By Georgina Clatworthy

With all the stress and excitement that comes with planning a wedding it can be easy to forget exactly why you are doing all this.  Take on board some of these wedding planning tips to ensure that your relationship remains your top priority through this hectic stage and even on the day itself.

Try to Work as a Team:

Many couples will bicker and argue during the wedding planning but you should still try to work together to achieve your dream wedding day.  You never know but sitting up till 3am putting wedding favors together could become one of your most memorable moments!

Enlist Some Help:

If you are working full time as well as planning your wedding then you will almost certainly need some help to get everything done on time.  Even if you are not working, planning a wedding is a mammoth task and often far more than one person can handle alone.  Get your fiancé involved along with your parents and members of the wedding party, it will take some of the strain off you and free up more time to spend together.

Take a Break:

Try to find some time just for the two of you when all talk of weddings is banned.  Consider tips such as a simple meal at home one night or go off on a mini-break before the wedding day.  It will give you both time to relax and remind yourselves why you are getting married in the first place.

Do Something Together:

If you have a shared hobby and interest don’t put it on hold whilst you are busy planning the wedding.  It could provide the perfect escape, especially when things are getting too much.  If you don’t have a shared interest, then try to come up with one which suits you both.  Exercise is a good option where you could both go to the gym or take to cycling together at the weekends.

Plan Ahead:

Your wedding day can quite literally fly by as you progress from ceremony to photographs, to reception venue, to wedding breakfast, to first dance and at the end of the day you realize you haven’t actually spoken a word to each other since the ceremony!  Make a plan for the day itself whereby you can take some time out together to be alone even if it is only for ten minutes.  Other tips for some together time on the day include asking your driver to stop off on the way to the reception venue, perhaps at a bar or inn where you can grab a quick drink and have a private toast; talk a walk together before the evening party starts around your venue and take some Champagne with you! And if you would really like some romantic time together arrange to sit on a table alone together during the wedding breakfast instead of the traditional top table.  It will give you time to chat and have some precious time alone.

By Georgina Clatworthy

Despite all your meticulous planning, when it comes to your wedding day there is still potential for things to go wrong.  Question is how will you cope should something go awry?

If it Rains: Even if you have planned a summer wedding you can’t always rely on weather to be kind!  Have plenty of umbrellas on standby just in case the heavens open and if there is real risk of it raining during your wedding day and you have planned an outdoors reception, consider getting a marquee erected so you have somewhere to flee to.

If the Best Man Falls Ill:  Ok so the chances of this happening are far less than it raining on the day but never the less it can be a good idea to get your fiancé to prep one of the groomsmen on the best man’s duties should they be need to step in at the last minute.  Just make sure he picks someone who can confidently give a speech and who won’t pawn the wedding rings on the way to the church!

If you Awake on the Wedding Morning with Sudden Outbreak of Spots: Stress and tiredness have a habit of bringing on nightmare scenarios such as spots and pimples, which occur at just the wrong time!  Make sure your bridal make-up kit contains an effective blemish concealer which will clear and conceal spots so no-one will ever know!

If There’s an Argument: There is nothing like wedding for reigniting family feuds or causing an argument at some point during the day. If you are prepared for one then when it happens it won’t come as a shock and ignoring it is probably the best course of action.  However a full blown shouting match can be more difficult to deal with, probably best to prep the groom and best man on handling that one!

By Georgina Clatworthy

If you are having a traditional wedding with all the customs and traditions included, then it is a good idea to draw up a wedding day schedule or running order of events so that each member of the wedding party knows what will be happening and when.  Typically, a wedding schedule will include items such as the photographs, speeches, toasts and cake cutting, but you can also include any other elements that you are having within the running order.  A wedding day schedule does not have to be strictly for a traditional wedding either, drawing one up for an informal wedding whether it is big or small will help to ensure everything goes to plan on the day.

A typical wedding day schedule will look something like this:

Ceremony: Ask your celebrant/priest/officiant to give you an order of service so you know the order of events for the ceremony.

Formal Photographs: If you are having formal posed photographs then these will likely be taken after the ceremony outside your venue or venues.

Reception: The traditional receiving line is perhaps less observed these days and instead many couples are choosing informal welcome drinks or cocktail hour instead whilst more photographs are taken.

Dinner: Traditionally known as the wedding breakfast as it is the first meal of your married life.

Speeches: Within wedding etiquette there is no rule about when the speeches should take place but traditionally they would follow the dessert in the schedule in this order:

• Bride’s Father: Traditionally the bride’s father would introduce her to the groom’s family, give short stories of special memories of his daughter and finish with a toast to the couple.
• The Groom: The groom will mostly spend his time thanking people, beginning with the bride’s parents, thanking the bridesmaids and thanking the guests for coming.  He may also say a few words about his new wife and then propose a toast to the bridesmaids.
• The Best Man: The best man will introduce the groom to the bride’s family and usually will make a funny speech about the groom (without being too risqué or causing offense).  The best man will also be responsible for reading out messages and cards from absent guests.  He ends with a toast to the happy couple.

Cake Cutting: The cutting of the wedding cake is announced by either the Master of Ceremonies or the best man and will usually take place after the wedding breakfast and speeches.  The couple will cut the first slice and then the cake will be taken away, sliced and served to the guests.

First Dance: The first dance signifies the beginning of the evening celebrations and commences with the couple taking to the dance floor alone and dancing to a favorite song.  It is then traditional for the bride to dance with her father, the groom with his mother and the best man with the chief bridesmaid.  The bride and groom will then dance with their respective in-laws, at which point the guests are invited to join them on the dance floor.

By Georgina Clatworthy

Wedding planning can be an overwhelming task and for many brides it is something that becomes all consuming, taking up all of their time and energy as they strive to achieve the perfect wedding day.  From getting engaged to stepping out at the ceremony, planning a wedding can be a minefield of stress, conflict, fun and excitement!  Here are a few wedding planning tips to help you retain your sanity and stay stress-free till the big day is over.

DO make sure you have chosen your wedding date, worked out your budget, calculated numbers and booked your venue before you even begin thinking about your wedding dress or anything else.  Choosing your date and venue is pivotal when it comes to planning everything else.

DON’T let yourself be pressured into buying a wedding dress which you feel is not right.  Take sometime to shop around, find a bridal boutique you like and get a feel for the style of dresses you like most.  You will know when you have found ‘the one’.

DON’T be tempted to buy a cheap wedding dress online unless you are sure it is from a reputable company.  The internet is full of horror stories from brides who purchased designer copies only to find they did not fit properly, looked nothing like the picture or worse still did not turn up at all.

DON’T fall into the trap of changing your looks just because it is your wedding.  Avoid over the top hair do’s, fake tan and oodles of make-up – no one will recognize you!  And moreover you will look back at your wedding photographs later on only to wonder what on earth you were thinking!

DO give yourself a couple of months before choosing your bridesmaids, maid of honor and wedding party.  It can be easy to get carried away with the excitement of the engagement and appoint everyone you know! However, choosing your bridal party needs careful consideration to ensure you have the right people around you on the day.

DO put together a mood board showcasing your wedding colors and preferred details such as wedding favors, as tips for your florist and wedding planner (if hiring one).  It will instantly let them see what you want and give them style references to work with.

DO give your wedding photographer a list of those people most important to you at the wedding and tips on the specific photographs you want.  This will help them to plan photo’s which include your closest friends and family and make sure no one is left out.

DON’T be tempted to jet off on your honeymoon as soon as the wedding is over.  Book it for a couple of days later so you can relieve your day with friends and family afterwards.  Chances are your wedding will be hot gossip!

DO choose a relaxing destination for your honeymoon so you can recharge your batteries after the hurley burley of the wedding planning and the day itself.

By Georgina Clatworthy

The recent Chelsea Clinton wedding to financier Marc Mezvinsky was estimated to be in the region of $3 million.  Obviously this figure is not a problem for dad Bill, but for most brides that is a budget beyond comprehension.  And whilst most of you will not be planning a super-secret, super-secure wedding in front of hundreds of celebrity guests, you could emulate Chelsea Clinton and plan a wedding full of celebrity style for much, much less.

Venue:

The Chelsea Clinton wedding was said to have taken place within two glass walled air conditioned tents erected in the grounds of the Astor Courts estate at a cost in excess of $600,000.  For around $100 you could erect a stylish marquee in a large garden or in the grounds of an estate or park nearby.  For really low budget use your own garden or that of a friend or relative.  If you have found a fabulous venue but cannot afford it, ask about erecting a marquee in the grounds instead.

Flowers:

This is the second biggest cost in the Clinton wedding budget, Chelsea managed to spend a whopping $500,000 on flowers!  When it comes to your wedding flowers there are many ways in which you can bring the costs down.  Try infilling large displays with more foliage and greenery and fewer flowers; move your ceremony flowers to your reception venue and use cheaper flowers in smaller arrangements such as the table centers and bridesmaids bouquets.

Catering:

The Clinton budget for catering and drinks was around $170,000.  Your costs for food and drink are a major part of your budget but there are ways in which you can bring the costs down and still lay on a feast to remember.  Buffets are always cheaper than a formal sit down meal and you can include many more dishes for your guests dining pleasure.  If you want a sit down meal then remember that for every guests you invite there will be an additional cost on your budget so balance the number of guests with the kind of food you want to serve.

Drinks can quickly add up if you choose to pay for enough drink for everyone for the entire celebration!  Consider only serving up a welcome drink or cocktail and enough wine to see you through the wedding breakfast.  Check out wine warehouses and supermarkets for great deals on drinks which are often much cheaper than buying direct from your venue or caterers.  Another option is a pay bar which you can have running from the outset or from the start of the evening party.

Added Extras:

As with any wedding, Chelsea Clinton had many added extras for her wedding day.  These included wedding favors at a staggering $27,000, $54,000 for invitations, $11,000 for the wedding cake and her Vera Wang wedding dress cost in the region of $27,000.  If your added extras are beginning to make significant dent in your budget then it is a good idea to take a step back and consider whether or not you really need many of them.  There are always budget friendly options available for many things and in some cases you can do away with the added extras altogether.

By Georgina Clatworthy

For some the concept of organizing a wedding without the aid of professional wedding planner services is inconceivable.  Truth is some brides simply haven’t a clue about where to even begin planning their dream day and having a professional wedding planner on the end of the phone is a must have.

Any bride who has found themselves sitting up till the small hours scouring the internet for perfect ribbons for the wedding favors or trying to source tablecloths in the perfect shade of cream will know that being able to dump such tasks onto someone else is very appealing!  Not only does it take the weight off their shoulders but it lets them get on with other areas of the wedding planning which are far more fun!

The big question is are wedding planner services worth the extra expense?  For many hiring in professional help is an added burden to a already over burgeoned budget especially when the average cost of a wedding planner is around 10 – 15% of the total wedding budget or about $3000.  So what do you get for your money?

It is worth noting that you do not have to hire a professional wedding planner to organize your entire wedding day.  You can hire them to deal with just part of it or even to just be present on the wedding day itself to ensure everything runs smoothly.

For the average cost you will get the full service, everything you want for your wedding, meticulously planned to the last detail.  They will source all the venues, suppliers, vendors and added details.  They will come up with ideas, suggestions, advice and be a source of support when things get tough.  They will also manage the budget, ensuring everything comes in at the price you have set and often for much less because they have contacts within the industry who can offer special prices to their clients.  You get the final say on everything of course, but in short they can take all the stress and burden of organizing such a big event and save you money at the same time.

If you want them to organize only part of your wedding, the reception for instance, then you can negotiate a fixed fee for this.  Likewise, if you only want to hire them to oversee the day itself.  Typically this fee will only be a few hundred dollars and probably worth the extra expense.

So is it really worth hiring professional wedding planning services?  Truth is there are probably only a small number of people who really need to hire a wedding planner, usually those who are too busy in their everyday lives to cope with amount of work organizing a wedding entails.  But you may want to consider hiring one if you only have a short space of time to plan it in or you are getting married abroad or some great distance from where you live.

Then there are those who simply so disorganized they couldn’t organize a table in a restaurant let alone a big part with family and friends.  And if you have the money, then hiring a professional could be the best way to go to ensure you maximize every cent.  There is also something very Hollywood about hiring a wedding planner which may or may not appeal to you.

If you need or want to hire a professional wedding planner take your time in finding the right one for you and your dreams for your wedding day.  As with any profession, some are good, some are bad and others are simply extraordinary, so make sure you hire the best person for your wedding day.

By Georgina Clatworthy

When it comes to planning your wedding day within a strict budget, timing can be everything.  Avoiding a wedding day on a weekend in mid-June for instance could save you thousands.  However, it is not quite that straightforward and planning a wedding with low cost timing involved can carry certain pitfalls.

• Having your wedding later in the day: organizing your wedding day to take place later in the day is a good idea because you will only need to lay on one round of food and thus save a fortune on catering costs.  However, you could find the whole thing is over very quickly and you may feel deprived of many memories because a few hours just weren’t long enough.  A way around this is to have a second party the day after, perhaps an informal brunch, where you can share stories of the wedding day with family and friends, look at photographs and prolong the celebrations.
• Having a mid-week wedding: if you want a certain venue but cannot afford a weekend wedding day, then ask about hiring it mid-week instead when prices are likely to be cheaper.  On the downside a mid-week wedding date could see many of your guests unable to attend because of work commitments or babysitting issues.  There is a risk that some of your most important guests would be unable to come.  If mid-week is your best solution have a chat with those guests you really want there and sound them out first.  You can also discover any dates which would not work for them and make them aware of your intended date early on.
• Have a winter wedding: weddings in the colder months are becoming more popular but prices still remain much cheaper than dates within the warmer months of spring and summer.  But you will be limited to an indoor wedding, the weather may not be great and it will be dark very early on.  Everything with a winter wedding depends upon your choice of venue and it may be wise to pick one where you can have both the ceremony and reception in one place.  Think carefully about your wedding photographs too as you will need to take them whilst the light is at its best during the day.

By Georgina Clatworthy

Keeping a handle on your budget is one of the most essential parts of wedding budget planning.  When you find yourself stating ‘Yes, I know it is $2,000 more than I was going to spend, but it is THE ONE’ you know things have gone too far!  So when it comes to your wedding budget make sure you avoid the following seven deadly sins:

1. Didn’t do any wedding budget planning: this is the most important part and where you need to start.  Download and print out a budget planning sheet from the internet and apply a realistic figure to every element of your wedding day.  Don’t forget to add a contingency fund as well – just in case!
2. Not asking enough questions: it is vital that you know exactly what is included in any packages you take up and that every element is booked before the wedding day. 
3. Not negotiating: don’t pay full price for anything unless you absolutely have to.  Every vendor and supplier will have a rock bottom price and most will agree to some kind of discount – if you ask.
4. Not keeping track: this one of the most common sins when it comes to the wedding budget.  You need to make sure you keep a record of what everything has cost you and what you have spent.  If you overspend in one area do not ignore it but recalculate your budget to absorb the extra amount from other areas.
5. Not prioritizing: one of the most important aspects of wedding planning is knowing what is important and what is merely window dressing.  Buying luxury wedding favors over the wedding rings could be a decision you will live to regret so make sure you assign your budget in order of priority.
6. Trying to do it all alone: wedding planning is complex even for the smallest of weddings and it is difficult to deal with everything on your own.  Try to delegate some areas of your planning to other people like the groom, your mom and your chief bridesmaid.  It will make things easier for you and can even help you to save money in the long run as many stressed out brides end up blowing huge amounts of the budget on last minute essentials they have forgotten about.
7. Losing touch with reality: if big prices begin to seem reasonable then chances are you are heading towards a massive shortfall in your budget.  If spending $2000 more than your original budget for an item seems perfectly alright then you are likely to overspend on everything else as well. 

By Georgina Clatworthy

When it comes to planning a wedding there are often many difficult decisions to make.  From choosing the right venue to the color of the bridesmaid’s dresses and the perfect wedding favors, but one decision could leave having to deal with the fallout for years to come – the dreaded wedding guest list!

Everyone from family, friends, neighbors and colleagues and the guy who serves you coffee every morning often end up on the initial list, but unless you have an infinite pot of money the guest list you first draw up of 250+ names will need to be trimmed back.  The question is how to do this without offending anyone or loosing friendships in the process?

The problem for most couples is that the wedding guest list is extraordinarily political and there are many pitfalls to beware of.  First stop is all those ‘plus ones’, not inviting your best friend’s boyfriend of three weeks is ok, but if they are still together some years later it could be remembered as an insult!  Then is the problem of a large extended family.  You or your groom maybe close to one particular cousin but not the rest, however you cannot invite one without inviting them all.  This where the guest list becomes something of a delicate balancing act.

If you are finding yourselves in this awkward position there are three possible solutions to consider:

1. Be ruthless: invite very close family and friends only and have the wedding at a venue which will only hold a small number of people.  The only problem here is that those on the fringes of your close family and friends circle could still be offended at not being invited and you could still run the risk of damaging relationships with them.
2.  A-list and B-list: here you draw up two lists the first list are all those people whom you want to attend the ceremony and reception.  The second list is everyone else whom you invite to the evening party.  If people drop out of the first list then you could ‘promote’ B-listers to the A-list.  It isn’t a perfect solution and some may be aggrieved by their B-list status.  How you handle their grievances is up to you, either explain you cannot afford to invite everyone or just let them get over it themselves!
3. Invite everyone anyway: If you take this option then you will need to look at how you can save money per head and avoid it busting your wedding budget.  This will mean some compromise but you don’t have to forgo your dream day because of it.  Consider these cost cutting tips:

• Book off season for cheaper prices on venues, suppliers and vendors.
• Book a mid-week wedding which is usually much cheaper than weekends.
• Have a buffet wedding breakfast rather than a formal sit down meal
• If you want a sit down meal then choose cheaper dishes for the menu.
• Cut the number of courses, for instance, have your wedding cake as dessert.
• Source your own wine for the wedding breakfast as it is often much cheaper than the venue’s house choice.
• Don’t be afraid to negotiate on prices.  Many venues and suppliers will be willing to discount here and there or offer other freebies into the package.

By Georgina Clatworthy

Planning a wedding is a very complex undertaking but no matter how much planning you do there is always the risk of something going wrong, even though it will probably be no fault of your own.  Things can go wrong, from minor hiccups to major clangers, but if you follow these wedding planning tips you can at least plan to deal with the unexpected, prevent it costing you a fortune and stop anything from ruining your wedding day.

Putting some contingency plans in place before the big day can help to ensure you do not suffer from both emotional and financial meltdown!  Here are four wedding planning tips you should adopt:

1. Careful planning: check and check again on every planning detail right down to the color of the ribbons on the wedding favors.  When you have done that run it all past at least one other person to make sure nothing has been forgotten.  Even if things do go awry after that you can’t beat yourself up about it, after you did everything you could.  Try to confirm all arrangements, details and timings with suppliers and vendors at least one week before the wedding day.
2. Make a Plan B: this could be a simple as purchasing wedding insurance which will cover most emergencies and eventualities, even postponing the entire wedding till another day.  Or it could just mean you think up back up plans for things like the DJ not turning up or your hairdresser canceling at the last minute.
3. Try to stay positive if things go wrong: if you have the time you will find a solution.  Vendors who pull out at the last minute can usually be replaced by someone else who will probably take pity on you and if orders turn up which are not what you expected you can usually find something more suitable to replace them.  Grit your teeth and keep smiling – it is not the end of the world if the venue doesn’t have enough champagne flutes or the florist cannot get the exact roses you wanted.
4. Recognize when to relax and let things happen: take some well earned time out on the day before wedding and make a promise to yourself that whatever happens tomorrow you will not loose the plot! The most important part of the wedding day is the act of getting married not the celebration that follows.  So if something goes wrong you will not let it ruin your day. 

Things don’t always work out as perfectly as you would have hoped, but use these tips and trying to keep perspective and staying calm will ensure that the chief emotion on the day itself is not anger, but one of joy.