First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement.
Now begins a super fun, but sometimes stressful process, the planning of the wedding. That’s why, as an event planner in the making, I want to give you 5 crucial tips on what the first steps should be.
1. Date.
It is really important that you determine the date in which you and your fiancé would like to get married. This will help when searching for and hiring vendors, so that they can tell you if they are available or not. It also helps a lot with planning and establishing a timeline for making payments, handing out invitations, dress fittings, and more. You will need this for almost every other step.
2. Budget.
You must sit down with the family and anyone wanting to contribute to decide what the total budget for the wedding will be. It doesn’t have to be the exact numbers, but at least an approximation with which you can work around; you may even want to reconsider the budget after you know the total costs for things, and that’s normal. Therefore, you can work with the budget in two ways: look for the vendors you want and set the budget, or set the budget and look for the vendors who can meet it.
3. Event Planner.
If you do not want to stress about every detail and just want to enjoy the entire process, don’t have enough time, or want someone who knows all the right people, you should definitely hire an event planner. They will help with every single detail and guide you through the entire process while making it joyful, entertaining and making your dream wedding come to life.
4. Venue.
Once you know your budget and date, this is the most important part of planning. You need to reserve the place where the ceremony and reception will take place, as this is where the party begins. Do various site-inspections of the different venues you are curious about to ensure that you select the perfect one for you. Create your top 3 list, a good tip to follow with vendors, and make a final decision. Also, weight the cons & pros such as availability, what the place includes, restrictions (it might have), if the reservation includes room, until what time can you be there, guest parking, etc.
5. Inspiration.
This is my favorite part. Find the perfect theme or color for your wedding. I suggest the use of different platforms like, Tumblr and Pinterest to create your own wedding inspiration board. Add dresses, decoration, hairstyles, makeup, groom’s attire, bridal gifts, and everything that describes your perfect wedding. The closer the board to what you really want, the easier it will be for the decorators and other vendors to know your style, taste, and ideas.
It is really important that there is good chemistry between you and the vendors. This will make everything more comfortable and even more enjoyable.
These are just tips to begin the preparations for the wedding. You can follow these tips in any order because some of us already know what we want, so we build around that. My suggestion will be to set the date first with your fiancé, talk and set a budget, followed by hiring an event planner and, lastly, begin searching for that perfect venue while searching for inspiration in every step of the way.
Don’t miss the second article dedicated to the following step to planning your wedding: Vendor hunting. Stay tuned!!!