If you’re getting married, you’ll want your wedding day to be unforgettable for all the right reasons. You’ll want to look back and smile, not cringe, and you’ll want your guests to have a great time too. Yet wanting all this and getting it are two different things unless you plan well in advance and make sure you remember all the little details. This might sound like an impossible thing to do, but if you are organized and think ahead, you can make your wedding day just how you want it. Read on to find out a few of the things you need to do to get started.
Have A Clear Vision
Before you can do anything else, it’s crucial to have a clear vision of how you want the day to go. When you have this idea in mind, it will be easier to make decisions and move forward in your planning. If you have no idea what you want, you’ll never quite know if you’re making the right choice or doing the right thing, and it could feel hard for you to be completely satisfied with your end result because you might feel as though you haven’t explored all the options.
Write down all the elements of your wedding you can think of as your very first job – ideally with your partner as this should be decided between you. Some of the things to think about include:
- The theme
- The color scheme
- What kind of food you’ll have
- Where the wedding ceremony and reception will take place – this might be two separate places
- What people should wear
Once you have a better idea of the kind of wedding you want, you can start on the next elements of planning.
Create A Realistic Budget
Of course, the above plan is not set in stone and should be flexible. It’s best if you can make a list of must-haves, such as a Chicago wedding photographer, and another list of bonus items you would have if the budget stretched to them. It’s your budget that you’ll need to think of next, or perhaps even first, as unless you have a budget in place, you run the risk of over-spending and potentially having to borrow money (which you might be prepared to do, but it’s something to consider before you go ahead) or cancel elements of the wedding if you find you can’t afford it.
Your budget needs to take into account any savings you want to use on your wedding, any gifts you might receive to put towards it, and, as mentioned above, any borrowing. Your budget won’t just help you buy what you need and tell you what’s possible, but it will also help with a timeframe, as you’ll know if you have to save up or not.
Choose Your Venue Wisely
Your venue is a crucial element of your wedding planning; once you’ve chosen it, everything else will more easily fall into place. The first thing that getting your venue chosen and booked will do is give you a wedding date. This is vital as you won’t be able to do anything else unless you have a date for the big day – from invitations to hiring a caterer, nothing can be done without a date.
On top of that, your venue will also – at least partially – dictate the style and look of your wedding. A wedding in a fancy stately home will usually be quite different from a wedding on a beach, for example. Your venue has to be right if you are going to plan the wedding of your dreams.