Planning your Wedding – How to plan your perfect day
Wedding Planning – How to plan your perfect day
Congratulations on your engagement! Now that you’re officially planning your wedding, it’s time to start thinking about all the details.
As with planning anything the key is to be prepared, from setting a budget to choosing your vendors, there’s a lot to do. But don’t worry, it’s a lot of fun and an experience you will love. Here are some wedding planning tips that will help you.
What to do and when
The below tips are assuming we are starting from the point of having booked a venue so you now have a date.
12+ Months Before
Book your photographer and If you are having a videographer book them too.
Start talking to your caterers about options and arrange a tasting session.
Arrange to try some wedding cake samples.
Decide on a colour theme and start planning your venue / table decorations.
Book your hair and makeup artist.
Think about your evening entertainment, do you want a DJ, live band ect…
Send out your save the date cards.
Research styles of dresses and start your search.
Choose a Best Man / Made of Honour so they have plenty of time to arrange hen and stag do’s.
9 to 10 Months Before
Book your evening entertainment.
Order your cake.
Choose a florist and get them booked in.
Book all your décor, chair covers, tables, signage etc…
Order your chosen wedding dress and book in alteration sessions.
Book your honeymoon (Make sure passports are in date)
Book in any musicians, entertainers, magicians ect…
6 to 8 Months Before
Purchase any accessories, veil, perfume, shoes, jewellery etc…
Choose and order bridesmaid dresses.
Choose and order suits for the guys.
Make sure the guys all have suitable shoes that match.
Choose and book and wedding cars / coaches ect…
Probably a good idea to start work on speeches
2 to 5 Months Before
Purchase wedding rings.
Book in hair and makeup trials.
Get your invitations ordered and sent out.
Book accommodation if needed.
Purchase gifts for parents and bridal party and anyone else you want to thank.
Sort out wedding favours.
If you are having a wedding gift list, get this in place.
Probably a good idea to start work on speeches.
Think about the photos that are really important to you, decide on what groups you would like as your photographer should ask for this information.
4 Weeks Before
Finalise dress fitting.
Check in with your suppliers to check final details.
Make sure your photographer has deatils of which group shots you would like and a final plan of all the timings of the day.
Finalise your table plan and give final numbers to the caterers.
Enjoy your hen and stag do’s .
2 Weeks Before
Make sure you have sent back any supplier questionnaires.
Make sure everything fits, break in your shoes ect…
Make sure everyone knows what jobs they have on the day.
1 Week Before
Get yourselves to the salon or barbers so you are feeling great.
Pack for your honeymoon.
Get all those last-minute tasks done such as nails, eyebrows, wax, ect…
Make sure you have heard from all your suppliers and that all outstanding invoices are paid.
Ensure suits are collected with enough time left to change anything, just in case someone’s suit or shoes don’t fit.
Make sure everyone involved knows the timeline ect…
The Day Before
Relax knowing everything is done.
Get some nice food and enjoy your evening.
Dont drink too much – dont want to feel fuzzy on your wedding day.
Get a good nights sleep so you are on top form from your big day.
Assign jobs to the people around you so you dont have to worry about anythong on the day and make sure they are all clear on what they need to do.
The Big Day is Here!
Now the big day is finally here, just enjoy every minute of it. Don’t let anything worry you, you have a team of people around you to ensure everything goes to plan.
The day will go very fast so take time to take a deep breath and just take it all in, use the time you spend with your photographer for couples shots as an opportunity to slow down and just enjoy the day.
The above tips are just a guide, good suppliers get booked up fast so a general rule is book everythong as early as you can.
I hope these tips have been useful, I am an Essex based wedding photographer based near Maldon, if you would like to know more about what I can do for you please get in touch for a no obligation consultation which is designed to see if I could be the right photographer for you.
James is an Essex based qualified master wedding photographer covering the UK and beyond.
Offering wedding images that tell your story with a unique and creative edge.
James has become a very in-demand wedding photographer so dates do go quickly, please get in touch as soon as possible to avoid disappointment as he limits the number of weddings in any one year to ensure the highest level of boutique customer service.
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