First Step in Planning a Wedding

When most people think of weddings, what comes to mind is usually basic information that's not particularly interesting or beneficial. But there's a lot more to weddings than just the basics.

The day following your engagement, you run to the store to pick up every bridal magazine in sight.  They are filled with photos of beautiful wedding gowns, rings, and articles on weddings.  Some of the magazines give you a brief idea of what you need to do to plan your wedding, but you’re still not sure how to start off the process.  The key is to start organizing and planning earlier rather than later

First, you need to create your own system to keep all the details in one place.  You may choose to use a binder with a tab for each category you will be using.  Examples of categories include:  Bakery, Ceremony, Catering, Florist, Music, Reception, Photography and Transportation.  An accordion file is another choice, using the same category tables.  This way you will be able to see each category at a glance.

Which system you choose is up to you, but use it consistently to keep track of all receipts, pictures, brochures, business cards etc. that is related to each category.

The information about weddings presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about wedding or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

Once you have your system in place, then you can begin the research.  There are plenty of wedding-planning books on the market and countless online websites.  Visit the bookstore or the library to pick up a book to help with the planning process.  If you have friends who were recently married, ask them if they have a book you can borrow to save a few bucks.

Next, find a wedding timetable layout.  This will include a list of things ‘to-do’ for the entire time (months or years) before the big day.  Some of the first things on the timeline may be:  consulting with fiancé and parents to decide the budget and financial support available.  Another may be deciding the number of guests you want to invite to your big day, deciding what type of wedding (formal or informal), or even interview some wedding coordinators.  The timetable is a basic guideline.  You can recreate it on your computer to fit your wedding and time line.

Once you have an idea of all the details involved in planning a wedding, and all the time you will have to invest, then you can begin asking friends and families for help.  Delegate tasks to help you check off all the ‘to-dos’ on our list by the time you arrive at your special day.
 
It never hurts to be well-informed with the latest on wedding. Compare what you've learned here to future articles so that you can stay alert to changes in the area of weddings.

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