and generally you and your partners health and wellbeing before the big day.
These are just a few things to get the ball going. Wedding planning is not an easy task it does take time, forethought, patience and proper research.
But it’s all really fun specially when you get to share it with the right people.
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