色界吧

We are here to help you out with the 9 things you need to do first to start planning your wedding.

 

1. START YOUR GUEST LIST

This is a tough one because yes, of course you want to invite everyone you know to your wedding. Well consider this your warning: the more people you have, the more you have to spend. (This is why you do your budget first.)

Example: You want to have 200 guests. Your budget is $20,000. This means that you will have $100 per guest. Well, that really ritzy hotel you love? Yeah they鈥檙e not even going to be close to $100 per person for food and beverage. And that doesn鈥檛 include flowers, decor, and all your other vendors!

So as you see, starting your guest list and knowing your estimated maximum guest count early is crucial. And keep in mind that guest counts usually go down by the time your wedding day comes around.

 

2. SET A BUDGET

You shouldn鈥檛 be doing anything before deciding on your budget.听 I know, I know- it鈥檚 a tough conversation, but it needs to be discussed and decided on before anything else. Sit down with your parents, family members, or just the two of you, figure out who is contributing, how much they can contribute, and what your total budget will be. Then you can move on to #3!

 

3. CHOOSE POSSIBLE DATES

To be safe, choose 2-3 possible dates to have your wedding. Think of the time of year you prefer, the weather, work schedules/vacation time, holidays, and yes, even football season (or whatever sport your fiance/family is crazy about). Then choose your #1 preferred date, and have a #2 and #3 available in case your preferred date isn鈥檛 available. Because venues book up fast- some even book up to a year and half in advance!

 

4. BOOK YOUR VENUE

All of those first 3 steps above can essentially be done all in one sitting. Pretty cool, right? Then once you have all of those decisions made, you can start researching and touring venues. When you鈥檙e researching and you find a venue that you like, I recommend contacting them and asking if they have any of your possible dates available. If they do, then go ahead and schedule a time to tour the venue. Give yourself a few (1 to 3 max) weeks to tour all of your possibilities (depending on how long you have before your wedding date of course), crunch numbers, envision your wedding there (or not), and then book your venue! Once you have your venue booked (meaning deposit made and contract signed), your date is secured and you are well on your way to getting MARRIED!

 

5. RESEARCH

[This one is twofold. So many of the things involved in planning a wedding happen all at once. Get ready ;)] First and foremost, if you didn鈥檛 already hire a wedding planner during the first 4 steps, I听strongly suggest you consider one.听 They will be able to give you excellent recommendations and will save you lots of time and frustration.

Vendors:

Researching potential vendors is HUGE. There are so many amazing wedding professionals out there now, and you want time to be able to choose the right ones for you. You definitely don鈥檛 want to be rushed, but at the same time, time is of the essence.

When you鈥檙e researching, I recommend that you check out the vendor鈥檚 portfolio, bio, pricing info (if they have it available) and their blog. Feel free to do research on every single type of vendor you need, but the ones that are crucial and book up quickly are the听planner,听photographer, videographer, and听caterer听(if applicable). Moving on, the next steps are going to pertain to these 3 things. [After you鈥檝e completed the following steps for the previously mentioned vendors, then you鈥檒l move on to your听entertainment, florals/event decor, rentals, invitations,听and听cake. And then you鈥檒l go on to听hair and makeup, transportation, tux rentals, favors, and any extras.]

 

WEDDING DRESS!

Yes, it鈥檚 in caps because it鈥檚 *that* exciting! Isn鈥檛 it pretty much the very first thing you wanted to do- look at wedding dresses?! I mean, come on, who doesn鈥檛 like wedding dresses? 馃槈 But in all seriousness, you want to be sure that you research the types of dresses you like and the stores that carry them.

 

6. INQUIRE WITH AND INTERVIEW VENDORS

So by now you鈥檝e done your research and you know what vendors you like. Now it鈥檚 time to contact the vendors find out if they鈥檙e available for your date, and schedule a consultation.听 The vendors will get to know you, you鈥檒l get to know them, you鈥檒l get down to business, and then you let them know in a few days if you want to hire them or not! I recommend meeting with up to three of each type of vendor- one if you already absolutely love them and they sell you right away, two if you鈥檙e pretty set but want to know other options, and three if you鈥檙e not sure. It just really depends on you, your decision making skills, and your taste.

 

7. HIRE YOUR VENDORS

Of course the next step is to pull the trigger and hire one of those vendors that you鈥檝e met and fallen in love with.听After your consultations, try to let vendors know your decision a week or two from when they provide you with an estimate/proposal. And then hooray! You鈥檙e one step closer to your wedding day!

Important note: Once you鈥檝e hired someone, please let the other vendors that you met with know that you won鈥檛 be going with them. I know it sucks to do it and yes, you might feel awkward, but it has to be done- they have to know! A nice, simple email will suffice.

 

8. WEDDING DRESS!

Alright, so you have some of your vendors booked鈥� now it鈥檚 time to take a break and go wedding dress shopping! I don鈥檛 think this needs much explanation.听 馃檪

 

9. DESIGN & DETAIL INSPIRATION

With the second round of vendors you will meet with next (florals, decor, invitations, rentals, cake) you鈥檒l need to have a good idea of what you want your wedding to be like, so it鈥檚 time to focus on design and details!

Know that when we say 鈥渄esign and details鈥�, it really just means what your wedding will look like. Design is more of a general term, and details is more of the specifics (and where your personality can really shine through too!). This too is something that requires lots of research鈥� which in the wedding world we like to call INSPIRATION! 馃檪

You want to make sure that you have enough inspiration to be able to accurately convey to your potential vendors what it is you want for your wedding. And then in the same breath, you don鈥檛 want to have too much inspiration either!听 Don鈥檛 forget to bring your inspiration with you to your consultations! You can probably even just pull up your Pinterest boards in your meetings- which I think is great!

 

Once you get to the last step for your first set of vendors, then move on to the next round of vendors! Wedding planning is like a roller coaster- you鈥檒l go really fast at full-speed, then you鈥檒l slow down, and then you鈥檒l speed up again. Yes it鈥檚 normal, and it鈥檚 okay to have a lull in planning. Basically that roller coaster ride just keeps going until you get married. 馃槈 So remember this:

 

That was LONG and absolutely FULL of information, but I hope all of this will help you out and get you going on the right path as you start planning your wedding! There are of course other things that have to be done as you get closer to your wedding, but all of this will definitely get you started and prepare you for what is to come. And if you have any questions, please know that I鈥檓 here to answer them!

(No really- all you have to do is ask me !) Or you can ask here in the comments! There are no silly questions鈥� you鈥檝e never planned a wedding before, so how are you supposed to know?! 馃檪

 

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