The day you get married will be one of the happiest days of your life, but it doesn’t come about without a lot of pre-planning and work.
The longer you procrastinate on necessary tasks like your wedding RSVP, the more hectic things will get when you finally get on with these chores.
If you are unsure about the basic tasks you need to address before your big day arrives, this post will run down what you need to do to make it a happy occasion rather than one filled with stress.
1) Send out invitations
The coming together of friends and family is what makes a wedding special. These folks will be willing to travel from across the country and around the world to help you celebrate the best day of your life, but they can only do this if they know when and where it is happening.
As such, preparing a guest list should be one of the first chores you undertake after setting a marriage date.
Once you have worked out who you would love to have at your wedding, you will then have to send them invitations.
While some couples prefer to make theirs the old-fashioned way, you can do yours via a mobile-friendly form if you are more technologically forward.
2) Reserve your marriage venue
Next, you’ll want to nail down where you want to have your ceremony. From churches to parks to the sands of a tropical destination, the possibilities are never-ending.
This is a task you shouldn’t procrastinate on, though, as the summer season gets booked out months in advance for the most popular locations.
Similarly, the availability of religious ministers and justices of the peace dries up the closer you get to high season, so book them as soon as possible.
3) Plan the reception
After the vows signifying your love have been exchanged, you’ll want to somewhere to party with family, friends, and your new spouse.
As such, you need to have the same sense of urgency planning your reception as you will have when you are busy inviting people and planning the ceremony itself.
Community centers, golf course clubhouses, and hotel ballrooms are just a few examples of the spaces you can rent.
Like churches and wedding venues, you need to e-mail and call these places months in advance if you plan on getting hitched in the summer, so don’t waste time.
After you have the reception venue sorted, start figuring out things like entertainment, caterers, photographers, decorations, and all the other moving parts that make a wedding memorable.
Figure out what you want to stand out about your reception and don’t be afraid to spend a premium – as far as you know, you’ll only be getting married once!
4) Book the honeymoon
With all the work you’ll be putting in, you’ll want to plan a holiday that will help you and your partner to recover from it all.
Start bouncing ideas off your better half now, and you’ll have all the time you need to book a honeymoon that’s perfect for the two of you instead of cobbling something together at the last minute.