10 Tips for Planning the Perfect Wedding

 

There's a lot of pressure when it comes to having the perfect wedding. Nobody wants their wedding day to be ruined, and you want it to be a day that you remember fondly for the rest of your life. There are lots of things that can go wrong on the big day, and the key to ensuring that everything goes according to plan is to have a plan in the first place. If you've recently said yes to a proposal or you're already picking out wedding dresses, here are some top tips for planning your wedding day so that it's absolutely perfect.

 

1. Start Planning Early

No matter how far away or how close your big day is, your planning should start as early as possible. Even if you don't have a date chosen yet, you should still be making lists and identifying the key factors that will be needed to make your day so special. The more that you plan and the earlier that you plan, the easier it will be to identify and resolve potential issues. One of the keys to the perfect wedding is to reduce your stress levels, and early, thorough planning will always help to ensure that your wedding day is as close to stress-free as possible.

 

2. Know Your Budget

This is the single most important area to get right when planning a wedding. It's also a lot harder than you expect. Don't spend a cent until you have completely nailed down your budget because there will always be additional expenses that can come back to haunt you. You will need to be as detailed as possible when it comes to your budget so that you know exactly what you can afford and what you can't. Always leave a little emergency cash in reserve to tackle the unexpected, and your wedding day will be a lot more successful.

 

3. Get Help

It might be your big day, but you don't have to do everything yourself. Your partner should be helping you make decisions, and if your friends and family can help, then all the better. There's simply too much to do when organizing a wedding of any size, and even the smallest venue with the fewest guests will still need precision planning and as many helping hands as you can get. If you don't have a good support network, then consider hiring professionals. When Beverly Hills dentist Dr. Kevin Sands proposed to his partner, he didn't just invest in a drop dead gorgeous diamond; he also used professional event planners to organize the wedding. Professional planners can be a godsend if you don't have helping hands available from inside your support circle.

 

4. Trimming the Guest List

The amount of money that you spend on your wedding will be directly linked to the number of people on your guest list. The more guests, the bigger the venue to seat them all, and the more food and drink you'll need to pay for. You should get your guest list organized as early as possible to allow people to make their own plans, but the main reason is always going to be the budget. There are going to be people that you absolutely want to share with on your big day, while others you'll be more ambivalent about. Don't allow yourself to be guilt-tripped into inviting guests that you're not happy about paying for. Planning the guest list can often be the hardest part of wedding planning, so take your time to get it right.

 

5. Have a Plan B (for everything)

No matter how much you plan and prep, there can always be something that goes wrong on the day. Unseasonal rainfall, a torn dress, a missing photographer: anything can affect your wedding day. Go back to your planning stage and look at every aspect that could go wrong, no matter how unlikely. Then, make sure that you have a contingency plan in place for every single one of those eventualities. Of course, even the most well-planned wedding can still have some unforeseen mishaps, but the more that you've thought about what could go wrong, the more likely that you will be able to recover quickly and proactively on the day of the wedding.

 

6. Interview Photographers

Brides and grooms alike are paying far less attention to the wedding photographer than ever. That's simply because everyone has a camera in their pocket. However, if you want to have photographs that will always remind you of your special day, then getting a professional photographer is essential. Take your time to interview your choice of wedding photographer, and discuss what you want and their experience. Don't rely on cousin Bob's 13-year-old son who's "good with a camera" if you want the best quality pictures of your special day. Get your photographer right and you'll have the photos that you'll be proud to be in.

 

7. The Menu

Your menu choices are going to make or break your enjoyment of the wedding day. You need to plan your menu very carefully, making sure that not only is it within your budget but also that everyone on your guest list is catered for. Make sure to check dietary requirements and preferences, and ensure that there are vegetarian and gluten-free options if needed. If you're not careful with your choice of menu, then you may end up with a wedding event full of hungry guests, and that's not a great combination with the copious amounts of alcohol present at most weddings.

 

8. Get Advice

If you have friends or family that have recently tied the knot, then talk to them. They will have gone through all of the steps that you're going through now, and they can highlight the things they wish they'd known. Take advantage of their experience, and take notes if needed. Listen to what went wrong and what went right, and what they'd do differently if they had to do it all again. Talking to those that recently got married can be a goldmine of information, so don't waste it and try to go it alone.

 

9. Take a Break

It can be both fun and stressful to plan a wedding, so you must remember to take a break occasionally. Set aside time for you and your partner to relax, and discuss anything but the wedding plans. We all need to ease off on the pressures that we put on ourselves, and taking a break is a great, proven way to refresh, re-energize, and motivate. If you want to plan the perfect wedding, remember that taking a break will be more beneficial than burning out.

 

10. Focus on the Goal

Don't ever forget that your wedding day is just that: a day. The goal isn't to have just a great wedding, but to build a great marriage. If something does go wrong on the day, don't let it affect you unduly. It really is just one day, with the rest of your life together to come. Most of your guests will not notice if you have a hair out of place or if your wedding vows don't go 100% according to plan. If you stress yourself over the last-minute details, then you're going to miss out on the fun and excitement of what should be one of the happiest days of your life.

 

Weddings are major events, so you want them to be as perfect as possible. Do your research, start planning as early as possible, and always make decisions based on your budget. Take your time to get everything right, and your chances of having the perfect wedding will be dramatically improved.