A wedding is one of the most meaningful moments in a couple’s life. Most women have been dreaming of this moment ever since they were little girls. However, as magical as the idea of a wedding can be, actually planning it can be a nightmare. The planning process is truly overwhelming and it can bring out the bridezilla in any woman. However, things don’t have to be this way. If you start planning in advance and you focus only on the things that you want, you will manage to plan the wedding of your dreams with minimum stress. To help you with this process, we have put together some unique wedding planning tips.
Wedding planning calendar
To make sure everything goes according to your plan, you should put together a calendar, to take care of the essential tasks in due time, and avoid future complications. This calendar can vary according to how big or small you want the event to be, but ideally, you should have a general plan in mind:
- 1 year before: Date and venue – Assuming that you don’t want a very long engagement, you should set the date and pick a venue the moment you have the ring on your finger. Some venues are booked for years in advanced, but if you are not very picky, you can book a good venue one year in advance. You should also have an estimate guest list in mind to have an idea of how big you need the venue to be.
- 10 months before: Final guest list and general plans – By now you should have a definite list of your guest, although it will take a while until you send the invitations. Now would also be a good moment to start planning the overall theme of the wedding, settle on some music and entertainment ideas, consider your food options and so on. You should also do some research on wedding professionals such as vendors, florists, musicians, photographers and so on.
- 7 months before: Musicians, dresses, save-the-date – Good musicians are in high demand so you need to book them in advance, especially if you want something different like custom wedding songs. Keep in mind that reputable musicians like Lindsey Harper conduct in-person interviews to create songs that truly express your love story, so make sure to include that in your calendar. Moreover, finding the perfect wedding dress will be hard, so you should start looking for it as soon as possible. Now would also be a good time to order the bridesmaid dresses and to send save-the-date cards.
- 4 months before: Invitations, rings, honeymoon and cake – Sending the invitations and buying the wedding rings will be an easy tasks especially if you use email invites instead of traditional wedding stationery. However, planning the honeymoon could be troublesome, so do some research and make sure to renew your passports if you want to go abroad. Moreover, book a good wedding cake designer in advance to make sure you will have that perfect cake.
- 3 months before: groom formalwear, wedding cake, dance lessons and guest details – The groom’s formalwear is not as complicated as the wedding dress, so ke can take care of it just 3 months before the wedding. Now would also be the time to settle on a wedding cake design and order it. If you plan on a special first dance, you might want to take some dance lessons. As far as the guests, book accommodations for out of town guests, as well as transportation if it is necessary.
- 2 months before: mail invitations, write vows, register for gifts and book hair and makeup artists – You might want to hire a calligrapher to add a unique touch to the invitations. Moreover, try several makeups and hairstyles to make sure you will look perfect.
- 1 month before: marriage license, gown fitting and last-minute arrangements – Make sure to confirm your bookings with all vendors and make necessary adjustments. A guest sitting chart would also be a good idea, to make sure your guests enjoy themselves in proper company.
- 2 weeks before: final arrangements with wedding professionals – Give photo-shoot list ideas to photographer, confirm music list with the DJ, confirm custom wedding song.
- 2 days before: reconfirm all your bookings, and make final reception arrangements. Deliver all reception decorations and plans to the reception manager. Also provide everybody involved in the wedding with an emergency number so that they can reach you if something comes up.
- One day before: deliver ceremony decorations and rehearse the ceremony
Last but not least, if something doesn’t go according to your plan, make sure to keep your cool and laugh it off. After all, life is not perfect and you can’t let small details ruin this special day for you.
