How to Get Started Planning your Big Day!
When you get engaged, most people don't know what to past announcing that you are getting married!!! Where do you start? Here are a few tips that will help you to get your wedding off in the right direction.
1. Set a date. That seems obvious, I realize that. But you MUST know what date, or at the very least, what MONTH you would like your nuptials to happen. Choose a month to start with, and go from there. Check with the most important people in your life to see if they have any plans during that month that would be best to keep in consideration...such as a prepaid, scheduled vacation, for instance.
2. SET YOUR BUDGET!!! Everything you do from this point on will be based on this very very important step. Determine where the money is coming from first and foremost. Check with your parents, and see if they are willing to help out, or maybe even pay for the entire affair. If not-you need to examine your own finances to see how you can set a budget without going broke. Please, do NOT use credit cards!! You don't want to be paying for your wedding when you are celebrating your 25th anniversary. If you can't afford a $50,000 wedding-then don't have one!
3 Choose a venue. Whether it is your church, a hotel or a vineyard-(and you need to remain open minded to get the date you wish) Many of the most popular wedding venues are booked months, often years in advance! So you will need to coordinate everything around their availability. Make a list of the top venues that you would love to get married at, and then you will most likely be getting married when you planned to.
4. You've set your date-you've set your budget-and hopefully, you've found the location for the wedding of your dreams. STOP NOW and hire your very first wedding professional. Your wedding coordinator!! You may think you can "do it all yourself" and of course, it is possible. But a wedding coordinator will not only SAVE you money, he or she has wonderful working relationships with many of the other vendors that you will be needing, and will be able to negotiate fees with ease and still keep your budget intact.
5. Choosing your consultant. We all know, word of mouth is the BEST way to find and hire any professional. If you've had friends or relatives that have recently gotten married, asked them who they used! If not-do a search on the internet, or check with local and national planning organizations for recommendations for planners in your area. Also, if you are friendly with others that are in the wedding industry, such as florists or bakers that you use regularly, ask them for a recommendation. These professionals work with planners all the time. And they KNOW who is reputable and would be a good fit for you. Of course, this plan of action would work if you DON'T know anyone; because all of these wedding professionals are familiar with planners and who you should or should not interview for the job.
6. Once you found your wedding coordinator, you need to schedule your first meeting. This will be most likely one of the most important meetings you will have with her. Bring your budget plan, your ideas for your wedding, and have in mind just what kind of wedding you are dreaming of. She will make sure you leave this meeting confident and secure that your wedding will be more than you ever imagined!
7. Now, it's time to relax and let your planner take the reigns. She will know everything that needs to be done! She too, will help you choose, based on her own experience with whom she has worked with, the bakers, florists, photographers, etc that would best fit you, your personality, and the wedding you are dreaming of!!
Happy Planning!
Julie
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