WEDDING PLANNING GUIDE:
Whether you’re relying on a professional planner or going the DIY (Do It Yourself) route, the key to successful wedding planning is organization. This is true if you’re getting married next year or putting together a spur-of-the-moment ceremony in the next few weeks. A helpful tip in staying organized throughout the wedding planning stages is to buy a wedding planning guide, get a notebook full of blank paper, download online wedding planning checklists and/or create file folders to organize all the gathered wedding information.
Getting Started Planning the Wedding
Once you’ve announced your engagement, sit down with your fiancé and decide what kind of a wedding you want. A grand black tie event, or an intimate at-home ceremony with just close family and friends? Is there going to be a theme? If your parents are going to be involved – and especially if they’re footing even part of the bill –they should be part of the wedding planning process.
Initial Wedding Planning Checklist:
As soon as you’ve chosen a date, it’s time to get down to the nuts and bolts of wedding planning.
- One of the first things you need to do is select and book a venue.
-
- Book the officiate too; you want to ensure that your priest, minister, rabbi or judge isn’t already booked on your big day!
- Send out a “save the date” notice to friends and family.
- Next on the list should be a caterer and photographer.
While Planning a Wedding, Don’t Forget the Wedding Dress!
May seem obvious, but mothers and brides get so caught up in the logistics of planning a wedding, the wedding dress becomes lost in the mix! Of course you can’t forget the wedding dress! If you’ve been saving photos since childhood, get them out and go shopping. If you’re wearing Mom’s dress, make sure to get it properly fitted and altered. If you’re having attendants, those dresses need to be picked out as well.
More Steps in Wedding Planning to Remember
- When your guest list is finalized, order the invitations and the wedding cake (we know you’re watching your weight, but go ahead and treat yourself to some of those tasty samples!).
- Talk to hotels near the wedding venue about accommodations for out-of-town guests.
- Make decisions about favors, gifts for the wedding party and the bridal accessories you’ll need – shoes, undergarments and jewelry to go with your wedding gown, wedding night lingerie.
- Have you ordered wedding rings yet? If not, move that to the top of the list, along with taking care of the marriage license.
- Sent invitations about six to eight weeks before the wedding.
- In addition to hiring a photographer, many brides are using Adesso Albums for INSTANT gratification! Be sure to order an Adesso Album instant photo guest book for every part of the wedding event!
At this point, the wedding planning takes on a life of its own and time will pass in the blink of an eye. All the formal arrangements – venue, menu, photographer, etc. – have been finalized.
Additional Wedding Planning Tips:
To conclude this Wedding Planning Guide, we have added other tips that often get overlooked in the “planning stages”, but are quite helpful to keep in mind in the process of planning a wedding:
- Be sure to take a test run – actually, a walk and a dance – in your wedding dress and shoes. Do the same for your hair and makeup!
- Enlist the aid of a close friend or relative for trips to the airport to pick up arriving guests or running other eleventh-hour errands.
- Don’t forget to pack an emergency kit (extra makeup, a sewing kit, throat lozenges, etc.) to have handy at the ceremony and reception.
Although last-minute complications and snafus are bound to happen, don’t despair: if you’ve done your wedding planning properly, these “bugs” shouldn’t be more than a blip on your bridal radar screen. And most importantly, take a moment to step back, take a deep breath, try to relax and make sure to ENJOY this once-in-a-lifetime event.
|
