How can I enjoy planning my wedding?

Enjoy Being Engaged

Put some thought into how you got engaged and document it. Think about all the amazing things that are to come. Get some images taken while you're both wearing the ring. Continue to kiss each other a thousand more times. Celebrate your engagement in style and take time to enjoy the moment.

Tell Your Parents

The happy news of your upcoming marriage should first be shared with your parents. Unless, of course, you're completely at odds with one another. Ideally, you'll tell them in person, with both of you there, so they can share in your joy, admire the ring, and begin planning the nuptials.

It's customary for the bride's family to tell the groom first, but any way works. The groom may have already requested the bride's parents for her hand in marriage if they are traditionalists. Then, tell a few close friends who are potential maid of honour and best man candidates or who will definitely be attending the wedding in some form.

Purchase a Journal and Use It

There will be a thousand unforgettable experiences throughout this period, but there will also be times of frustration that need to be shared with someone other than your partner. Keeping a notebook or planner during wedding preparations is an excellent way to document the journey and create a keepsake you may look back on with fondness for years to come. If you're tech-savvy, you may start a wedding blog or use the internet to keep a digital notebook.

Announce Your Engagement

Pass the word along to everyone how great it is! There is no one right or best way to accomplish this, and there are many options to choose from. You may tell everyone you know by sending out announcement cards or publishing an article in a newspaper or magazine about your upcoming nuptials. Making a wedding website is also a fantastic idea right now.

Set the Date

Selecting a wedding date is a crucial step in the planning process. Aside from being the first thing people ask, not knowing the date will make it extremely difficult to move on with wedding plans.

Set the Tone of Your Event

Now is the moment to choose between a traditional, relaxed, or themed wedding. Now is also the moment to settle on whether or not the ceremony will be religious in nature. In a nutshell, you have to settle on an atmosphere for the wedding.

Beginning with some freewriting about your perfect wedding day together is a great way to get the creative juices flowing. Consider the adjectives you've already written and use those as a jumping off point. Get the ball rolling on your wedding preparations with this handy checklist for the newly engaged.

Set the Budget

Find a wedding budget spreadsheet as a starting point. Evaluate your current savings and income to determine how much you can put away regularly. Gather your parents together and ask whether they would want to make a financial contribution to your wedding. Find out how much money they're willing to give you, or what exactly they're willing to pay for.

Finally, set a limit on how much you're willing to borrow. We urge couples to minimise their debt load as much as they can. Couples argue more than any other topic when it comes to finances, so there's no reason to enter a marriage already burdened by debt. You might also consider applying for a new credit card specifically for the wedding that offers rewards like air miles, cash back, or something similar.

This method of recording your wedding costs might also serve as a useful tool in saving money for the honeymoon. Make an effort to pay it off completely every month. Too busy with life to really plan your wedding in detail? Have someone else do it for you and check out our list of Wedding Planners in Melbourne to help take the stress away.

Choose Your Attendants

On the big day, your attendants will be doing much more than simply standing by your side. You should start involving them now. The average number of attendants at a wedding is between two and twelve, while some couples prefer to have no attendants at all if they are planning a small, intimate ceremony. Before making your final decisions, we recommend reviewing the duties of both the bridesmaids and the groomsmen. Asking someone in person is preferable if they are close by, but a phone call will suffice if they are far away.

Find Venues for Ceremony and Reception

Many event spaces are booked a year in advance, so the earlier you begin your search, the better your chances of securing the day, time, and budget that you desire.

Get Support

The happy couple does not go it alone when it comes to wedding planning. Professionals, reputable periodicals, helpful internet apps, and friends and family who have planned weddings before are all good places to start.

• Think about using a wedding consultant or planner. A professional can help you save time and money while planning your ideal day, which is especially helpful if you are pressed for time or unsure of what you want.
• Utilize digital checklists to organise your life. They don't cost anything, and they'll be of great assistance if you're coordinating with your mum or future spouse who live in another state. You may rely on them to keep you on top of every essential task.
• It's likely that you and your partner will return from the bookshop carrying several thousand pounds of wedding publications; why not add a book on wedding planning to the pile?

Now that you've made these decisions, you have a firm basis for your wedding. The formalwear, accessories, decorations, entertainment, and party favours are now in the spotlight. Use a wedding planning checklist to keep track of everything that has to be done.

Set a Budget, and Stick To It

As with any other kind of event, weddings can rack up hefty bills, and as the big day draws near, you may find yourself wishing you had included certain extras on your master list that weren't originally budgeted for.

Create and adhere to a spending plan. Add any "wish list" things you anticipate needing to buy in the months leading up to the wedding to your original budget estimate. Maintain a strict focus on sticking inside your predetermined budget.

Buying too many flowers will force you to make sacrifices elsewhere. Keep an open mind, but remember that the things that really matter need to be paid for first on the budget, while the things that are more of a "wish list" can be sacrificed if necessary. Check out our post on How to plan a wedding rehearsal dinner?

Create a Timeline

A timeline is the most crucial aspect of wedding planning for an event planner, even more so than the budget. Create a realistic plan that works with your schedule, and mark off key days on your calendar. Popular wedding planning websites often have checklists and timelines that you may use to organise your preparations. As such, it's important to factor in extra time for planning and inserting orders that may require more time than usual depending on the wedding's scheduled date.

Find Event Tools Fit For You

Event management software is a planner's best friend. You can use wedding-specific event applications with budgeting, reminders, and checklists in addition to internet wedding checklists. Alternatively, you can use your prefered event planning applications.

Whether you like to use Excel or the old-fashioned technique of writing out every fee paid for an event, it is important to keep track of all of your costs at the end of the day.

Choose the Important Details

Once you have the wedding's cost and schedule worked out, the next step is to determine the most crucial components. From a financial point of view, the larger the wedding, the more important it is to strictly adhere to the guest list.

Following the completion of this list, you can move on to making important decisions like the wedding's location, date, and theme. The procedure for choosing the location is quite similar to that used for choosing locations for other types of events.

You should get in touch with the venue owners in advance to schedule a meeting, discuss the schedule for your wedding day, acquire a formal price quote, and learn more about their availability for your desired date. It may be difficult to find a suitable wedding weekend due to the high volume of newly engaged couples, but the quality and attention to detail supplied by the venue is of much greater significance.

Before signing with the venue, be sure to read over the contract and any agreements with outside vendors. If possible, visit by the venue when they are hosting an event so you can get a feel for how it looks when it is set up for a party. You should always observe your event location in action before making any final decisions as a planner.

Design with Quality

You probably have a number of go-to design resources that you call on for various occasions throughout the year; if one stands out as a good fit for your wedding's signage, invitations, programmes, and save the dates, be sure to reach out and enlist their services!

Nothing says "I do" like a one-of-a-kind wedding ensemble that reflects the personalities of the bride and groom.

Vendors are Your Golden Ticket

Hire third-party services with caution. Discover who your vendors have worked with in the past, and compile their information together with that of a backup contact, all in one convenient spreadsheet. Keep in mind that vendors are no different than those at any other trade fair or corporate function. Even so, they could be a disc jockey, a catering firm that specialises in food and drink, a provider of lighting and décor, a picture booth service, a florist, or a store that specialises in wedding attire.

Make sure all of your contacts feel like an extension of your team from the very beginning by scheduling meetings with them, and then following up with them. You're all contributing to the master experience that the bride, groom, and guests will have during the wedding.

It's all About Customer Service

Professionals in the event planning industry consistently go the extra mile to ensure high-quality service, no matter the type of event being organised. Going the additional mile for everyone connected to the wedding is something to keep in mind as you arrange the event. Create welcome bags for guests and have them dropped off at the wedding hotel of choice, use your gift vendors to personalise party favours for all of the gifts, discover unique gifts for the wedding family that can be customised particularly for them, and so on.

Include the itinerary for the weekend or day events, including when to arrive and where to go, as well as any other pertinent information, in the welcome package. If the wedding is in a city famous for its sports team, for instance, you may add something with the team's name on it or a local beer as part of the goodie bag. Your welcome bags and the concepts behind them will be greatly appreciated by your guests.

Take Time For You

A little downtime on the big day is sometimes necessary, even for the person who has planned every detail of the wedding. Hiring a day-of coordinator who can start up where you left off in your fantastic planning is a perfect approach to make sure you can give your full attention to yourself on the big day.

Your wedding checklists and vendor sheets will impress the event pros you hire, and they will come in handy on the big day. Numerous smaller wedding event firms offer day-of-planning services at reasonable rates. You may rest easy knowing that another expert in the event industry will be greeting your vendors in an A+ manner on your big day, thanks to the services they give.

It's comforting to know that a colleague or acquaintance can stand in as you prepare for the professional event of a lifetime.

Anticipate Challenges

Even with the most meticulous preparations, a wedding day is bound to have some hiccups. You may either be prepared to have your day-of coordinator jump in and face the issue, or you can let it slide off your back if something does not go according to plan. Despite your best efforts, as the wedding event coordinator, it is possible that some detail from the day-of logistics will slip between the cracks.

Small problems, such as missing centrepieces, damaged dress zippers, not understanding where a vendor should be located, etc., often crop up on the wedding day. Maintain composure under pressure and always be prepared for the worst.

Taking on the role of wedding event planner is not for the faint of heart; you'll need to be quick on your feet when problems arise and confident in your ability to handle a variety of juggling balls.

Soak It All In

Once everything is set up and running, most couples don't stop to take a look around the room. Stop what you're doing for a while and relish the fact that you've just orchestrated a moment in your life that will be both emotionally and physically rewarding.

It's important to keep in mind that every kind of event requires a lot of planning and preparation, but weddings require a lot more than the average. It's a great feeling to finally enjoy the fruits of your labour after working on them for weeks, months, or even years.

If you're feeling particularly overwhelmed in the final month of your planning, take a look at your mile-long to-do list and cross three items off. That's right, pare down to the essentials by eliminating the top three. Choosing a processional song or checking final arrangements with all of your vendors are not examples of things you really must do but are dreading. Only the extraneous activities should be eliminated, such as hand-painting "Just Married" signs or preparing cookies for all of the welcome packages. Put them in the past by crossing them off your list and promising yourself you won't worry about them again.

If you're an event planner, weddings are some of the most enjoyable events to organise. Planning a wedding can be a daunting task, but it can also be incredibly fulfilling if you go into it prepared. There is something here for every bride-to-be and party organiser.

Conclusion

The act of becoming engaged should be a happy one for the two of you. It's simple to get discouraged and hate the whole thing because of how difficult it is. Knowing what to expect can help you better organise your resources. Continue reading for some tried and true advice on how to organise your schedule. Whether your dream wedding has a formal, casual, or themed vibe, now is the moment to commit to a vibe.

Make a choice as to the spiritual significance of the ceremony. Determine the amount of money your parents are willing to put into the wedding. We recommend that married couples reduce their debt to an absolute minimum. The subject of money causes more fights than any other in a marriage, so there's no point in coming into it already in the hole. One option is to open a new credit card with the wedding as the sole purpose of redeeming the card's perks.

Wedding planning is the pinnacle of an event planner's career. Put important dates in your calendar and stick to a budget that works for you. It's especially crucial to stick to the guest list if the wedding is on the larger side. Do your due diligence and review the venue's contract and any additional agreements with third-party providers before signing anything. Visit the venue during an event if you can to see how it looks decorated for a party.

You should treat every contact as if they were a member of your team. Professional wedding planners will always provide their clients with excellent service. Make gift baskets and have them delivered to the hotel where the wedding will be held. Hiring a day-of coordinator allows you to relax and enjoy the festivities. Wedding planning can feel like a mountain to climb, but it's worth it if you do it right.

Content Summary

• If you know what to expect, the preparation process may go more smoothly.
• Nonetheless, if you approach your wedding planning with the sanity-saving advice that follows, you'll discover that the process is far less trying and more fun.
• Celebrate your engagement in style and take time to enjoy the moment.
• The happy news of your upcoming marriage should first be shared with your parents.
• It's customary for the bride's family to tell the groom first, but anyway it works.
• Keeping a notebook or planner during wedding preparations is an excellent way to document the journey and create a keepsake you may look back on with fondness for years to come.
• Making a wedding website is also a fantastic idea right now.
• Selecting a wedding date is a crucial step in the planning process.
• In a nutshell, you have to settle on an atmosphere for the wedding.
• Get the ball rolling on your wedding preparations with this handy checklist for the newly engaged.
• Find a wedding budget spreadsheet as a starting point.
• Finally, set a limit on how much you're willing to borrow.
• This method of recording your wedding costs might also serve as a useful tool in saving money for the honeymoon.
• Think about using a wedding consultant or planner.
• Use a wedding planning checklist to keep track of everything that has to be done.
• Create and adhere to a spending plan.
• A timeline is the most crucial aspect of wedding planning for an event planner, even more so than the budget.
• Create a realistic plan that works with your schedule, and mark off key days on your calendar.
• Once you have the wedding's cost and schedule worked out, the next step is to determine the most crucial components.
• Following the completion of this list, you can move on to making important decisions like the wedding's location, date, and theme.
• Make sure all of your contacts feel like an extension of your team from the very beginning by scheduling meetings with them, and then following up with them.
• Professionals in the event planning industry consistently go the extra mile to ensure high-quality service, no matter the type of event being organised.
• Create welcome bags for guests and have them dropped off at the wedding hotel of choice, use your gift vendors to personalise party favours for all of the gifts, discover unique gifts for the wedding family that can be customised particularly for them, and so on.
• Your welcome bags and the concepts behind them will be greatly appreciated by your guests.
• Hiring a day-of coordinator who can start up where you left off in your fantastic planning is a perfect approach to make sure you can give your full attention to yourself on the big day.
• Numerous smaller wedding event firms offer day-of-planning services at reasonable rates.
• Despite your best efforts, as the wedding event coordinator, it is possible that some detail from the day-of logistics will slip between the cracks.
• Maintain composure under pressure and always be prepared for the worst.
• Taking on the role of wedding event planner is not for the faint of heart; you'll need to be quick on your feet when problems arise and confident in your ability to handle a variety of juggling balls.
• It's important to keep in mind that every kind of event requires a lot of planning and preparation, but weddings require a lot more than the average.
• If you're feeling particularly overwhelmed in the final month of your planning, take a look at your mile-long to-do list and cross three items off.
• Put them in the past by crossing them off your list and promising yourself you won't worry about them again.
• If you're an event planner, weddings are some of the most enjoyable events to organise.