How to Organize a Wedding From Start to Finish

Step two of wedding planning should involve discussing your vision together and reaching a consensus among you and your partner. This will ensure a successful celebration.

First, choose your date carefully by consulting any must-attend guests or family. Finding dates that work with your vendors may also take some negotiation.

Congratulations on Your Engagement!

Communicate with your partner to discuss how they would like their wedding day to unfold. While family may offer input, ultimately only you and your partner know what will work best.

Create a planning timeline to stay on course. There are plenty of free templates online that can make this task less daunting.

Return any rented (or purchased) items. Many venues have noise restrictions, so make sure that any rentals are returned before the last minute or risk late fees. It is also an excellent time to review vendors who helped bring your big day together – leaving positive reviews can help future engaged couples get the most out of their vendors – not to mention being a great way to say thanks!

Just Engaged? Here’s What to Do Next

One of the first tasks on your list should be creating your wedding registry. Not only will this give your loved ones an idea of your needs and wishes, but it gives you an opportunity to add or change items as time progresses.

Start planning early by setting a date and venue. Even if you aren’t quite ready to commit, having an approximate guest count and size estimate helps when booking vendors for your event.

At this point, it’s also wise to discuss who will pay for your wedding. Although couples typically contribute the bulk of expenses themselves, asking family members for contributions is fine as long as it happens in an amicable and open manner.

Your Wedding Mission Statement

Planning a wedding can be hard work. It can be easy to lose track of what’s most important or become overwhelmed by all of the decisions to be made; but taking time early on to create a mission statement for your big day can help keep yourself on track, streamline decision making processes, and guarantee that it becomes exactly what you envisioned it to be.

Dani Blasena of HauteFetes Fine Weddings & Events in San Diego, California and Sneh Diwan of Diwan By Design in Jersey City, New Jersey shared their expert advice for crafting an effective wedding mission statement. A wedding mission statement will serve as your wedding’s purpose statement as you outline its purpose, intentions, and priorities for its special day – outlining what aspects are most significant for both yourself and your fiance will help guide your decisions throughout this important journey.

Set Up Your Meetings

If you’re working with a wedding planner or any professional service provider, setting a timeline and meeting regularly is critical to ensure everyone stays on the same page and works together towards reaching deadlines and realizing your vision of an unforgettable celebration.

Begin by writing down all of the items on your to-do list and breaking them down into smaller tasks or goals, such as researching vendors or scheduling consultations with experts. Plan these appointments well in advance to give yourself enough time for preparation.

At an early stage in planning your wedding, selecting your wedding party (maids/groomsmen, flower girls and ring bearers) will enable an accurate guest count – essential when setting budget and venue size parameters. Finally, pick a date which works for most of your must-attend guests.

Talk about Budget

Prior to hiring vendors, discuss your budget with them. This is an ideal time for finding out if they have any tips for keeping costs low or bringing out creativity in their solutions.

Begin your wedding planning process by compiling photos of colors, decorations, food, flowers and more from bridal fashion magazines or websites such as Pinterest for your inspiration folder. This can help narrow down your vision for the big day! Additionally, creating a separate email account for everything related to the event will prevent vendors from sending promotional emails that might clutter up your regular mailbox.

Make sure your guests know when and how the reception will begin and end, so they can plan accordingly. Seat out of town guests with people they already know for an easeful experience. Also be sure to assign someone with collecting gifts.

Guest List and Venue: Two Crucial Decisions

Once you’ve established a budget and reduced the guest list, you can begin booking venues. Your venue size will determine how many guests can be invited, so send out save-the-date cards early so loved ones have time to RSVP and contribute towards the wedding. It is also an opportunity for you to ask parents how much money they would like to contribute towards your celebration!

Your guest list should be divided into categories; your A-list should consist of immediate family and closest friends; B-list includes those you’d love to see at your wedding but their absence wouldn’t ruin the day; C-list should consist of non-essential people such as long lost relatives or coworkers.

Carefully consider how many additional guests you wish to invite – these could increase the total guest count significantly. Spread out invitations evenly so as to accommodate those waiting on an invitation who have yet to hear back. Staggering them could open up spaces for those waiting longer.