Planning Your Own Wedding: Where Should You Start?
Planning the wedding of your dreams can be daunting. This is true even if you claim to have enough budget for everything. Trying to figure out how to make everything perfect can be a real cause of stress. But, if you will be planning your own wedding, the stress that you are bound to feel when making these preparations will definitely be outweighed by the excitement of knowing that you are about to tie the knot in a kind of wedding that you have been dreaming all the days of your life. But, where do you get started? Read further to find out.
Main image above: Nicolas and Ayla's Destination Wedding in Rome, see more.
Know the Budget
First and foremost, you have to know your budget. Otherwise, you run the risk of making bookings, requesting orders, and then end up finding yourself not capable of paying for it. Don’t make your dream wedding a disaster by making arrangements that could be out of range. The wedding experts from Sonoma Elopements by Run Away with Me highly recommend that when setting aside a budget for every aspect of your wedding, one should not forget to earmark some amount for unexpected things as well.
Read: 15 Wedding Budget Tips to Save You Lots of Money
In other words, you should not completely drain your budget. You can start by talking about it with your fiancé and parents. Once you have a definite budget plan, you can now divide these into different services and vendors.
Think of a Theme
Be sure to talk about this with your fiancé. Do you want your wedding to be formal? Or, do you want everyone to just feel relaxed and enjoy the entire event by choosing a casual theme?
Imagine how you want your wedding to look and how everyone should feel about it. Luckily, you have Instagram, Pinterest and Arabia Weddings which you may check out for great ideas. Once you have chosen your theme, you can then select your venue, catering service, wedding dress and everything else follows.
Take a look at the Wedding Design and Decor section and some lovely Wedding Themes for lots of inspiration.
Picture: From an Arab destination wedding held in Sicily, see more.
Create a Guest List
Coming up with a guest list is one of the most important steps that have to be done during the early stages of preparation. It is where you will base your choice of venue, food catering service and number of invitations to be ordered. It is also where you will be choosing your bridesmaid and groomsmen.
Note that there is a huge difference between a 100-person wedding and a 400-person wedding, particularly when you are planning your own wedding. So, make sure to finalize your guest list before booking a venue and any other related services.
If you are going for an intimate wedding which is a growing trend nowadays, make sure you read: How to Plan an Intimate Outdoor Wedding.
Picture: From A Sunset Wedding With a Great View in Jordan.
Mark Your Calendar
The entire wedding planning phase would definitely entail several appointments on your part as the planner and the bride at the same time, if you are doing it yourself. This is why you should not forget to have your own wedding planning notebook. This is where you will be writing down your appointments and the names and contact numbers of people that you need to call on for follow-ups and orders. When you mark your calendar for each appointment you will not be missing a single one and this is crucial if you do not want your planning days to be more of a headache caused by irate calls you receive from vendors, organizers or stylists.
Keep in mind that you are not the only one who needs to meet a certain deadline. The vendors and everyone involved in your wedding preparation are also trying their best to meet your given deadline. So, set your appointments well and be sure to call right away or in advance in case you cannot make it in your scheduled date or time of the appointment.
Choose the Perfect Food Caterer
Although your budget is one very important factor for choosing your food caterer, it should not be the sole basis. Remember that your wedding will be witnessed by your friends and family members who have their own different food preferences. If you know that you will be inviting a group of friends who happen to be vegans or keto dieters, then you have to keep these in mind or you’ll starve them all throughout your wedding. Take some catering ideas from here.
So, your chosen caterer should be one that is capable of providing different types of foods that suit everyone’s tastes and preferences. Make a comparison of the top 3 caterers and see what they can offer you. Then, schedule a food tasting day to know which you think would be greatly appreciated by your wedding guests.
Shop for Your Perfect Wedding Dress
Finding that perfect wedding dress doesn't just happen overnight. It would entail several trips to bridal shops, one after the other. Other brides would even opt to go out of town just to be able to find that wedding dress. Remember that your wedding dress should also match with the entire theme of the wedding. It can be tricky to choose a wedding dress knowing that you will always have an idea in mind as to how it should look like, but you need to create a personal touch in it to ensure it does not look exactly like someone else’s wedding gown.
Read: Choosing the Right Wedding Dress for the Season
Always ask for advice from expert wedding dress designers. As you pick several gowns, chances are high that you will have trouble narrowing down your choices. One way to resolve this issue is to try it on and see which one looks perfect on you. If you need to have your girlfriends, sisters or mother with you, then go ahead and take them with you while you shop.
Planning for a wedding is indeed stressful and overwhelming and more so if it’s your own wedding. If you want to be spared from the stress of preparing and planning it, better hire a wedding event organizer or a wedding planner. Just make sure you communicate well your needs and preferences so that your wedding will turn out to be exactly the way you want it to be (or could be a little bit more).
Picture: Christina Mourad Saab in Elie Saab Wedding Dress. See more of their luxury wedding here.
