When it comes to planning your big day, the thought of such a large-scale project may seem a little overwhelming right now! Of course, it can be a daunting prospect, but with the correct planning in place, it should all go plain sailing. You’ll need to do some adequate research beforehand, work out a suitable budget and make a task list of everything you need to purchase so that you have everything covered.
Easier said than done, right?
If you follow this useful planning list, you’ll find the that planning your wedding is extremely manageable and extremely exciting!
Here are eight essential tasks to tick off your to-do list:
Set a budget
First thing’s first: you’ll need to come up with a budget you’re happy with. It would be pointless to look for things you’d like, without having much of an idea of what you can actually afford.
Sit down together and have a discussion on how much you can spend and potentially save over the next few months. You may be lucky enough to have been given a helping hand from parents or family members who are willing to chip in, but it’s best to have this discussion early with them so that you can add their proposed sum into your budgeting plan.
Failing to stick to an accurate budget means you’ll only set yourself up for a great deal of financial stress and disappointment as time goes on. There’s nothing worse than finding the dream dress only to find its way out of your budget!
Find a venue
Once you have your budget in place, the next step would be to look around for a suitable wedding venue. Why? Well, it holds a lot of responsibility in terms of influencing the date of your wedding, location and how many guests you can invite.
It would be best to have a chat with your partner about what you’re both hoping for in a venue as there will probably be compromises to be met. You may also need to consider whether you’re looking to book accommodation for guests, if you’d prefer your own caterers and how many evening guests you’re likely to invite. All of these factors will play a significant part in the wedding venue choice.
Choose your bridal party
Once your venue has been sorted, you can start getting down to the nitty-gritty and discuss who’d you’d like to be a part of the bridal party, including the maid of honor, bridesmaids, best man, flower girls, and page boys.
It can be a difficult choice, especially if you’re lucky enough to be surrounded by lots of good friends. You need to consider who would be the best support on the biggest day of your life and essentially, who deserves the honor. Being a part of the bridal party is a pretty big deal, so make your decision wisely.
Remember that the bridal party will take a significant chunk out of your budget, which may determine how many individuals will be selected. Some couples ask members of the bridal party to purchase their own outfits, but if you’re not comfortable with this notion, you’ll need a decent amount of cash to buy dresses /suits, shoes, bouquets and of course hair and make-up.
Plan your wedding guest list
It’s always one of the dreaded parts of the wedding planning process: contemplating who you’re going to invite and who you’re going to upset. You simply can’t invite everyone, as much as you’d like to, due to lack of budget or strict numbers at the venue.
You may have already thought about it and have a good idea on the important people you’d love to be in attendance. However, the next step is looking into who will be invited for the entire day and who will arrive later as evening guests. Be aware that you’ll most likely have to accommodate plus ones and work colleagues too, which can take a substantial amount out of your budget.
The all-important extras
Now you have a venue booked; you can start looking into the finer details to make your wedding day one to remember. During the daytime, you may look to hire a spot of entertainment while guests arrive, a saxophonist or violinist, for example. For the evening do, you may opt for a band or a DJ.
One of the most crucial extras for your big day is hiring a good photographer. Your wedding photos are all you’ll have left to remember your wedding in years to come, so you can look back with fond memories and remember how amazing the occasion was. You’ll no doubt have deep regret if you don’t hire an experienced and professional photographer to ensure your shots are of a high standard. If you’re unsure of who to hire, this website will provide you with an example of what you should be looking for.
Choose your wedding dress
For any bride, choosing the wedding dress is the single most thrilling part of the lead-up to their wedding day. You may find that it takes far longer than expected to select a dress you’re entirely comfortable with, while custom-made dresses can take up to six months to create, so give yourself enough preparation time!
Once you’ve chosen your wedding dress, you can then go on to select the style of bridesmaid dresses and grooms suits to complete the overall ensemble.
Create a wedding guest list
Although it may seem like an odd concept to inform your guests of what to buy for you as a wedding gift, it can take a great deal of stress out of gifting, especially if they’re unsure what to buy or how much money to give. There are plenty of wedding gift ideas online to take a browse through for ideas.
The honeymoon
A honeymoon should be the final stage of your wedding planning and how far you venture may depend on the budget you have left. If you haven’t got much to work with, you could go on a local minimoon straight after your wedding and plan a bigger vacation at a later date.
