How to plan a wedding

19/02/2018

Plan your Budget

Have an honest conversation with your partner about how much many you can/want to spend on the wedding.  How much you have now, how much you can save between now and your wedding date and how much parents / other family members are going to contribute.  It is essential you know your budget at the beginning.

Find your wedding venue

Booking your wedding venue will tell you the date and size of your wedding.  The most popular wedding venues get booked up years in advance (particularly in summer months) Also, wedding venues will often offer a free wedding co-ordinator service.  If you are strapped for time take them up on it.

Buy wedding insurance

Though not a romantic thought wedding insurance is a backup if something were to go wrong during the lead up to your big day. The average cost of a UK wedding is £27,000.  With such a lot of money at stake, the small price to pay for wedding insurance could save you thousands of pounds in the long run, should something happen to your dream wedding plans

Choose your bridal / grooms party

If you don’t instinctively know who your bridal and grooms party will be take your time to think.   Who do you want closest supporting you on your day?  Keep your budget in mind, the bigger the bridal and grooms party the more money you will need for outfits, bouquets and buttonholes.

Plan your wedding guest list

Chances are you already have an idea of who you want to invite but it is best to sit down together and write down everybody you would like to invite.  If you go over on numbers you can agree together who gets knocked off the list.  You also need to agree about who is invited to the day and who to the evening and whether any of your guests have specific needs? 

Choose your wedding suppliers

Your venue will have lists of suppliers but you may have something specific in mind.  Speak to suppliers, ask to see, hear and taste samples of what they do.  Read testimonials from people who have used their services in the past.  Make sure they are qualified and insured in what they do.  Then agree with your partner which services suit your style and budget.   Take a look at my previous blog ‘What to look out for when booking a wedding DJ’

Order your dress

It starts with the dress, bridesmaids and groomsmen will need to match it and the style of the wedding maybe based around it so getting the dress right early on is essential.  Also, designer dresses can take 6 months to make and of the peg dresses are likely to need time for alterations.

Also, buying your wedding dress is an emotional part of the wedding planning process, you do not want to feel pressured or rushed in anyway.  

Create your wedding gift list.

Don’t feel cheeky having a wedding gift list.  Your guests prefer to be told what you’d like than have to spend time guessing.  So whether you are looking to set up a honeymoon fund, an online gift list or a traditional department store list get it sorted.  You can’t send your wedding invites until you have. 

Sort out your wedding stationery

Make it official and send your wedding invitations out approximately 3 – 6 months in advance.  So before that time you need to have chosen the style and design your wedding stationery.  If you want people to hold the date before you send the invitations that you can send out ‘save the date’ cards so guests can keep the date free. 

Book your honeymoon

If you have money in your budget for a honeymoon you can go ahead and book.  If you’ve blown your budget on your wedding day then consider a minimoon.  i.e. a couple of days away straight after the wedding so you can escape and relax.  If you feel that you have missed out then you can always save up for a bigger trip the following year.

Collect your RSVP’s and agree on a table plan

You will have put a deadline for RSVP but be prepared to chase a couple of stragglers who haven’t replied.  Once you know who will be there in the day you can put together your table plan.  You can do this by dividing your guests into friends and family and then arranging them accordingly.  Take into account anybody with mobility problems, the elderly, people with young children and the old favourite ‘family politics.’  Once you know who is sitting where you can get on with the fun bit of how you display the table plan.  There are some fantastic ideas online!

Plan your hen / stag do’s

Budget, invitees, location, any definate no’s no’s.  It all has to be taken into account.  Set up a group chat and start throwing around dates and ideas.  Hopefully your wonderful bridesmaids and grooms party will have all this in hand for you anyway!

The Finishing Touches

Who is going to do the readings and speeches? What will they read and say?  Will you have wedding favours on the tables?  If you have any budget left over think about which little touches would make the biggest impact on your day. 

And finally relax ….. You’ve done it!