Help! How Do We Start Wedding Planning?
Well congratulations, you’re engaged! Time to pop the cork and celebrate with some fizz, family and friends! Happy days!
Now you’ve more than likely already discovered within minutes of saying yes! to getting married, questions such as… ‘have you set a date yet?’ and ‘where are you getting married?’ will be coming at you thick and fast and it can all become a bit, well, overwhelming. To help navigate your way through those early stages, here are my top tips to help get you started on your wedding planning journey.
What type of wedding ceremony / celebration do you want?
This is such an important decision to make and will form the foundation of your wedding day itself and shape decisions around venue choice and suppliers. Do you want to get married in a church, have a civil ceremony, or perhaps a Humanist ceremony? (which are legal here in Scotland).
You also need to think about if you want a small and intimate celebration or perhaps the bigger the better is what you’ve always dreamed of for your big day. It’s important you take the time as a couple to really consider what it is you both want for your wedding right at the start of your planning.
Set a realistic budget and stick to it!
This may seem obvious but many couples have no idea of what to expect to pay for their wedding and begin booking suppliers without considering what they can afford overall.
No one wants to start married life up to their eyes in debt, so be honest about what you can afford right from the start. You may have family members who wish to contribute which is fantastic, or you may wish to have a longer engagement to allow you time to save up. Whatever your financial situation is, do your research before booking any suppliers to get an idea of what you can expect to pay.
Budget management is an area where a wedding planner can really add value. Now bear with me as I know this statement may seem a bit of a contradiction. Especially when you would be paying for a wedding planner’s service, how could that possibly save you money? Well, the answer is simple; a good wedding planner will work tirelessly to stick within your budget and ensure you get value for money without sacrificing the areas important to you for your wedding.
What are your ‘must-haves’ for your wedding day?
For some couples, it’s all about the food they serve, for others it’s the music and entertainment which is most important or it maybe you want to splash out on ‘the’ dress or dresses for your wedding. You may have decided you want a small and intimate celebration, but once you’ve provisionally gone through which guests you absolutely want to invite, small and intimate may no longer be an option. Whatever the priorities are for you as a couple set these out clearly right from the start. This gives you time to spot any potential issues sooner rather than later and ideally before you’ve booked anything.
Planning any big event in life is always going to be at times stressful and overwhelming, this can seem even more so when it comes to planning your wedding. However, if you take the time at the start of your planning journey to make these decisions it will help the whole process feel more manageable.
My last tip is to remember what the purpose of all this planning is for. Yes, your wedding day will be one of the most memorable in your lives, but it is also just one day to mark the start of a bigger journey in your future together… and that’s what really matters!