Where to Start Planning A Wedding?

Where to start planning a wedding? You must have asked this to yourself after the high of engagement went down a couple of notches. The excitement is still there, don’t get me wrong. I mean you do have a shiny, sparkly ring on your finger but the realization that you have to plan an entire wedding can sound daunting.

Maybe not even daunting but overwhelming. What are you going to wear? How many guests to invite? Where is this wedding going to happen? What day should this happen on? Venues… guests… dress… food… colours… theme… centrepieces… flowers… budget? oh my! Don’t get me started on searching wedding on Pinterest because that is a whole black hole if you don’t know what you want or where to start.

Alright yes, it can feel like there are a million mini reporters in your head begging for these answers and even family members jump on the wagon. So again, where do you start planning for planning a wedding?

I am here to give you a little helping hand by focusing on what you need to know right now. Right this minute to get you started.

Budget

Did you figure out what your budget is yet? In order to plan anything, you need to know your budget. Will it be small? Is it practical? Or is it a budget that you don’t need to worry about the price of anything aka unlimited budget?

That is something you need to figure out first before anything else because that is the box you need to work everything you need for your wedding into. Remember that your budget is your guide to your wedding. It is the parent to all.

Who is paying for your wedding?

Is it you? Is it your parents paying or your in-laws? Now if you have someone paying for your wedding such as your parents then it is even more important to stick to the budget that you are given.

Also know that if you let your parents pay for your wedding, you are letting them plan your wedding. Sounds like I am kidding right? I am not.

Some parents take the fact they are paying as an invitation to creating the wedding of their dreams. Not yours. Theirs! Don’t let that discourage you though, you just need to stand your ground and be flexible by letting them have a say some of your planning.

Think about what you don’t mind letting your mother have a say in such a giving her the role of paying for flowers. If not try just assigning certain areas of the wedding such as paying for your honeymoon or food. If you make that a priority ahead of time then you have fewer chances to run into any troubles.

Here is what you are looking at wedding wise for a budget:

Reception is about 48-50%

Ceremony is about 2-3%

Attire is about 8-10%

Flowers is about 8-10%

Entertainment/Music is about 8-10%

Photography/Videography is about 10-12%

Stationery is about 2-3%

Wedding Rings is about 2-3%

Parking/Transportation is about 2-3%

Gifts is about 2-3%

Miscellaneous is about 8%

Saving tip!

A great way to save money for the wedding is to dedicate a certain percentage off your monthly income such as 20% or 15% and have that amount set up to automatically come out on your payday.

Not only are you saving automatically but you don’t have to think all too much about making the effort to save or even have to remind yourself because it will be done for you every time.

Also, cut down on pricey luxuries such as having a Starbucks everyday or going out on a weekly basis. There are much cheaper and even free activities you can try if you need some adventure until the wedding. Now all you have to do is sit back and watch your money save up.

Guests:

Right after your budget is your guests. Reason being it is another aspect of your wedding that feeds into your budget. Your venue, as well as food and wedding invitations, rely on this number.

Venues need to hold your guests which costs based on how many you invite the same goes with food and wedding invitations. You don’t need to invite everyone plus their grandparents.

Stick to close family members, close friends and close co-workers then if have space consider friends and co-workers. If you haven’t talked to them for 10 plus years then they don’t need to be at your wedding. Only the ones that you can’t imagine your wedding without.

With choosing guests comes the added guests. Be prepared for your family to give you their list of people they want at your wedding. When I say family likes to think this is their wedding more than yours is because they want to show off to their friends and some family members that you are getting married.

They are excited and just want to be apart of the celebration even though that can be a little frustrating having guests you may not know very well at your gathering. After you and your mate have decided on the people you want for your wedding, then consider adding maybe one or two of who your parents may want to invite.

Do you want to allow your guest to have a plus one?

Note that this another place setting for this guest at the reception and another chair at your ceremony which adds money.

For smaller weddings, it is advised not to let guests have a plus one. Another trick is to only allow them if they are engaged or married to this person. Boyfriends come and goes. You don’t want other people’s ex-boyfriend photobombing your photos.

Lastly, remember that not everyone you invite will be able to make it. Actually most of the time only 70% of who you invited will actually attend. No lie! Some may have family obligations, booked a vacation during that time, can’t get time off work or some may well have gotten sick or do not have the budget to make it. Life happens.

Venue

We talked about budget and guest and now the venue because with those key parts you now have your base to find a wedding venue. You have to know those two things in order to even get to venue shopping ready.

When it comes to wedding venue searching you really need to consider two things, locations and if you want this spot to cater to both your ceremony and reception. In most cases, it is cheaper to stay in your city. Not only does that give your guests a chance to make it to your wedding but also saves your cost from going too far.

Best advice for venues is to get a space that allows you to have both your ceremony and reception. This usually works for those who aren’t having a church wedding and has that flexibility to have a ceremony elsewhere. You can have an outside ceremony in the garden or rooftop then go downstairs to really get this party started.

This not only saves you from having to transfer guests with transportation but also allows you that flexibility of having everything in one spot.

Best Venue Tip:

Don’t be overly picky. You don’t have to be madly in love with every inch of this venue. Remember that this is your wedding venue for the day and evening. You are not moving in and having babies in this venue, you are simply having a wedding that will kick off the chapter to your new life.

So if you don’t like the flooring in the lobby or the bathroom wall colour, breathe because your main area is the area you say I do and where you eat. If that is where you can picture yourself getting married then you have arrived at the right destination.

Get Help Planning Your Wedding

If you need help planning your wedding check out Wedding Planning Blueprint, which is designed to show the step-by-step process and strategies you should take to know how to plan a wedding on your own. Check out this and more amazing courses here.

Final Thoughts

Once you have all three figured out in the order that we have just discussed then your on the right path. You have knocked off the top three that you need to start planning a wedding. Amazing right! And you thought this was going to be very hard. All you really needed was some guidance in this overwhelming but overly exciting time in your life.

I hope my advice helped you. Like I mentioned before all you need is are three simple foundations that every bride needs in order to start planning a wedding which are budget, guests and venue and your on your way. Happy wedding planning!

Did you really think that is all? Of course not! Go on and explore I’d love to share more with you, check out my about page! I hope you have some time, I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment to say how much you enjoyed my post or even say hi. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram page or even subscribe. Have a wonderfully creative week!