So, you are engaged and excited about your big day. Now, it’s time to start planning your wedding. However, you may not know where to begin or what tasks need to be done and when. As wedding planners, we guide many couples through the wedding planning process and down the aisle. Our first choice as professionals would be to recommend you hire a wedding planner. These are some helpful tools for planning a successful wedding.
1. Set a Budget
- Once you have your vision, it’s important to establish a budget.
- Be realistic about what wedding services cost in your area.
- Do your research on venue and vendor costs.
- Create an estimated budget and compare once you start booking to help track costs.
2. Establish Your Planning Team
Consider Hiring a Wedding Planner, a wedding planner already has contacts for venues and vendors that can ultimately save you time and costly mistakes.
- A wedding planner may offer a few different types of wedding planning packages. Some commonly offered planning packages are Full Wedding Planning, Partial Wedding Planning and Month of Coordination. When it comes to your wedding, once size does not fit all. So, some planners offer customized wedding planning options.
3. Create Your Guest List
- Write down the number of people you plan to invite.
- Both you and your fiance’ should write separate lists and combine the two for a true number
- Create an A list
- Consists of the most important people (ex. family and very close friends)
- Create a B list
- Consists of people you would invite if your family member or close friend can’t attend (ex. acquaintances, colleagues, co- workers)
- Consider singles will have a plus one
- Consider children for those individuals with families
4. Select a Venue
- Look for venues that compliment your style or wedding theme.
- Determine if you want to have the ceremony and reception at one or two locations.
- Again, consider your budget
- Do your research to determine availability, cost and what’s included
- Once you select a venue, be sure to read the contract carefully.
5. Follow a Wedding Timeline
- Detailed planning is key to having the wedding of your dreams.
- Have a time line as a guide to determine what tasks should be accomplished and when.
- You can refer to 12 month wedding planning checklists on websites such as The Knot.com and Wedding Wire Resources.
- Your wedding planner can also keep you on track with your list of tasks to accomplish
If you need some help planning your wedding, please contact us.
