Over the past two years, I have shared with you the ins and outs of my wedding planning, even giving you a sneak peak through my wedding update. With just under 4 months to go until my magical day, I cannot believe how quickly time has flown, I am still finding that there is so much to do for my own wedding.
Whenever I mention this to my other half I always get a weird and baffled look. Here I am with list after list of things to do, and very little has been assigned to my other half. It can be difficult for us brides to be though, with the stress and pressure of impending nuptials, I’m certainly starting to feel the intricacy of making sure everything is just perfect.
For all you brides to be though, or those that are just interested, I will be starting a new series on The Life Of Vanisha – we can call it Wedding Planning 101 Phase 1 (Engaged-12 months before the big day). A comprehensive guide for all things wedding, and getting you through the bride-to-be to happy bride process as stress free as possible.
Please bear in mind that this post may be updated on occasions when I add new entries to the guide, so keep an eye out!
Engaged : You’re engaged! Congratulations! First things first, get a budget in mind. A budget is the first and foremost thing that needs to be set in stone. Without a budget you’re likely to either overspend, not have the money to pay for your dream wedding therefore resulting in you becoming disappointed, or spend on unnecessary additions to your wedding.
For ideas on how to reduce how much you spend on your wedding, I’ve written a post on several ideas as to how to plan a wedding on a budget. This can range from making a few decor items yourself, downsizing and booking your wedding outside of peak times.
From now you’ll also want to start thinking about the number of guests you’ll want to invite to your wedding, bear in mind this will include children. By knowing how many people you are inviting, you will have a rough idea of price per person, and how many people you need to cater for when visiting venues.
Narrow down a choice of dates to no more than 3. Your wedding date should be one of significance, and it ideally should mean something to you and your partner. However, you’ll also want to be slightly flexible about dates, as your chosen venue may not be available. Ensure that you have also left more than enough time to plan your wedding. Although Whirlwind weddings are spontaneous, don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
This is really the time to start doing your research, you should really be deciding on the type of “feel” you want for your wedding. By that I mean the location and what type of building – the venue. I’m not saying get the venue booked, but really go and visit as many as possible to really get a feel of what you like and don’t like.
You could go traditional, in a church or temple, or you could do Disney for a castle wedding. I’ll have this covered in due course to inspire you.
12 months to go : Decide from your nearest and dearest who you would like to form your Bridal party. Consider these people as the ones who know you the most, and the ones who you want to be standing right next to you as you start a new journey.
Get that venue booked along with your chosen date to secure your wedding booking. This is the foundation for your wedding, and now that the venue has been booked you need to base everything around the look of the venue, and the date of your wedding.
Although a lot of people might think 12 months is way too early to start getting anything booked, you’ll be surprised at how quickly dates become unavailable. One part of your wedding you don’t want to miss out on your first choice on is your Photographer. Being fond of a photographer’s style and artwork is highly important, and your first choice is really the one you should book.
I only just started my wedding shopping a few months ago , which would make it 6 months before the wedding. I would never recommend for anyone to leave this as last minute as I had. Get your wedding dress shopping in early, really feel comfortable in your wedding dress, and different styles that compliment your body shape. My wedding dress experience is something I would not wish on anyone initially, but if you find a good bridal shop, you’ll just know which dress feels right.
That’s the countdown mark of Phase 1, with 12 months left of your wedding planning to go.
Look out for Phase 2 of Wedding Planning 101 on the blog!
How’s your wedding planning going?
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