Did you know in 2019, over 2.2 million weddings took place in the United States?
If you got engaged and don’t know where to begin with the wedding planning process, you’re not alone. Planning a perfect wedding takes a lot of work, but it’s easy if you follow these simple tips.
Read on to get started.
Start Making a Budget
Before you start planning your dream wedding, you need to make a budget. Without knowing how much you can spend, you can go over budget and potentially start your new life in debt.
It’s important you sit down with your fiance and plan out your finances. Once you have a designated budget, you can begin to plan the wedding.
Set the Date
When trying to set a date, there are plenty of things to keep into consideration. Do you want to get married on your dating anniversary? Have you ever wanted to get married in the summer?
No matter what your dream wedding date is, you need to sit down and talk about it. If you want to get married outside, there are only a few months when you can do it.
Keep in mind that the summer and early fall are the most popular wedding months, so expect the prices to be higher. Whatever date you pick, it will influence your venues and how many guests you can invite.
Decide On the Guest Count
Once you’ve got the budget and the date out of the way, it’s time to decide how many people you’re going to invite to the wedding.
Before you finalize the guest list, you need to write down all of the people you plan on inviting. It’s a difficult process to decide how many people you want to invite to your wedding.
However, you might not be able to invite all of your friends from middle school, co-workers, or friends of your parents and distant relatives.
Only you can decide which people you want at your wedding. Once you have narrowed it down and have a final number, you can start looking for venues.
Look for a Perfect Venue
Finding a wedding venue should be the next step once you’ve decided on the budget and guest list, you can start searching for a wedding venue.
This is a step you need to take right away for wedding venues often book a year or more in advance. You will have more flexibility finding a wedding venue if you’re open to any type of space such as outdoor gardens, hotel ballrooms, loft space, restaurants, and more.
However, if you have your dream wedding venue in mind, you should get to it right away. Having a set budget and a guest list in place will help narrow down your search for a venue.
Keep in mind if you want an outdoor venue, the weather will play a role.
Think About Getting a Wedding Planner
Getting a wedding planner is an option if you have a full-time job with very little time to plan a wedding. After all, planning a wedding is a full-time job, and not many people know where to start.
Even if you can do your research to get it all figured out, you still have your work cut out for you. Luckily, wedding planners know the industry’s ins and outs and can help you every step of the way.
All you have to do is tell them your vision, and they can take care of the rest.
Keep in mind that a wedding planner will also cost you money, but they can save you money. Wedding planners have relationships with vendors, so they can negotiate the best price for you. If you can make room in your budget, consider hiring a wedding planner.
Narrow Down Your Style
Do you want a black-tie wedding? Are you a traditional bride? Did you always dream of getting married on a farm?
When planning your dream wedding, it’s essential you narrow down your style right away. The last thing you want is to have too many elements that won’t work together in the end.
Deciding your style will help you decide on the color scheme, which will affect the decorations, flowers, cakes, and even dresses. At the end of the day, you want your wedding theme to be cohesive.
Say Yes to the Dress
During the wedding planning process, you probably are most excited about choosing your wedding dress. Because most wedding dresses are custom made for each bride, you don’t want to wait too long to head over to somewhere like Versailles Atelier Bridal and pick your wedding dress.
Most wedding dress experts recommend you choose your wedding dress about nine to 11 months before the wedding. If alterations are necessary, want to allow plenty of time to get them done.
However, if you are lucky to find a sample dress, you might not need as much time. Even if you buy a dress of the rack, you still need to allow time for alterations.
The sooner you buy your wedding dress, you will have a weight lifted off your shoulders.
Get a Caterer
Aside from the exchanging of the vows, your guests will remember the food served at your wedding. Picking a caterer early on is essential if you want to have many options.
Start by deciding if you want a sitdown dinner, buffet, or hors d’oeuvres passed before dinner. Once you have decided, start meeting with caterers.
Book the Photographer
Your wedding day will pass in the blink of an eye, so you need the perfect photographer to capture every moment.
When you meet and interview photographers, explain to them your vision, and ask to see their previous work.
You want to ensure both visions will align, so you will have great photos to look back on.
Time to Plan the Perfect Wedding and Say, I do
Now that you know the steps to take to plan the perfect wedding, you can start planning. Remember to set a budget, narrow down the wedding list, buy the dress, pick a caterer, and choose a photographer.
If you enjoyed these tips and would like to learn more, check out the rest of our blog.