Mastering the art of wedding planning

 
It’s all go when you’ve taken the plunge and decided to set a date for your wedding. With photographers to book, cakes to choose, best men to kit out and bridesmaids to prime, it can seem that wedding planning is a never ending list of things to do. However, the good news is that there are ways to reduce the stress when it comes to working out the details of your big day, leaving you with more time to spend on choosing an ideal honeymoon destination!

Before you get started, it’s a good idea to sit down with your future spouse and work out exactly what you both want from the big day. Agree in advance what you're going to spend, whom you want to invite, and whether or not your respective families would be happy to contribute anything to the big day.

From there, set your date for the wedding, so you have a milestone to work towards. You are then in a good position to let people know, and work through the finer details. With your partner work out what kind of ceremony you would both like, that fits in with your plans. A religious ceremony or a civil one? If it's a civil wedding, do you want to have it in a register office or a licensed venue? If you go for a licensed venue, which one do you want it to be?

Booking your venue is just a question of contacting people who provide services and venues, and reviewing them. If appropriate, provisionally book the register office, find out how much notice the superintendent registrar will need to attend a licensed venue or get in touch with your chosen religious organisation. Finally, the administration needed for your wedding means it’s a good idea to check out any legal requirements for your type of wedding ceremony, including residency rules and documents (such as your birth certificate, decree absolute certificate, etc.).

After this, the fun part starts. Make your guest list, sort out table planning for the venue, and consider whether or not to use the services of a professional wedding co-ordinator (to support your big day to go smoothly.

Choose whether you would like a wedding list from a favourite shop, and speak to retailers to work out what kind of offers and services they will provide for you. Have fun shopping for your ideal gifts, and don’t forget to ask for an insert to pop in to your invitations to tell your guests what you are looking for.

After these details, the rest of the wedding planning tends to focus around lovely things such as choosing your outfits, picking a honeymoon destination and working out the details of your big day such as drinks packages and menus. Have fun, relax and never forget what you are planning for – the best day of your lives!

Posted by Jonathan Grice on 2 September 2010 | 0 Comments

Tags: wedding, planning, venue, photography, guest list,