Wedding Planning Checklist, Part 1

Planning your wedding, and making sure it’s a day no one will forget, seems daunting at first. Numerous parties need to be coordinated, schedules need to be maintained, and you need to stay happy in the process! Like most difficult tasks, planning a wedding goes smoothest when you divide it up into little tasks and take each, one step at a time. With the help of our professional wedding planning team, we’ve made up this checklist to help you get closer to your big day!

Wedding Planning Checklist, Part 1: Right After Your Wedding Engagement

This first article deals with tasks you should tackle long before your actual wedding date, right after your engagement. Take it one step at a time, and you’ll have a beautiful wedding planned before you know it!

Start A Folder To Fill With Wedding Inspiration

Check out bridal, fashion, design, and food magazines and start clipping! This way you’ll start getting a sense of the common components of a wedding, and the particular styles that you want for your big day.

Plan Your Wedding’s Budget

How much will you have to spend to stage your perfect wedding? How much do you want to spend? Are the two numbers pretty far apart? Maybe it’s time to tone your imagination down. If not, amp it up! How much are your families willing to contribute?

Select The Wedding Parties

As soon as people find out about your engagement, they’re going to be clamoring for a place in the ceremony! Who do you want standing beside you at your wedding?
The major players in every wedding party include:

• Maid (or Matron) of Honor
• Bridesmaids
• Best Man
• Groomsmen
• Flower Girl
• Ring Bearer
• Ushers (are optional, but can go a long way in making a wedding run smoothly)

Make A Guest List

Time to break out those Excel spreadsheets! Who’s coming? Make a spreadsheet with all the people you want to attend, their contact info, whether they’ve RSVPed or not, and anything else you think matters. Remember, it might be difficult to cut people from your guest list, but it’s the best way to reduce the cost of your wedding.

Wedding Planner?

You can go it alone, but a wedding planner can take pressure off you and your loved one when planning your wedding gets complicated. Some event venues even offer professional wedding planning services in addition to those beautiful ballrooms and scrumptious catering!

Schedule Your Wedding Date!

Begin researching locations, either in your area or far away if you want a destination wedding. Should your ceremony and the reception be separate or held in the same space? Think about travel time between the two.

Schedule An Officiant

No matter your religion or denomination, wedding officiants, the people who receive and witness the consent of intended spouses at a wedding ceremony, get booked up pretty quickly! Research the best ones in your area, and scoop them up before someone else does.

Research Everyone Else

Photographers, bands, florists, caterers: most weddings require numerous professionals. Ask your married friends who they hired.

Host An Engagement Party

This step is optional, but engagement parties are a great way to celebrate your coming nuptials. Remember, all the people invited to your engagement party should also be on the guest list for your wedding, as well. Next week, we’ll lead you through the tasks that should concern you as your wedding day comes closer. Until then, happy planning!