Deciding to get married is a big decision. It can be exciting, terrifying, overwhelming, and so much more. There are a lot of important decisions to make, and moving pieces that have to come together. In the end, your wedding should be a magical occasion that you remember fondly for the rest of your life! This guide will help you get started on a low-stress wedding planning journey.
Pick a Date
This is the vital first step in wedding planning. Consider asking family members and important guests about a few potential dates to avoid scheduling conflicts. Keep in mind, some months are traditionally more popular than others when it comes to booking. If you plan for February, June, September, October, or December you will probably pay more for your venue and vendors. Planning to get married in March, April, or November – which are the wedding off-months – can save you money. Consider reading tips on winter wedding planning if you choose November!
Think about dates that hold significance for you and your spouse-to-be, your families, or have cultural significance. These are great dates to consider for your wedding. If planning a destination wedding, consider holidays with long weekends so your guests can travel without taking time off of work, school, or other obligations. Keep track of dates to avoid unlucky days (e.g. The Ides of March or February 29th), days of remembrance (e.g. Veterans Day), conflicting religious or cultural holidays (e.g. Tisha B’av, Ramadan, or Krishna Janmashtami), and major sporting events.
Funding Your Wedding
The average wedding has a price tag of $32,000 and only a small percent of couples state that they begin saving for their wedding before getting engaged. How will your wedding be funded? If you own a house together, consider a home equity loan. These loans provide funds in a lump sum, are based on the equity built in your house and are repaid as a second mortgage payment. They often allow for lower, fixed interest rates in comparison to personal loans.
Wedding loans on the other hand, give you access to a large sum of cash and are unsecured, making them perfect if you can qualify for a low-interest rate and afford monthly payments. Start a savings account if you plan on a long engagement. A high-yield savings account is a great option because the interest accrued will allow you to save up for your big day faster. From time to time look at the wedding budget and keep track of your expenses.
Create Your Guest List
Many couples cite this as being the most difficult part of the planning process. Know who is an absolute must for you and your spouse to invite, such as parents, siblings, extended family, and close friends. If possible, prepare this list before even looking at venues, so that you have an idea of what your minimum capacity is.
Next, determine who would be nice to have in attendance, though not necessary. If you want, you can break these potential guests down into further lists that rank them so that if you can invite some but not all of these people, you can decide who makes the final cut. Make other guest list considerations like if you want a child-free wedding and if you’ll allow your guests a plus one.
Pick a Venue and Look For Vendors
When starting your wedding venue search, make sure to confirm that the venue is available on your intended date. This is preferably done before you view the venue so that you’re left with less disappointment if it’s not available. Keep other important factors in mind, such as surrounding accommodations and if the venue fits your wedding theme. Pay the deposit and secure your venue. Make sure you select and secure your venue far enough in advance. For events during peak wedding season, you should plan on booking nine months to one year in advance. On the flip side, off-season months allow you to book anywhere from three to nine months ahead of time.
As for vendors, you’ll want to determine who and what you need and start searching for them once your venue is secured. On Average couples hire 14 vendors for their weddings. If you’re planning your wedding on a smaller budget, consider what you are capable and willing to DIY (can you or a friend make floral arrangements with artificial flowers? Can you make your own centerpieces or place tags for guest tables at the reception?). The more you can DIY the more money you can save. Some things you may want to splurge on could include your wedding meals and a DJ. Make sure to tip the vendors you do intend to hire!
Send Out Your Invitations
First, decide if you’ll be sending out a save-the-date. Schedule when that will be sent and make sure all of your intended guests get one! Unless you plan on having an especially short engagement, you should plan to send these out before the formal invitation. The general rule is to send them out six to eight months in advance, though they should be sent sooner for destination weddings, or those that fall on holiday weekends so that your guests can make all necessary arrangements. Send your invitations out six to eight weeks before the wedding. For destination weddings, send them out three months in advance.
Dress the Wedding Party
You can start coming up with ideas for your dress as soon as you’re engaged! It’s great to be excited! Wait until you’ve got your venue to start actively looking for your dress. This ensures that your dress and venue match well with each other. Finalize your selection six to nine months before your wedding. Plan to give a deposit of 50-60% of the total cost. Five months before your wedding find a seamstress for things like hemming your dress and any other alterations you may need. Also, begin looking for your veil and other accessories. Plan for three fittings at six to eight weeks before, four weeks before, and two weeks before your wedding to accommodate your alterations.
Make sure you have selected your wedding dress before looking for bridesmaid dresses. Unless you plan to cover the expenses, ask your bridesmaids about their budget so that you can shop with this in mind. Start to gather inspiration around eight months before the event. Order around six months before your wedding. It can take up to two to three months for them to arrive, and you want your bridesmaids to have time for fittings and alterations. Order shoes and undergarments four to six weeks after you’ve ordered dresses. Have a fitting about a month before the wedding to make sure everyone’s dresses fit properly.
As for tuxes, the groom and groomsmen should decide if they should rent or buy them. Begin ordering tuxes four to six months in advance. It’s best to start with the groom and move on to the groomsmen after his tux is selected.
Other Considerations
Determine where you will host your rehearsal dinner. This could be at a family member’s home, or you could rent a local banquet room. Make sure to arrange for the food and determine if you’ll have an open bar. Plan events such as engagement parties, bridal showers, and bachelor or bachelorette parties in advance. Consider planning a bridesmaid proposal as a cute and easy way to share your joy and make your wedding party feel involved from the beginning.
Build a wedding website. This will allow you to get updates to guests more quickly and allows for more information than will fit on your invitations. It can also be used to let guests upload any pictures they take during the wedding. It may also be fun to create a wedding hashtag! These are growing in popularity and make it easier to find photos and posts from your wedding on social media.
Create and send out your registry early enough for guests to buy gifts. There are lots of things to consider like what you should ask for and making sure there are enough gifts on your registry, but it needs to be finalized four to six months before the wedding.
Conclusion
Keeping an open mind when it comes to wedding planning is most important. It’s likely that something will go wrong and you’ll have to make adjustments. Not every moment of wedding planning will be smooth and easy. But hopefully, these resources help you to get started!
