Preparing for Your Wedding – First Steps to Take

Your wedding is arguably one of the most important occasions of your life – which can make planning for one an incredibly daunting process. According to a recent survey, nearly a quarter of all weddings in 2021 took more than two years to plan.

In order to make planning your wedding a smooth, swift and stress-free endeavour, you should begin with some simple considerations. Managing these three variables can make the rest a breeze, and ensure you can plan with confidence.

Finding a Venue

Your wedding venue is possibly the most important single part of your wedding; choosing the right one can be a long and arduous process, but pays dividends in discovering the perfect place for you to exchange vows and gather with friends and family.

This should be the first preparation you make – partly due to the significant length of time you might spend finding a space that fits your criteria, but mostly due to the venue’s central importance to other arrangements. For example, your prospective wedding date might change depending on availability. Some venues offer in-house catering, which might preclude the organising of external food and drink solutions.

Securing Finances

Weddings can be expensive things at the best of times – and it’s certainly not unusual to see prospective costs balloon as you begin to factor in additional costs. As such, an important early move is to take stock of your personal financial situation, and the funds available to you to make your wedding happen. You or your partner may have family willing to assist you financially; alternatively, you could look at taking out a personal loan to split the cost into monthly repayments, limiting the up-front cost of big expenditures.

Even with the securing of adequate funding for larger costs – whether venues or dress – it is still crucial that you budget carefully. Freedom to afford larger or more bespoke options in some areas may beget concessions in others, and there are always hidden, or surprise costs associated with a wedding celebration.

Plan your Day

It’s a good idea to start thinking about an outline of the ceremony, what you want to happen and when. The order of ceremony events may change over time but it’s important to think about timings as you start to plan your big day. Are you having a cocktail hour? Will you be having a special speaker (check here for the best after dinner speakers)? When will refreshments or your wedding meal be served? What sort of entertainment do you want?

When choosing your wedding entertainment make sure you go with someone who has got good reviews or even better someone recommended by someone that you trust. Once you have a good schedule you’ll be prepared if you want to go on to produce a program of order of service for your guests.

Making Announcements

Before you get stuck in to the finer details of your wedding, you should focus instead on your guest list and invitations. It can be easy to get carried away with the substance of your celebrations early on, but it’s important to remember what your music, catering and activity options are there for – the entertainment of yourself and your guests. Without a clear idea of who’s able to come, you may find yourself spending money on empty seats.

Start with your guest lists. Create two: one for your wedding, and one for the following reception. You may want to start with a Save-the-Date card, especially if your wedding is some time away. This way, guests can ensure they are free to attend. For slightly shorter-term celebrations, skipping straight to the RSVP means you can get a clear picture of your attendance numbers, and begin planning accordingly.