Wedding Planning Without Stress-Part One

When a couple decides to marry, coming to terms with the major questions can reduce the stress that is usually associated with wedding planning. A marriage ceremony is a major life event that is full to the brim with details; it is your attention to these details that determine how your wedding day will be remembered by you, your partner, your family and friends who attend. Here are the first four questions that you and your partner need to discuss:

When do you want to get married? Quite often couples do not allow themselves enough time to organize and coordinate the different aspects of the wedding such as hiring the officiant, booking the venue for the ceremony and reception. Selecting your wedding rings takes time, even ordering your wedding stationery may pose a time frame challenge if you and your partner choose to use traditional engraving instead of modern letterpress.

For a wedding ceremony of 50 or more guests allowing yourself 8-12 months lead time gives you the opportunity to make sure your wedding day fulfills your expectations and stays within your budget. Considering the people involved along with the amount of time and money required to organize your wedding before you select your wedding date can save you a lot of anxiety and smooth the way for your wedding to fulfill your expectations.

What is your wedding budget? Considering the cost of the wedding includes not only your attire, rings, stationery and the rental fees for the ceremony and reception venues. You also need to think about the cost of wedding favors, decorations, bridal party gifts, transportation, music, photography and video as well as your honeymoon to have an accurate estimate of your total expenses.

Who will pay for your wedding? Deciding who pays for what at the beginning helps you organize your finances: traditionally the family of the bride is responsible for the majority of expenses, however today it is becoming more common for couples to share the expenses for their wedding. The wedding expenses can also be shared by both the family of the bride and groom.

How do you want your wedding to be? One of the major advantages of using a wedding theme is that it provides you with a foundation to coordinate the entire event for both you and your guests. However given the wide variety of themes to choose from, selecting the one that is right for you and your partner is easier said than done. So where to begin? Many couples have a general idea of the type of wedding that they want to have, so a good place to start is to look at your wedding date. The time of year as well as the location of the wedding are two factors that can influence how well your wedding theme will work.

Obviously if you and your partner want to have a beach wedding you need to be in close proximity to a beach, however unless you live in a location where warm weather is the rule rather than the exception, then one option you have is a destination wedding. The same holds true for a garden wedding: there are many facilities that can be rented for this type of ceremony, but again availability is the key factor and to be successful depends on how far in advance you begin your search for the ideal location.

Getting married is an exciting event and you can ensure that the excitement is joyful instead of chaotic by paying attention to these important questions before you begin. In the second part of this article we will look at who will conduct the wedding, your bridal party members, the wedding reception and your guest list.

<< BACK