Wedding planning

From 1Wedding Source Wedding Wiki

Wedding Planning by 1WeddingSource.com

Wedding planning is the process by which a couple organizes and arranges their wedding. The wedding planning phase usually begins after the couple’s engagement and can last from 12 months to 2 years on average.

Wedding planning involves choosing the venue for the wedding ceremony, the wedding reception, choosing a wedding dress, wedding cake, sending out wedding invitations and booking the honeymoon. For many couples planning their wedding can be one of the most exciting phases of their lives and also one of the most stressful.

For those couple’s whose lives are too busy to cope with organizing a wedding themselves, there is the option of hiring a wedding planner to carry out the wedding planning for them. A wedding planner can organize the entire wedding or just part of it depending on the couple’s requirements. Couples who choose special wedding packages or who want a destination wedding will often find their wedding is organized by a wedding coordinator who is employed by the venue or resort in question.

For those who do not want a wedding planner, there is a wide range of wedding planning tools available to help. These include budget planners, checklists and free wedding website where the couple can record the progress of their wedding planning for everyone to follow. Magazines and a good wedding directory also carry lots of free guides and tools to use.

When they begin their wedding planning the first task the couple must do is to decide upon a suitable date for their wedding. They will need to discuss how long they think they will need to plan the wedding and consider which season of the year they would prefer. Summer is the most popular time with the wedding high season being between the months of May and September. In recent years there has been a growing for trend for weddings in months outside of these traditional dates, with a winter wedding proving very popular.

Holidays are also popular dates for weddings and include St Valentines day and Christmas. Couples will need to make sure their preferred wedding date does not coincide with any important family occasion or other commitments such as work or even a friends wedding. It is always a good idea to choose two or three dates in case the date you want is not available with your preferred wedding venues.

Once they have chosen a date they then need to decide on their wedding style and whether they want a traditional, formal wedding, an informal wedding, a religious wedding ceremony or a civil wedding. All of these can involve different elements which may or may not hold some significance to one or both parties. They also need to consider where they want to get married, be it in the local area or at another wedding location, such as a beach wedding, some distance from where they live.

The wedding budget is the next task and is possibly the most vital element of the wedding planning process. Traditionally it was the bride’s parents who would foot the bill for the entire wedding, however, in modern times couples often pay for the wedding themselves or contribute a significant portion of the budget. The couple will need to firstly consider who will pay for the wedding and where that money will come from. They should also fill out a budget planner which will itemize each and every element and detail of the wedding with a budgeted figure beside it.

After working out the wedding budget it is time to draw up the wedding guest list. This is another source of much consternation between families as everyone will want to make sure certain people are invited. The budget will dictate how big the wedding will be and therefore the number of guests which can be invited. There will be a number of people who are very important to the couple, as well as their partners and maybe children. There will then be other relatives, friends and acquaintances who the couple feels should be invited.

It is considered good wedding etiquette to allow the parents a small number of personal guests whom they can invite particularly if they are contributing to the wedding budget. The couple also needs to consider the distance any guests would need to travel to join them, particularly if they live overseas. For a destination wedding it is expected for the couple to pay for the accommodation and food costs of their guests and the guests pay for their own travel.

Many weddings will be split into two elements after the wedding ceremony is over. The first during the daytime involves those guests who attended the ceremony and includes the wedding breakfast. The second happens after the wedding breakfast has been concluded, later on in the day and is known as the evening reception or evening party. The evening reception will usually see the arrival of more guests who were not invited to the ceremony or daytime reception. For most couples drawing up a guest list involves producing an A-list and a B-list. The A-list will include those guests the couple wants to join them from the ceremony onwards and the B-list will be all those the couple would prefer to invite to the evening party.

Once the guest list and budget are completed the couple can then turn their attention to deciding on a wedding theme and their wedding colors. This area of the wedding planning may well be left down to the bride to choose, although choosing a wedding theme should be a joint decision and along the lines of a subject which is of interest to them both.

Once all these stages are complete the couple will find they have a good framework from which to continue with the rest of the wedding planning. Their next step is to decide on a venue for their wedding ceremony. Depending on the type of service they want – religious or civil; they will need to visit a range of different wedding venues and meet with the wedding officiant before making a final decision. Their chosen wedding date may be the deciding factor as popular venues will be booked up month’s even years in advance. Once the ceremony venue has been booked then the wedding announcements will be made. The couple may also announce the wedding in the local or national press.

The venue for the wedding reception is the next consideration and it may be that the couple’s choice of ceremony venue is also the location of the reception, as many venues are now licensed to conduct civil ceremonies. The choice of reception location should take into account the chosen wedding theme or style and not be located too far from the ceremony venue to reduce traveling time and costs.

Once the venues for the wedding are booked, the couple will then need to turn their attention to sourcing and booking the other wedding vendors they will need for their big day. These vendors include a florist for the wedding flowers, a wedding photographer, wedding video, caterers, wedding transportation and a cake designer. It is also at this time that the bride can start looking for her wedding dress, bridal accessories, wedding shoes and wedding veil.

The couple also needs to choose who will be the members of their wedding party. These people are very important to the wedding proceedings and will become a source of support and advice during the wedding planning. The members of the wedding party include the best man, the chief bridesmaid, bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girl and page boy. Often couples will select people who are close to them such as friends or relatives. Their roles throughout the wedding planning and on the wedding day itself will be wide ranging and integral to the success of the day, so the couple must choose wisely.

Once the members of the wedding party have been chosen the couple can then arrange for their wedding attire to be purchased or hired in styles and colors which will coordinate with the wedding theme, style and color scheme. Often the male members of the wedding party will all wear the same suit, whilst the female members may wear coordinating bridesmaids dresses and accessories, chosen in conjunction with the bride.

At around 6 months before the wedding day, the couple will need to choose and order their wedding stationery. This should coordinate with the theme, style and colors chosen for the wedding and include items such as the invitations, RSVP cards, wedding program, name cards and menus. The number of items included in the stationery package is dependant upon the couple’s wedding style, budget and needs.

The wedding invitations need to be sent out around 3 months before the wedding to allow guests sufficient time to reply and make arrangements. If there are guests invited who live overseas it is considered polite to send the invitation much earlier as these guests will need to make more extensive travel and accommodation arrangements. It will also take longer for the invitation to be received and the RSVP to be returned.

It is also around this time that the bride will begin to purchase the finishing touches and final details she will need for the wedding day. These include wedding favors, wedding centerpieces, decorations, wedding accessories such as a wedding guest book, ring cushion and her garter! It is also at this time that a bridal shower will be organized and the best man and chief bridesmaid will organize the bachelor party and bachelorette party for the bride and groom.

It has become customary for the couple to draw up a list of preferred wedding gifts. Although this is frowned upon within wedding etiquette, many guests will expect one and will ask if one is not forthcoming. For many couples a wedding registry provides a perfect service for choosing gifts and managing the purchases so that no duplicate gifts are bought, unless more than one is required that is. A copy of the gift list can be included with wedding invitation or sent separately if requested.

As the wedding draws nearer the couple will need to confirm their bookings with their vendors, arrange the rehearsal dinner (for a religious ceremony), write their wedding vows, choose their wedding songs and write the wedding speeches (groom, father of the bride and best man). The bride should also book her stylist for her hair and make-up or have her trial runs if she has already booked them. It also the time to collect the wedding dress, men’s suits, arrange wedding insurance, confirm the honeymoon and collect the tickets.

A typical wedding planning timeline for a wedding 12 months away would look like this:

12 Months +

 Set date for the wedding

 Decide on the wedding style

 Set the budget

 Arrange wedding finance if necessary

 Book the ceremony venue

 Book the reception venue

 Shortlist and select wedding catering

 Plan engagement party

9 Months +

 Review budget

 Decide on wedding party members

 Write guest list

 Consider wedding attire

 Plan honeymoon

 Book time off work

 Plan bachelor/bachelorette parties

6 Months +

 Conclude any legal paperwork/requirements for wedding

 Choose wedding entertainment

 Shop for wedding attire

 Choose florist

 Book cake designer

 Book honeymoon

 Organize the wedding transport

 Choose wedding photography/videographer

3 Months +

 Review budget

 Finalize the wedding service – readings, hymns etc

 Post invitations

 Finalize menu

 Organize drinks or bar

 Check all deposits are paid

 Ensure passports are up to date

 Finalize wedding attire

 Agree final budget on wedding flowers

 Book pre-wedding hair and beauty appointments

 Purchase gifts for attendants and helpers, including parents

1 Month +

 Finalize order of service/wedding program

 Organize wedding rehearsal

 Have final fittings for wedding attire

 Chase any outstanding invitations

 Confirm final numbers with reception venue

 Check honeymoon travel documents

 Reconfirm wedding transport

1 Week +

 Last minute checks with reception venue and vendors/suppliers

 Dress rehearsal with wedding dress and all accessories

 Check attendants know roles and timings

 Relax – get plenty of beauty sleep!