So, you’re getting married? Exciting! Once you’ve enjoyed the excitement and bliss of being newly-engaged, thoughts will inevitably shift towards thoughts of the big day. Once it has sunk in that you are actually getting married, it’s time to get down to business. It’s time to start wedding planning!
Wedding planning needn’t be stressful. Indeed, it should be enjoyable! Of course, there is a lot to do but if you allow sufficient time and you think things through carefully, it should be a breeze – especially when you have a handy wedding guide like this to point in the right direction, anyway!
That’s what The Ultimate Silk Street Guide to Wedding Planning is all about. Let us help to make the ‘happiest day of your lives’ a truly special and memorable one!
Wedding Planning Basics: How to start planning a wedding
There really is no right or wrong way to plan a wedding. Similarly, there is no expected time needed to plan the big day. Surveys show that, on average, couples in the UK take 12-24 months to plan their wedding. This is certainly not set in stone, but we recommend that you allow a minimum of 12 months for your wedding planning.
This normally allows for a comfortable time frame to work with. Bear in mind that popular wedding venues, photographers, and entertainment acts can, and do, get booked up quickly and often well in advance.
Giving yourself more time makes good sense, but weddings can be planned on much shorter time scales too. However, this might mean that you need to be willing to be flexible.
Set a Budget… and promise to stick to it!
Probably the most important thing to consider is also the first thing you need to do as you start your wedding planning: your budget.
You need to have an open and honest discussion about how much you are prepared to spend on your wedding and how much you can both afford. Think about whether anybody else – family members, for example – will be contributing, and how much you can save over the coming months.
It’s always important to be realistic and not to stretch yourself financially. Yes, your wedding day is a special day and you might really want to ‘push the boat out’. However, it is only one day, after all.
Once you’ve agreed your budget, it’s really important to stick to it! If you’re not careful, costs can soon spiral. You definitely want to avoid that happening to you.
Setting the Date and Making a Wedding Guest List
Summer wedding or winter wonderland wedding, it’s all down to you. But the sooner you set the date, the sooner your planning can really start. Bear in mind that some dates will be more expensive, in terms of wedding venue. It will cost you more to book a Saturday August date than a Tuesday in February, for example.
Making a wedding guest list can be problematic. There are people you will obviously want to be there, some that have to be there, and others you are unsure of whether to invite. The size of your guest list will be impacted by the size of your budget. You also need to make decisions about who to invite for the whole day, and who to invite for the evening only. More frank and honest discussions are needed here!
Once the guest list is finalised, you can send out ‘save the dates’; the formal invitations are normally sent out 3-6 months before the date – but it’s always a good idea to give people as much notice as possible.
Wedding Planning Necessities: Find the Perfect Venue
As soon as you set your budget and chosen the theme for your wedding, you can start to think about finding the perfect venue. Securing your booking will fix the date, location and maximum guest numbers… and now it all starts to feel very real!
Important considerations are whether you’d like a venue that offers accommodation and whether you want to use your own caterers.
Choose Your Wedding Suppliers
This is one of the most important steps involved in wedding planning. This is because the suppliers you choose will be predominant in shaping the overall style of your wedding – and, of course, the cost.
Consider the following: photographer/videographer, caterers, florist, hair and makeup, music and entertainment.
On top of these, you may want to think about additional extras. Opting or unique wedding suppliers can help you to put a distinctly personal stamp on your wedding. This can really set your big day apart from all the rest.
The Wedding Party
If you want to follow tradition, you will need to choose a maid of honour and bridesmaids, the best man and ushers, as well as page boys and flower girls. It is important that you (and the people you choose) are clear about what all the different wedding roles and responsibilities entail. You also need to factor in the cost into your overall budget. From bouquets and buttonholes to thank you gifts, the overall total soon adds up. It’s not that you shouldn’t do these things and have these roles, but it’s the cost of things such as the wedding party are sometimes overlooked.
Other things to consider with your wedding planning
Practicalities, such as wedding transport and accommodation need to be considered. Once you’ve established where your guests will be staying, you’ll be able to send out your wedding invitations and RSVPs. Avoid potentially awkward conversations further down the line by making it crystal clear what the invite is for: all day or for the evening only – and whether a plus one is included.
The Wedding Dresses and Grooms’ Wear
Allow yourself plenty of time to choose your wedding dress. Designer dresses can take up to six months to make from order to delivery. This is definitely one aspect of wedding planning that should never be left to the last minute.
You can probably do without certain aspects of a wedding on the day… the dress is not of them!
And now the planning is well under way…
Once your wedding planning is well under way and with the pressure off somewhat, you can think about creating a wedding gift list, choosing your rings and creating a table plan for the big day – and arranging the Stag & Hen Nights.
And don’t forget to make sure there’s enough time for the two of you to have some quality time together during all of this too.
Get in touch to book your wedding day entertainment with Silk Street today.
