The First Wedding Planning Decisions You Need to Make
Photographer: Sunnybrook Photo | Venue: Crooked Willow Farms
With engagement season just around the corner, you might have that sneaking intuition your partner is going to propose. It’s an exciting time. It can also seem overwhelming when you start thinking about all the things you need to do to bring your wedding day to life. Here are 5 things that need to be decided when you first begin planning your wedding.
Budget
Time of Year
Guest Count
Hiring a Wedding Planner
Venue
Budget - This is the number one item you need to address before you can make any other decisions. Your budget drives every decision in the planning process. It’s a good idea to make financial decisions about the wedding as a team. There are bound to be some disagreements you will need to compromise on. That’s normal. Take a close look at your savings and determine if anyone has offered to help pay for the wedding. If it’s not financially realistic to get married right away, push the date out a ways and give yourself some time to save. Create priorities where you want to splurge and things you want but could live without. You can’t have champagne taste on a beer budget. The last thing you want to do is overspend or put everything on a credit card. That will create future disagreements for sure. Once your budget is set, you can start planning your dream wedding.
Expert tip - working with a wedding planner can help your budget. They can help you find reasonable prices and can help you find alternatives to splurge items that are financially out of reach.
Time of the Year - Some couples dream of a winter mountain wedding or a beach wedding in the summer. This will help you narrow down a date when you secure a venue.
Guest Count - This is an important factor in the venue you choose. Most have occupant limits, and not all venues can handle 300 guests. Planning a micro wedding opens you up to more venue options.
Hire a Wedding Planner - This is one of the best decisions you can make when planning your wedding day. There are so many benefits to hiring a wedding planner. They will know which venues would be perfect for you and have relationships with the vendors. A wedding planner can even help deflect the overbearing relative that has inserted themselves into the planning process.
Venue - Now that you have determined your budget, time of year, and guest count, you can find a venue. This is one of the most important decisions you will make. The venue is the backdrop to your whole celebration. Most venues are booked 12 - 14 months out, especially for Saturday weddings. If you are flexible and opt for a weekday wedding, it will open you up to more venue options and is easier on your budget.
After these big decisions are made, it’s time to choose all the other elements that are going to make your wedding day uniquely yours.
Planning your wedding is a big undertaking. If you hand over the details of your wedding to an experienced wedding coordinator, you know your wedding is in safe hands. Blue Linden has years of experience and would love to help manage your wedding day, so it’s everything you dreamed of and more. Get in touch to talk about your wedding needs and how we can help.