Wedding Planning: the First Steps
June 29, 2007
While some couples hire a professional wedding planner to arrange everything, many couples prefer to do the planning themselves. Your wedding may be the single biggest event you ever plan, so it pays to keep close tabs on the planning process. Before getting down to the details, though, you need to decide on the big questions.
Set a Date
The first item on your checklist is choosing a date. If it is important to you to be married in a particular venue, then your first step will be to find out when the venue is available. The next consideration is to choose a date that the majority of your guests (and all of your wedding party) will be able to attend. A good rule of thumb is to avoid choosing a date that will already be significant for many people, such as graduations or holidays. Keep in mind that local events may compete for reception space, create traffic jams, or cause the price of lodging to spike for your guests.
Agree on your Budget
Equally important in wedding planning is your budget. Decide how much you want to spend on the wedding, and commit to not exceeding that amount. With careful advance planning, you can stick to even a tight budget and still have a beautiful ceremony. If parents are paying for the wedding, be sure to consult with them to find out how much they can reasonably afford to spend. If you and your fiancé are paying for the wedding, decide together how much you will spend, and hold firm to that agreement. Don’t forget to budget at least some money for unexpected expenses and overspending.
Choose the Wedding Party
Inviting friends and family to take part in your wedding is indeed joyful, but it can also be difficult. Perhaps you want a small wedding party, but there are so many people to choose from: siblings, cousins, and friends. A good rule of thumb is to choose one attendant per 50 guests invited, though this is not written in stone. While you will want to invite your closest friends and family members, keep in mind that some people may feel hurt if they are not invited to be in the wedding party. Weigh your decisions carefully. You may also wish to have special tasks for those who will not be in your wedding party to allow them to participate actively in this special occasion. Such friends might serve as candle lighters, soloists, or even read verses during the ceremony.
Once you’ve made these three big decisions, you can move on to the many other delights of wedding planning: choosing clothes, flowers, menus, and so on. Happy planning!
Keywords: Wedding Planning: the First Step, Weddingblog, Wedding
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