People spend much of their life dreaming about the perfect wedding. Whether it’s your first or your third, planning a wedding is both exciting and stressful. The average time to plan a wedding often depends on how complex your wedding is to be.
A simple wedding can as little as six months, but an extravagant wedding can take over a year. Regardless of the type of wedding, there are steps to planning a wedding that you need to tackle first.
We’ll examine these first seven steps, so you can correctly plan your wedding with as stress-free an environment as possible.
Your soon-to-be spouse just popped the question, and you’re newly engaged. It’s time to celebrate. Before you begin the wedding planning, plan a quick engagement party. It serves to celebrate your pending nuptials and get the most important players in the room.
You’re inviting friends and family, so you’ll have them all available, and they’re likely all excited about wedding planning. The event should take place about 45- to 60-days after the engagement and be both fun and recruit people to help plan.
You’re engaged, so enjoy it, and don’t forget to gush over the engagement ring and how amazing your fiancé is to everyone.
What’s Your Budget?
Everyone dreams of a fairy tale wedding with horse-drawn carriages and doves released as you leave the church. Sadly, this is possible for many people. Before you invite guests or start looking at dresses, you need to set your wedding budget.
You need to research the average costs of everything from the wedding venue to photographers. When you set your budget, don’t forget to add 10 to 20 percent for surprises. The cost of your wedding has many factors, from extravagance to where you live, but you can expect a minimum of $20,000 to $50,000.
There are ways to save money, such as having friends or family make decorations or do the wedding party hair, but some costs are inevitable. The budget is the most important step in planning a wedding because it impacts everything you do from there on out.
Set Up Your Guest Lists
The number of people coming to your wedding impacts the catering and costs of the wedding venue. The more people you have, the more expensive it’s going to be. The impact of your guest list also impacts the type of wedding you’re going to have.
A simple church wedding is one thing, but a destination wedding in the tropics likely has close friends and family only. Don’t be afraid to not invite your second cousin that you haven’t spoken to in six years.
It’s your wedding, and you should invite who you want. Don’t be afraid to ruffle a few feathers. Close friends and family want to see you walk down the aisle, but extended family can live without it.
Create Your Bridal Party
They’re your closest friends and family, and you can’t wait to ask them to be a part of your wedding party. Often, the wedding party members help you plan the wedding and stand with you at the altar.
It’s a great honor to be a part of the wedding party, so ask them all to dinner or talk to each one individually to see if they’re able to join. Be careful of hurt feelings and unstable financial situations because, in addition to being a part of your party, they’re taking on a financial commitment as well.
The most important is your maid of honor, so choose wisely whether it’s your best friend of 20 years or your sister.
Steps to Planning a Wedding Include the Venue
Two places are important to choose for the wedding, the venue, and the reception hall. It could be as simple as your local church or a fantastical place that everyone loves to have their wedding.
You should contact them and see what dates are available. Don’t set a date before contacting the venue. The date may already be taken, so find out what dates are available and choose the one you like the most.
The venue should be a beautiful place that you can have your wedding as well as take pictures. Once you find the venue, the stress of wedding planning truly begins.
Time to Set the Date
The venue determines the date of your wedding, and everything after this revolves around that date. If your reception hall isn’t available on that date, then you need to find a new reception hall. The same goes for photographers, caterers, etc.
Some parts of the year are more popular than others, so keep in mind this could impact pricing. Expect to pay a premium for these popular times.
While you may need flexibility for your wedding date, don’t be forced into taking a date you don’t want. Don’t take a destination wedding during hurricane season because that’s the only date available for the venue.
Find Your Photographer
Your wedding day is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, so it needs to be documented properly. You’ll choose many vendors for your wedding, but none are more important than the photographer.
This person needs to document the day not only functionally but also artistically. They need to be creative and not miss anything. Extensively research your photographers and check their reviews.
You need to have a good relationship with your photographer, so if it doesn’t feel right, don’t choose that person. Don’t feel pressured into choosing a photographer because they make you feel like you must choose them.
Your Wedding Planning Has Begun
The steps to planning a wedding are complex, but these first seven can get your started. You still must find your dress, get the caterer and decide a million other decisions before the big day…no pressure.
If you want to learn more about the wedding planning process or more tips for planning a wedding, then please explore our site.
