By Georgina Clatworthy

Not many brides would initially dream of allowing anyone else to help them organize their wedding, but after the initial excitement dies down and the enormity of the task ahead hits home, many do!  Planning your wedding means you need to be organized, creative and willing to delegate where necessary.  Here are some tips on what to delegate and to whom.

Your Groom:

Many grooms never really get involved in the whole wedding planning process.  Most think they simply have to turn on the day in a smart suit, say ‘I do’ and gaze adoringly at their new wife!  Of course they do have to do this, but they can do a whole lot more besides, after all it is their wedding too!  They need to be involved in tasks such as choosing the wedding date, the ceremony type, ceremony and reception venues and the catering.

Other tasks they can take on are:

• Booking the honeymoon
• Booking the wedding transport
• Booking the entertainment
• Choosing the wedding music
• Choosing his and the groomsmen suits

Your Maid of Honor:

She already has an important role to play in supporting you throughout the wedding planning process and on the day itself, but there are other things she can take on too:

• Organizing the other bridesmaids for dress fittings
• Double checking the bookings for hair and make-up
• Organizing the bridal shower
• Organizing the bachelorette party

Your Mother:

She will no doubt want to be involved from the start but it can be difficult to find her tasks you are completely comfortable with her doing on her own.  Try to keep her included as much as possible, after all this is an emotional time for her too.  Involve her with the following:

• Choosing your dress and accessories
• Choosing the wedding flowers
• Choosing the wedding cake
• Buying and making the wedding favors
• The wedding stationery

She will probably take on the role of organizing all the wedding guests and keeping them informed of anything they want to know about the wedding day.  Leave her in charge of sending out information sheets and the wedding gift list.  Traditionally the bride’s mother would also write out the wedding invitations.

Your Father:

He may not be too concerned about being involved at all in planning your wedding and will simply watch from the sidelines as you and your mother busy yourselves with the preparations.  But don’t let him of the hook entirely:

• Choosing the reception wine and champagne
• Choosing the wedding music (along with the groom and his father)

His Mother:

Traditionally the groom’s parents would organize the wedding ceremony, but these days that is not observed so finding something to keep your prospective mother-in-law involved can be tricky.  Try delegating the following to her:

• Dealing with guests from his side of the family
• Organizing the rehearsal dinner

His Father:

This one can be really difficult, but I wouldn’t loose too much sleep over it if you cannot find anyway for him to be involved.  You could try asking him to get involved with choosing the wedding music along with the groom and your father.

The Best Man:

His role is to support the groom, but he too can take on more tasks if necessary:

• Organizing the groomsmen for their suit fittings
• Collecting the wedding cake
• Collecting the wedding flowers
• Double checking the wedding transport arrangements
• Double checking the wedding entertainment, caterers etc

By Georgina Clatworthy

Planning a wedding is never an easy task even for the most organized bride, and whether you are have a large traditional wedding or something small and intimate, it pays to stay on top of your plans and keep control of your budget.  The following wedding planning tips should help you to achieve your perfect wedding day, overcome any problems and ensure all runs smoothly on the day!

Lists, lists and more lists!

Lists will become your new best friend! Every thing will revolve some kind of list whether it is for shopping or a planning checklist.  By writing lists for every element of your wedding day, large or small, you can make sure you leave nothing out.

Knowing what you want

It may sound obvious but this is one of the best tips I can give you.  So many brides do not know what they want and become side tracked by details they see in magazines or online.  Try to keep a clear focus on what your wedding day means to you both and how you want it to look.  Remember it should say everything about you as couple and not be a direct replica of the latest celebrity wedding!

Contingencies

Something will go wrong, it always does and whether it is a major or a minor crisis it is a good idea to have a contingency plan up your sleeve.  Pick out two suppliers/vendors/service providers for everything, from catering to flowers, just in case someone lets you down.  Pick out alternative choices for details such as wedding favors, flowers and entertainment too.

Check and double check

This is one of those tips that always seems to go unnoticed until it is too late! Double checking all your bookings, particularly in the final weeks leading up to the wedding is vitally important.  Don’t worry about annoying them with endless phone calls to check they have the right date, time or location etc, as long as you are satisfied that they will be there when required.

Go back through your wedding planning lists too and check that you have ticked off everything and that you have everything in place that should be in place at that point in your planning.  Try to do this at regular intervals, say every three months initially, moving to every week as you get closer to the day. 

Don’t leave it till the last minute

The most important of all wedding planning tips! Leave booking your photographer, catering or transport until the final week then you risk disaster.  Weddings can be planned and successfully pulled off in a relatively short space of time, but even then compromises have to be made on who is booked and for what.

By Georgina Clatworthy

Every bride wants her wedding to be unique, and for the most part many will achieve it, planning a wedding which is full of personal touches and unique wedding ideas.  But for every wedding that is unique there needs to be plenty of inspiration to help create the ideas and bring them into reality.

There are many different ways in which you can incorporate ideas to make your wedding unique.  However, you need to keep some perspective on what you can achieve within your budget and those wedding plans you have already put in place.  You may spy something absolutely fabulous in a magazine, but don’t waste time on it if it is just too unrealistic for you to pull off.

With any ideas that you apply to your wedding, be they unique, personal or something else, you need to make sure they fall in line with the style of your wedding and your theme if you are having one.  Here are 10 ideas which could make your wedding day unique:

1. Transportation – wedding transport is something that makes up such a small part of your overall day, but it is a part which can leave a lasting impression on your guests.  For a traditional church wedding, chances are your guests will all be seated by the time you arrive so save your money and spend a little more on some unique transport for when you leave as husband and wife – for instance, arrive by personal car and leave by horse and carriage.  Getting married by a lake? Then arrive by boat!
2. Location – there are some many places these days which are available to couples for their wedding.  Look for unusual venues such as wildlife parks, zoos, and sports venues.  Some venues will allow you to hold both your ceremony and reception in the one place, but if you are having separate locations then try to choose a reception venue that will have your guests saying ‘wow’ from the minute they enter.
3. Personalize it – you don’t have to write your names across everything for it to be personal to you, instead think about how your choices say something about your own style, personalities and tastes.  A wedding should be all about the couple getting married and every element should say something about them.  For instance, if you are into nature then choose parks, gardens or woodland for your venues, give eco-friendly wedding favors and serve your guests rustic dishes rather than haute cuisine.
4. Get creative – one sure fire way to make your wedding unique is to create as many different elements as you can yourself.  From your invitations and stationery, to the favors, wedding cake and decorations.  Nothing will be more unique.
5. Flout tradition – many people have pre-conceived ideas about how a wedding should or will be.  This is usually because most weddings will run according to tradition, customs and wedding etiquette.  But you don’t have to follow any of these and instead break the rules and do it your way!  Send the invitations from the dog! Make your own speech, don’t just leave it to the guys and ask if anyone else wants to say a few words.  Have a selection of pretty desserts instead of wedding cake and serve your favorite drink instead of Champagne for the toasts, even if it is coffee! 

By Georgina Clatworthy

Outdoor weddings are appealing to so many couples particularly if they have chosen a wedding date within the warmer months of late spring and summer.  An outdoor is still possible during fall and winter as well, however many couples feel the risk of inclement weather is too high!  Finding suitable venues is what can really make your outdoor wedding ideas a reality, so here are a few suggestions:

The beach: always a popular choice and one which doesn’t really need any further explanation.  Make sure you check out legal requirements such as permits and check times of high water/tides etc to ensure you are not all under water by mid afternoon!

Gardens: be they public or private, a garden wedding is wonderful for something a little less formal and relaxed.  Garden weddings can lend themselves to a variety of different themes as well, so use the surroundings as inspiration for your ideas.

Woodlands: a wood can make the perfect outdoor venue, particularly if you are nature lovers or maybe planning an eco theme.  However, space can be a little limiting with all the trees and you need to think about light for your wedding photographs.  That said the light streaming through trees can create a wonderfully romantic atmosphere, especially for a casual wedding style.

Farms: holding your wedding reception in a field is nearly as good as having a blank canvas to work with.  All that outdoor space can give you so many ideas for themes and styles as well as being perfect for a large wedding.  Erect a marquee for later on when the evening turns cooler.

Zoos: wildlife parks, zoos and butterfly enclosures have all become trendy places to hold a wedding in recent years.  There is the opportunity for some wonderful photographs with the wildlife and animals, as well as some lovely landscaped surroundings to create your backdrop.  

Vineyards: some vineyards will have you hosting your reception inside, whilst others will allow you to hold it outside or have a mixture of both.  Vineyards blend together a heady mixture of tradition and enterprise and many can give you wonderful old world surroundings in a truly spectacular landscape.  Make sure you negotiate a good deal on your drinks for your wedding breakfast though!

Sports venues: be it stadiums, pitches or race courses, if you have a love of sport then there is no better venue in which to hold your wedding.  Many sporting venues have realized the money making potential of weddings and can offer competitive rates compared to hotels, function rooms and restaurants.  Your only problem could be finding a venue which is free on your wedding date!

By Georgina Clatworthy

Wedding planning is no mean feat so it makes sense to use as many wedding planning tools as possible.  Most planning tools are freely available from magazines and to download from good wedding directory sites on the internet.  The only task is to find those that suit your style of wedding and to make sure you use them effectively!  But do you know what many of them are?

Planning notebook – one of the most important tools at your disposal and really your ‘bible’ to everything related to your wedding.  Find yourself a nice, hardback or spiral bound notebook, preferably handbag sized.  This you will use to record all your ideas and thoughts, keep address, phone numbers and contact details safe and as somewhere to stash fabric samples, business cards, cuttings etc.

There are many purpose printed wedding planning notebooks available and some are even designed as mini organizers with pockets and sections for everything to do with your wedding.  These can be expensive compared to buying a blank notebook, but they do make for a nice keepsake and record of your wedding planning.

Scrapbook – This is another one of those planning tools which will become invaluable to you, especially as you try to figure out your color schemes, decorations and flower arrangements.  Scrapbooks are create for pasting in cuttings from magazines etc of things you like, such as wedding cakes, dresses and wedding favors.  Start one early on and you will quickly have a ready reference book of ideas to inspire you later on.

Planning checklist – this is really the most important of all the wedding planning tools.  It will provide you with a list of tasks to complete as you progress through your wedding planning and which are broken down into time ordered segments to be completed at various stages.  Most will follow an 18 month timeframe and include tasks for a traditional style wedding.  If you can download one from the internet then you maybe able to edit it to fit with your wedding style and to cover the planning period you have set.

Budget planner – another vital tool and one which will help you to assign realistic costs to each element of your wedding day.  A good budget planner will list individual elements such as ceremony fees, reception venue hire, flowers, favors etc so you have an instant breakdown of how much you have to spend on each element of your day.  It is up to you to assign realistic figures and to stick to them!

Wedding website – although not necessary, a website is a good way of keeping everyone up to date with what’s happening during your wedding planning.  They are also good for providing extra information to your guests such as travel directions, accommodation details and even a copy of your reception menu.  They are not expensive and some are even free.  You can choose designs and templates and add in extra features, what they won’t do is update the information for you – you will have to do that part!

By Georgina Clatworthy

Weddings are expensive even if you are having a small, low-key affair.  The reception, photography and flowers can all cost significant portions of your budget, so it is little wonder that many brides will seek out cheap wedding ideas to help them save money.

If you didn’t set realistic figures in your initial wedding budget then you will probably need to find cheap solutions to many elements of your wedding day.  Usually the elements that most brides look to save money on include wedding decorations, centerpieces and wedding favors.  Here are a few ideas on how to save money without compromising on style:

Double up – finding items which can serve a dual role will save you plenty of money, for instance, use your wedding favors as place cards by including your guests names on the thank you tags.  This will save you money on place cards and showy holders.

Another example of dual role items is using your wedding cake as favors by having cupcakes or mini cakes instead of a formal multi-tiered creation.  You can still display them as you would a traditional wedding cake or have them packaged in clear boxes and placed on each table setting.

Save money on your centerpieces by using your bridesmaid’s bouquets, if you have enough or use your wedding favors by piling them up in the center of your tables on a nice decorative plate or stand.

Make your own – if you are the creative type then you will already know that making your own stationery, favors and decorations will save you money.  There are many elements of a wedding that can be successfully handmade, even if you are not very creative.  Wedding stationery including place cards, menus and table numbers can all be printed from your home computer.  Make your own wedding favors, centerpieces, decorations and even wedding cake.  Ask family and friends to help you and you will be surprised at just how much you can save with a little DIY.

Beg, borrow and steal – if you have friends or family who are creative or who possess a particular skill which is useful to your wedding, then beg them to help you out.  Perhaps you know someone who is a DJ or who is a keen photographer and who will be willing to give you a cheap rate.  Or maybe your Aunt is particularly good at making cakes or your mother is ace at arranging flowers. 

A top wedding trend at the moment is mix and match accessories and decorations.  Borrow pretty plates, bowls and vases for your centerpieces, or how about table linens, napkins and even crockery and glasswares.  Have a look around garage sales, thrift shops and online auctions for some bargain vintage wares which you could use too.

Prioritize – I have saved this till last, but it is an important point.  Learn to prioritize your budget and the elements of your wedding which are the most important.  Spending a small fortune on pretty table crystals at the expense of your wedding cake may not seem like such a good idea on the day when you realize the only person who appreciates them is you!  Ask yourself if you really need something and if it will make such a difference to your wedding day that you have to have it.

By Georgina Clatworthy

Wedding planning can be an exhausting and stressful experience, as well as being an exciting one!  But there will come times when you wish you had never started, when you just want to give it all up and elope and when you begin to wonder – ‘is it worth it?’  Well, the short answer is yes, but you will need to learn to hold your nerve, to focus on what is important and to learn to compromise – sometimes! Here is my wedding planning guide to surviving one of the most important phases of your life.

Most brides will have already planned their wedding long before they have even found a potential husband!  Once the engagement is announced it is a matter of putting all those plans and ideas into action and to create the wedding they have always dreamed about.  This is the time when reality kicks in!  Your budget will dictate the style and size of your wedding, your location will also have an impact and your own ability to bring together all your ideas and dreams.

Don’t give up on those dreams, but be practical about them.  Don’t spend months looking for a venue which may only exist in your head, and likewise avoid spending many hours searching for a particular type of ribbon you once saw ten years ago in a wedding guide – chances are it is no longer available!  Perspective and prioritizing are the key to good wedding planning success, be realistic with every aspect of your day and be prepared to compromise where necessary.

Do you involve the groom?  Well in my experience groom’s who do immerse themselves in the wedding planning end up causing more trouble and strife than most brides can handle.  Most groom’s will give the bride cart blanche when it comes to selecting color schemes, flowers and wedding favors, but it is his wedding too, so allow him some input.  It is important that both of you make the decision on the venue, the catering, the entertainment and the ceremony format.  He also needs to have an input in the guest list.  Delegate some tasks to him such as booking the entertainment and organizing the wedding transport.

There will be many other people who will all want to help you with your wedding planning, and in many cases this help is much appreciated.  Problems can arise when close family members or even friends try to muscle their way into your plans and turn guide you into their idea of a dream day.  Don’t allow this to happen, weddings are a personal statement of the couple who are getting married and should be full of details which are unique to the taste and character of you both. 

There is a fine line here though over people offering you ideas and advice and those who simply want to do it all for you to their own ideas.  Should this happen, try to stay calm, take on board what they have to say and then tell them what you want.  Make it clear that this is your wedding not theirs and you will do it your way.  The best way to avoid conflict is to delegate tasks to those who want to help.  It will keep them busy, out of your way and at the same time make them feel like they are contributing.  Ask them to find you brochures, phone numbers for vendors and suppliers and help to make the wedding favors.

Every bride will have a little wobble at some point during their wedding planning.  The stress of planning such as big occasion coupled with nerves and possible doubts about getting married at all, will all take their toll at some time.  The best way of dealing with this is to forget about the wedding completely for 24 hours.  Put all your wedding planning stuff out of sight and do something completely different – go shopping, visit a spa or beauty center.  Your groom could be feeling the pressure too, so arrange a romantic lunch or dinner, or even have a weekend break away together.  Ban all talk of the wedding and instead talk about your lives together after the wedding and your hopes and dreams for the future.

By Georgina Clatworthy

The top trend for this year has been for small, intimate weddings with a focus on luxury and glamour.  This trend looks set to continue into 2010 too and with the economic crisis still hitting wedding budgets hard, planning a small wedding is a necessity for many couples.

Despite what you may think, planning a small wedding can in some respects be harder than planning a big wedding.  You will need to adopt an air of ruthlessness with regards to elements such as the choice of venues and all those finishing touches.  But it is the guest list where you will really need to be ruthless and resist the urge to invite every man and his dog!

If you have a large family or if both of you have large families, then the guest list can present a seriously big headache.  The best option is to prioritize everyone around you and to think carefully about just how big or small you want your wedding to be.  Naturally close relatives and friends should be top of the list, some of which may be members of your wedding party too.

The size of the guest list can be determined better by the size of your wedding budget and in particular the amount of money you have set aside for the reception.  Remember that each guest equals one meal, one chair, one place setting, one wedding favor, one wedding invitation and associated stationery, one or two glasses of champagne and one piece of wedding cake.  If you can break your costs down in this manner you will get an idea of how much each guest will cost you and you will be better able to determine how many guests you can afford to invite.

Another way to limit the guest list is by choosing a venue where only a small number of guests can be accommodated.  Private gardens such as your parent’s home would be a good choice, particularly if you are on a tight budget or look for restaurants and small inns which can offer intimate surroundings for a small number of guests.

Consider limiting your daytime guests to immediate family and friends, then inviting everyone else to an evening party.  You can have a formal meal in the daytime and a cheaper buffet for more guests in the evening to save you money on catering.  Another alternative is to have your wedding late in the day and pay for just an evening buffet later on when your evening guests arrive. 

Small weddings do not have to short on fabulous details either and in many ways you can afford to splash out on items such as wedding favors, table centerpieces and your wedding cake because you will not need to buy so many.  Watch your budget carefully though as it can be easy to think you have more money to spend than you actually do because you are having fewer guests.

By Georgina Clatworthy

Planning a wedding can be a daunting prospect.  After your initial excitement at getting engaged dies down it is likely to dawn on you’re the mammoth task you have ahead in organizing the biggest party of your lives.  But if you are clever and adopt some creative wedding planning ideas, you can breeze through it all with efficiency and ease!

Firstly, you need to get organized.  You will need to a sturdy notebook which you can fit in your handbook so you can take it with you to all your appointments.  A little notebook is also useful when you need to jot down some ideas on the spur of the moment, or perhaps you have just thought of something important which you don’t want to forget.

Set up a spreadsheet on your computer to help you keep track of your wedding budget.  Your budget will determine everything where your wedding is concerned so you need to know how you have to spend, how much you can spend on each element and detail and when money comes in or goes out.

When it comes to planning your wedding and how it will look and feel, now is the time to be creative.  You may have been to many weddings in your lifetime to date, but how many of them stick in your mind as being fabulous?  Perhaps there are elements from someone else’s wedding that you would like to use on your big day or maybe you have a theme in mind that has got you buzzing with ideas.

It is worthwhile doing some brainstorming with your husband-to-be to discover what you both want from your wedding, what you would both like to have incorporated into the day and the style of wedding you would both like.  Discuss things like location, wedding date, size of the guest list and how formal you would like it to be.  From the notes that you make you can then create a list of priorities that include in order all things that are most important to your wedding day.  This list will not only help you to assign the budget properly but also to help you keep focus on what is important throughout your planning phase.

You can also repeat this brainstorming session with close friends and family, particularly those whom you would like in your wedding party.  Getting the opinion of others can highlight things that you might have missed and give you plenty of other ideas to think about.  It could also be beneficial to do these little sessions throughout your wedding planning, especially when you feel overwhelmed with details and have lots of decisions to make.  For instance, a brainstorm over your wedding favors could help you to isolate those favors which would best suit your wedding and to come up with some creative packaging and presentation ideas.

In essence wedding planning will see you making no end of lists and checklists as you wade through the mountain of tasks and details that have to be decided upon.  Keep your paperwork up to date and to hand so you can refer to it whenever you need to.  Discuss all your ideas with those around you and also take on board any advice and ideas others may give to you, you never know when someone might come up with a little gem!

By Georgina Clatworthy

Planning a wedding can at times seem like trying to find you way around a dark cave.  When you first begin, you will probably have very little idea of what you should do first, or who you need to be contacting to help you organize the event of your lives.  And whilst there is a wealth of free information out there on planning a wedding, it is the tried and tested tips from real brides that can give you the best wedding planning ideas.

Here are a few wedding planning ideas to help you make your way out of that dark cave and in to the warm glow of a wonderful wedding day!

‘Try to think of a theme because it will help give you ideas and inspiration for your reception’ – a theme is a great way of personalizing your wedding day and it really does help you to coordinate things like colors, wedding invitations, flowers and favors.

‘I made the invites myself and asked friends to help – they helped me with the photographs, flowers, the centerpieces and the table names’ – it is virtually impossible to organize your wedding single handed so get your friends and family to lend a hand.  If they have a particular skill or their job is of some use to you, then ask if they would mind helping you out with the wedding.  It helps to make your day unique and save money.

‘Trust your instincts, or your mom’s! My mom knew it was the wedding dress for me before I did’ – sometimes you will just know when something is right and when it isn’t, but it is also worth listening to the advice of others.  Wedding planning can have a habit of blinkering us to the bigger picture.

‘Make checklists and cross things off as you do them to avoid pre-wedding stress’ – there are many checklists available to download which will list everything you will need to do for your wedding.  Firstly these tend to be generic to any wedding so you will need to edit them to coordinate to your wedding.  Secondly it is a good idea to make a list each day with those days tasks on it, you can go into more detail this way and you are less likely to miss anything.

‘Be as organized as you can.  I planned our wedding for two years which meant I could shop around’ – whether you have two years or two months, shopping around can save you money and time.  Keeping good paperwork and notes, such as a planning notebook or file, will ensure you don’t loose any important numbers, contact details or information.

‘Try not to get up too early on the wedding morning so you are not too tired by the evening’ – with all the excitement of the wedding and probably some nerves too, a good nights sleep the night before may not be possible, but you should try to remain relaxed and calm on the morning of the wedding.  Becoming tired and grumpy by the end of the wedding breakfast is not what anyone wants and you need to be able enjoy the fruits of your labor after all that wedding planning!