Here are a few tips to help you plan your special day!
- Create a guest list before you pick your venue. Knowing how many people you will be inviting will help you pick a space that will accommodate your guest list. Remember, not everyone will RSVP “Yes” to your special day. Allow for a 10-15% drop off from your original list.
- Select your wedding style or theme before making any other decisions and let your theme guide you into choosing what fits best for your event.
- Pick your venue before your pick your date: Don’t get hard set on a date and tell the world about it before you have secured a venue. Often time if you are flexible on your date, you can choose the venue that best represents your wedding style and plan your big day around their availability.
- Your dress comes next. Wedding gowns take a long time to come in and there are several fittings that take place before your final day. Even though your wedding may be almost a year out, make sure to start your search for the perfect gown as soon as possible. You may be lucky and find it right away…or it may take some time before you say “Yes to the dress”!
- Check the weather and listen to Mother Nature! Make sure to check weather conditions around your wedding day…especially if you plan to book an outdoor venue or if you are planning a destination wedding, since weather conditions vary around the world.
- Create a budget for flowers, food, drinks, cake, music, wedding party gifts, engagement party, Hostess gifts etc. if you separate what you can spend on each part of the event, you won’t find yourself stressing about money because you spent too much on flowers and don’t have enough to get your dream cake.
- If you don’t already have one, sign up for a rewards credit card and use those points to upgrade your honeymoon tickets or hotel accommodations. You might as well reap some rewards for all of the costs associated with a wedding.
- Create a master check list so that you can stay on track of what is done, what is in progress and what you still need to focus on. The time goes fast and you don’t want to forget anything that would make your day a dream come true.
- Write “Thank You” notes as gifts come in so you don’t have hundreds to write all at once, but wait to send them out until your pictures come from your photographer. If possible, as a kind gesture, include a photo or two of your guests from your big day. This is sure to make them feel like a big part of your evening.
- Enjoy your engagement as much as you enjoy planning the big day. It is a very exciting time for a couple. It is the beginning of building a life together. The beginning of families merging together. Hopefully most of it will be pure joy and happiness, but there may be unexpected bumps in the road…take them with a grain of salt and grace in your heart. It’s all new to everyone involved.
BONUS TIP: Hire an incredible wedding/events planner to help relieve some of the stress of planning your big day and enjoy the process leading up to the beginning of a beautiful new life.
