He put a ring on it in the most magical and romantic way. You’re happy, but now it’s time to get to business. After the engagement, you need to start preparing for the real big day and that’s going to take a lot of your time, energy – and yes, money.
While you may be keen on hiring a wedding planner, you still cannot entrust everything to her. She will take care of certain aspects of your wedding, but you will remain the most important force in the whole production.
So, how do you go about it?
1. Write down all your wedding ideas in your wedding notebook.Give yourself a few days to jot down everything you fancy for your wedding. It doesn’t matter if some are impossible to incorporate to your plans; just have fun and let those ideas flow freely.
2. Create a Pinterest board.This wonderful social media sharing site has helped countless brides in collecting inspiration for their wedding. A Pinterest board is the perfect visual presentation of all the wedding ideas and styles you want for your big day, and it can hold everything from wedding invitation inspiration to décor ideas, wedding dress styles to consider, and everything else.
3. Set the wedding date.While you may be inclined to choose a meaningful day – your birthday, anniversary, his birthday – it may be better to choose a very practical date, especially if you want a big wedding. A date that will provide you at least eight months to prepare can ensure a less stressful, and even more enjoyable, wedding preparation period.
Likewise, you’ll be able to find out if you can save money or if you’ll have to direct more money to your wedding budget. During the peak season, expect all wedding services to be more expensive.
4. Establish your budget.Your budget will determine which things you can splurge on (food and entertainment, the venue) and which items you can scrimp on (your dress, souvenirs). Having a set budget will guide you through everything else.
5. Pick the members of your entourage.You want to make sure that you only have the people who truly matter in your entourage. Also, making an early pick will help you stay within budget, especially when you start “proposing” to your entourage (because gifting bridesmaids is a huge “thing” now, too) and buying bridesmaid dresses. Plus, once you’ve picked your bridesmaids and maid of honor, you now basically have the squad to assist you throughout the preparation period.
6. Choose a theme for your wedding and then look for a wedding venue.From your Pinterest board, establish the theme that you really love; this will make choosing a venue for the event a lot of easier. Say, you want a nature-inspired wedding; the best picks are a farm, vineyard, or some garden. There are pretty farm wedding venues emerging throughout the country; be sure to choose wisely as some are definitely more charming than others. Ditto with vineyards and gardens.
Check out various wedding venues to see if they’ll go perfectly with the theme of your choice and if they have wedding packages that you can take advantage of. Find out if they can also assist you with other wedding services. Want the Nero String Quartet to play your wedding march? A popular wedding venue in Northamptonshire can hook you up with the musical group.
7. Shop for other wedding services and book them immediately.These include your photographer, videographer, caterer, florist, officiating minister, entertainers, makeup artist, and hairstylist. It’s crucial to determine the ones you can trust to do a fantastic job for your wedding, and to find out if they’re not booked yet on the date of your special event.
These are the most basic things that you need to cover during your wedding preparation. Once you’ve taken care of all these, other things that you need to do will come more easily. You will just need to check up on these wedding essentials every once in awhile to make sure that there are no issues arising.
As for the other tasks such as meet-ups with family and friends for fittings, the parties for you and the groom, distributing invitations, and others, all you need for them is time. Make sure you have your planner/organizer with you at all times, and that you have family and friends who are helping you properly keep track of your schedule, especially as the date of the big day draws near.
Finally, here’s an important piece of advice from many who have walked down the road you’re currently on: Don’t forget to continue creating quality time with your husband-to-be. Have dinner dates, watch a movie, just be each other’s refuge during the very hectic and often crazy period of wedding preparation. Let your love for each other grow even more because your affection and love for each other are truly the secrets to an amazing wedding.
AUTHOR BIO
Chris Anderson – Content Marketer
Chris is a part-time blog writer with 15 years of experience covering topics on travel, hospitality and small business. His background as a designer and business owner means he has a detailed eye for aesthetics and customer service.
Crockwell Farm website: http://www.crockwellfarm.co.uk/
You’re Engaged! Now What?
