Planning a wedding can be one of the most fun and exciting projects you will ever encounter, the thought of choosing the dress, tasting delicious varieties of wedding cake and flicking through pretty invitation samples, can sometimes overshadow the daunting reality of organising what can be a complicated, intricate life event.
- My first piece of advice as a wedding planner, is to not worry. Keep your planning in perspective and most importantly dedicate as much time as possible to the planning process as you can. This will ensure you are up to date with your suppliers and that you remain within your allocated wedding budget. Many couples sit back at the end of their wedding day and look back on it with hesitance and dread as they are unsure how much money they have spent in total and worry whether they can they afford to pay the suppliers.
- It’s really important to sit down with your partner and decide what you both want out of your wedding day. If one of you sees a candyfloss pink theme, with baby pink balloons and candy-cane sweet stalls, yet the other has ideas of a cheery, cider fuelled Hog roast as a reception, some compromises are going to have to be made! Listen to each other’s ideas and make a list of what’s really important to you and how you can incorporate both of your wishes into your day.
- Next you will need to talk money. Set a budget and stick to it, or determine with those paying for the wedding exactly how much they are prepared to pay. As awkward as these conversations may be, you have to know what you’re working with so that you can set yourself strict guidelines and deligate your cash properly. Divide your budget up to cover everything, dress, flowers, cake, reception, honeymoon etc. This will allow you to have very clear restrictions on what you can and can’t afford. Once these first steps have been taken, it’s then wise to set your wedding date.
- Popular venues get booked up very quickly, if not years in advance, so decide on whether it’s the date of the wedding or the venue which is most important to you. Once you have this set, if you’re having a civil ceremony, book the Registrar, as without him/her, the wedding cannot go ahead. You now have the go ahead to arrange your guest list and get the invites sent out and if you have successfully budgeted prior to this, you’ll know exactly how many people you can afford to invite and what reception package you can stretch to.
- My biggest piece of advice at this stage, is to get organised. You have set the foundations of your planning and booked the date, you have a vivid idea of what you can spend and you have a rigid timescale to work towards. Whether the wedding date is a week away or a year away, it’s a really good idea to write yourself a timeline of what needs to be done and by when. Suppliers all have deadlines to work to for you, but will also set very tight deadlines for their payment too, so remember to plan in these key dates.
- Don’t forget to include when you expect to receive your RSVP’s back and plan to chase those that don’t reply after a certain date. This again, will ensure you don’t have to panic at the last hour, worrying whether all of your guests are attending.
- My final piece of advice is to get some help. Planning a wedding is a huge undertaking and if you work or have children it can be really difficult to allocate the time to getting things sorted. Although wedding planners are a relatively new role in the UK, they are becoming increasingly necessary, especially on the day of the wedding.
With a variety of planning packages, we can help you with all aspects, from demonstrating our creative flair through inspiring picture boards to being a resourceful fairy-godmother on your wedding day. At Kellington Weddings we offer additional services too, such as sending out your invitations, receiving your RSVP’s and updating you on who’s coming and who’s not, let alone giving you lots of inspiration and options of styles and themes.
Good Luck!
