Getting married is something most people look forward to and get excited by. As natural as that is, you’ll need to start planning your wedding before you get there. While you’ll already know this, you mightn’t realize how much work is actually involved in it.
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You’ll need to book caterers, put together guest lists, hire photographers, and much more. That’s quite a bit for anyone to get through.
It’s easy to see why more than a few couples get overwhelmed by this. Thankfully, that doesn’t need to be the case for everyone. By being smart with everything, you’ll make it relatively straightforward.
While you’ll still need to put some effort into it, it shouldn’t be as overwhelming as you could think. That’s especially true once you’ve followed seven particular steps when planning your wedding.
Planning Your Wedding: 7 Great Steps
1. Have A Budget
One of the first things you’ll have to do when planning your wedding is to figure out your budget. A wedding can be relatively expensive, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t spend a bit of money on it. That doesn’t mean not keeping track of everything and having a set maximum.
By having a wedding budget, you can make sure you don’t spend more than you’re comfortable with on the big day. Spend some time figuring out what you’re comfortable spending, and make that your maximum. It’ll help more than you’d think.
After that, you can break the figure down into various components, like food, the venue, vendors, and more. While this could take you a bit of time, it’ll be more than worth it. You’ll end up only spending how much you can afford, and you should avoid going into debt over it.
2. Pick Your Styles & Themes
You’ll naturally want your wedding to look amazing, especially when it comes to the reception. You’ll need to put a decent amount of time and effort into that. One of the more notable wedding tips is to have a style or theme in mind when you’re putting all of this together.
It lets you make décor-related decisions much easier. You can figure out if certain things, like flowers, fit into your overall style or theme. If they don’t, you can just move onto something else. You’ll end up with an amazing looking wedding before you know it.
3. Know What’s Important To You
There’ll be quite a few decisions to make when you’re planning your wedding. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of options on offer. A quick and easy way to get through each of these is by knowing what’s important to you. They’ll be your essentials, and they’re more than worth focusing on.
Keep these in mind when you’re making any decisions. Once you do, you’ll end up making sure your wedding has everything you want in it. Anything outside of these should be seen as optional, and they’ll be a secondary concern. Focus on the important parts, and you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
4. Find A Venue
One of the largest decisions you’ll need to make when you’re planning your wedding is where you’ll have it. The venue plays a significant role in the entire day, so it’s worth putting a bit of time and effort into it. The church you get married in will be a decent part of this.
After that, you’ll need to look into venues for the reception. Make sure it’s large enough to hold all of your guests without being too big. You’ll also need to make sure it’s available for the dates you’re considering getting married.
5. Send Out Invites
Once you’ve figured out when and where your wedding will be, it’ll be time to start sending out the invitations. Put together a guest list of the people you actually want to be there and invite them as early as you can. It’ll make sure they can turn up on your wedding day without any issues.
By sending these out early, you give your guests enough time to plan for the wedding. They could need to get time off work, for example. The earlier you get this done, the better it’ll end up being for everyone.
6. Hire Professionals You Need
You’ll need various vendors during your wedding day if you want it to go smoothly. Put some time and effort into making sure you find the right ones for your needs. Keep your budget in mind when you’re looking for them. While you shouldn’t focus solely on price, it should be one of the factors you consider.
You’ll also need to make sure they’re available for your dates, as well as a few other factors. Some of the more notable vendors you’ll need are a photographer, caterers, flower suppliers, and even a videographer. Spend a decent bit of time comparing your options and getting the right ones for you.
7. Look For Ways To Remember Your Day
You’ll naturally want to remember your day as much as possible once it’s over. Photographs are the main way of doing this, which is why you’ll get a photographer for the big day. You could even hire a videographer to help you with this. These are far from the only ways you can remember your big day, though.
Instead, there are a few relatively unique ways of doing so. Bouquet Casting Co., for example, specializes in preserving the flowers you used during the ceremony and reception. These will last a lifetime, and they can be a great way of remembering your big day.
If you really want to get sentimental, then it’s worth looking into creative ways like this. You’ll end up remembering your wedding much better because of it. You’ve no reason not to at least consider it.
Wedding Planning Tips
There are multiple steps involved in planning your wedding, and some will be much more important than others. Each of the above could be more helpful than you’d think. There’ll still be quite a bit to get through, though.
That could still be enough to make you feel a little stressed. With a few wedding planning tips, though, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. They’ll be more than enough to take most of the stress away.
Some of the more notable of these include:
- Cut Down On Your List – As mentioned above, your budget is a priority when planning everything out. If you feel the need to cut down on your expenses, the easiest way is to cut down on your guest list. You’ll want certain people to be there, but can you say the same for everyone? If you really need to cut wedding costs, start with this.
- Have A Meal Plan – Speaking of expenses, the catering can be one of your largest. It’s another area you can focus on when you want to lower your costs. Creating a meal plan lets you keep these low while still offering your guests something nice to eat during the reception. If you’ll have to feed your vendors, you might want to go for something cheaper than what you’re feeding your guests.
- Have A Kids Policy – Kids can be a bit of a hassle during a wedding, and it’s worth having a policy in place for this. You can decide to let them be at the wedding, not let them be there, or even hire someone to look after them. Get this policy in place from the start, and make sure your guests know about it. Make sure the same policy applies to everyone.
- Take It One Step At A Time – You’ll have quite a bit to do when planning your wedding. It’s easy to see why it gets the best of most people. One of the best wedding planning tips you can use is to take it one step at a time. Sort out the main areas first, and then concentrate on the smaller ones. It’ll make the process much easier for you.
With the right wedding planning tips, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. You’ll make your big day amazing, and you shouldn’t end up needing to get stressed about it. They’ll make planning your wedding as easy as possible, letting you actually get excited for the big day.
There’s no reason not to use at least a few of them because of that.
Planning Your Wedding: Wrapping Up
Planning your wedding often seems like it has to be complicated and overwhelming. With everything you need to get done, it’s easy to see why you’d feel that way. Thankfully, it doesn’t need to be as difficult as you could think.
Instead, it’s just a matter of getting the right steps out of the way, and you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. While there’ll still be a few other things to take care of, these will be relatively minor.
By focusing on the right areas, planning your wedding shouldn’t be hard. You’ll be enjoying your big day before you know it.