So, you told all your friends that he finally popped the question. You made sure the entire town saw your gorgeous ring. So now what do you do?
Well now comes the fun of solving the Wedding Planning Puzzle! Some Brides think of wedding planning as a puzzle because there are so many pieces that make up a wedding ceremony and it’s your job ( or your wedding planner’s job ) to make sure EVERYTHING fits perfectly. I don’t mean to scare you, but I also won’t lie to you. 2009 is going to be hectic with wedding plans, but luckily I’ve put together a list of 3 of the very first things you must do before making any other decision. Think of this list as your starting point, and once you’ve crossed all of them off you’ll be ready to start your journey!
GOAL #1: Set Your Budget
This almost seems obvious but you’ll be surprised how may brides-to-be walk right into wedding planning without a budget. Your budget will play a huge role in your wedding. It’ll be your best friend ( more so your bank account’s bf ) and your worst enemy. Setting your budget early will give you a good idea of what kind of a wedding you can have – everything from the number of guests you can invite, where and when you can host your wedding, all the way down to your flower, food and decoration details. Your best plan of attack is to gather everyone who will be contributing to your wedding fund piggy bank. It’s important that you include everyone when dividing up the final cost. If for some reason getting everyone together isn’t an option when calculating the final tab, then always anticipate peoples’ contribution to be lower then promised. This doesn’t mean you have to be a “Negative Nancy” with everyone, it just means that it’s better to have more then expected then to come up short.
GOAL #2 Find Your Venue and Set a Date
Finding a Venue and setting your wedding date always go hand in hand. Don’t forget that wedding sites often get booked for events a year in advance, and until you sign a contract with a venue, you don’t officially have a wedding date. The funny thing about wedding venues is that they’re all alike ( for the most part). Don’t get caught up on HAVING to be married at a certain site, because the truth is any venue can be easily transformed with the right decor. Your main concern should be finding as many wedding locations that fit into your budget. The more options you have the better the chance you’ll have of finding the perfect wedding reception venue. Be sure to also setup a walk-through with each of your possible wedding sites. Seeing pictures of a gorgeous space online doesn’t always mean it’ll be just as magical in person.
GOAL #3: Start on your Guest list
(sigh) The wedding guests. Uncle Joe, Aunt Marry, your cousin you’ve only met once, the list can go on and on. Of course, it’s impossible to get a finalized guest list the first time around, so don’t worry to much if you can’t think of every single person you want to invite. Your goal should be to get a good estimated total of how many guests will be attending. After you get a solid guesstimate add at least 10 to the final number for the “Just In case” guests. This guest list count will be your key to getting quality answers from all your prospective wedding vendors. Vendors will be able to give you a better cost estimate on wedding cakes, invitations, favors, food, etc. if you can tell them how many people their services will have to provide for.
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