How to Begin Planning Your Wedding

The day you have been waiting for has finally come, you're engaged!!!! Yay, it's time to celebrate.
Step 1: Pop open a bottle of champagne, wine, sparkling grape juice, etc. and share a special cheers with your now fiance!
Step 2: Call all of your family and friends to share the good news! (They're going to FREAK!)
Step 3: Attempt to take the perfect picture of your ring and a selfie of you two to capture the memory!
Step 4: Post that memory on social media and announce it to the world!
Step 5: Spend the next two weeks (or longer) re-telling the engagement story over and over again while holding out your hand to everyone you know as they gaze at your new rock!
Step 6: .... what now? ....

The most common phrase that I hear from a bride or groom that is reaching out to me is, "I just don't know where to begin and how to start the planning." There are many factors and components that go into planning a wedding and getting started can be the hardest part and most stressful. But it doesn't have to be, that is what I am here for!

I always tell anyone who is beginning the planning process that the three big items to start with are your budget, guest list and venue!

Your budget is the most important because that determines everything; the vendors you can have, the type of venue, the season, your head count, etc. I recommend that couples sit down and determine their over all wedding budget. From there, list the order of importance for each component and vendor. If you would like to have a large wedding with lots of guest but don't really mind if the food is fancy, then rate Guest Count higher and Catering lower. If you feel that pictures are very important but you don't want to spend thousands of dollars on a dress, then rate Photographer higher and Wedding Dress lower... and so on and so fourth. This will help divide up the budget and show which components to spend a little more on and which to be conservative with. It also helps to go ahead and do some research on vendor averages. When couples begin planning, it can be somewhat of a sticker-shock.

After you have your budget somewhat in order, start jotting down your guest list. This will help determine how many guest you plan on inviting and how many guest your budget allows you to invite. This also will help you narrow down venues, as most have a maximum capacity number. Some costs are fixed (like the photographer, venue, coordinator, DJ, officiant, etc.) but ALOT of costs are based on head count. The more guest that attend, the more costly it becomes. Think about it, all rentals (tables, chairs, linens, table ware), flowers (centerpieces and decor), food, beverages, cake, stationary, mailings, favors, etc. So your headcount is very important and goes hand-in-hand with the budget and vendors.

Once your budget is somewhat in order and you have a headcount in mind, the next big step is booking your venue! Having these two completed and noted for your venue will really help narrow down your options. There are a TON of venues around but a lot of them book up a year or more in advance (at least in the Charlotte area), so it is important to do this early.

When you check Budget, Headcount and Venue off of your "Wedding To-Do List," you should feel more relaxed and a rush of excitement might come over you! Your wedding just got real.

If you are lost and overwhelmed during or after these three big "starter" items, hire a wedding coordinator! You can ask anyone who has ever planned a wedding, there are million decisions to be made and a million options for each. We can really help to make the entire experience pleasant, fun, relaxing and cost-efficient.

Contact Mint to Be Weddings' owner, Caroline Emmons, for a free consultation.
www.MintToBeWeddings.com
Caroline@minttobeweddings.com

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