Planning your big day should be fun and exciting. There will be times; it has to be said, that you will also find it stressful, no doubting shedding a few tears along the way.
However, all of the negatives will be forgotten, as you dance the night away, glowing with pride that your big day has gone without a hitch – and just as you wanted it too. It might also be the springboard into a new career as many people have gone on find out with NCC Home Learning’s Wedding Planner Diploma.
But, as you stand at the start of your marriage organising journey, what best hints and tips for planning a wedding in 2016?
#1 Examine your abilities with a critical eye
Beginning with a negative may not be what you expect but, we think it is important to point out that event and wedding planning is not easy. Depending on the size of your wedding, it can take many, many hours of labour searching for the smallest thing. And, when things do not go according to plan, it can send you into a meltdown of gargantuan proportions.
So, the lesson for 2016 – some things you will be able to do, and others it may be best to seek the help of others. And this may mean paying a wedding planner or other professionals.
#2 Guest lists…
Wedding planning and wedding guest list execution is all about limits, numbers and pound signs. You may have a whopping budget, but this does not mean you want to spend it on feeding 500 people, 75% of whom you’re barely know.
Be realistic about the budget that you have and the size of the guest list it will comfortably accommodate.
#3 Get organised and stay up to date
Weddings have a habit of tottering along nicely until a few weeks before the big day and then it snowballs, crashes and heaves to a point where everything seems to have become a big mess. But it all appears to go without a hitch, and everyone had a great time including po-faced aunty Mildred.
Being organised and staying organised is key to the planning process going smoothly. Make a list of what needs doing, when and by whom. Simple things, like running a live spreadsheet of RSVPs for the day and evening dos are the perfect way of staying on top.
Have the thank you notes ready too!
#4 Spreadsheets and files
You probably never thought you would turn into a bridezilla but let us assure you at this point that by having spreadsheets and files, you have not turned into one. It just means you are organised, with all the information, booking confirmations, contact details and so on, in one handy place.
As you would expect, there are also loads of wedding planning apps, including keeping your eye on the weather.
#5 Embrace limitations
Party and wedding planning is strewn with casualties who, years after their big day, are still paying the debt they incurred by having everything and anything they wanted. In a world that is full of extravagances, it can be easy to go overboard.
You may want to think through want you want and then prioritise these because, the hard fact is that you will not be able to have it all – and thank goodness, in many ways, as this means that you will end up spending your hard earned cash on what you want.
#6 Cast off superstitions and traditions… if that is what you want to do
Weddings are full of superstitions and traditions that can either be welcomed or, just a waste of time. The whole thing about not seeing your groom before the altar is a bit long in the tooth and thus many couples are now taking the opportunity to get ready together, walk in together and just basically be together, which is what marriage is all about.
Sometimes ringing the changes is as good as following tradition, and so if that is what you want to do, then go ahead and do it. Marriages and partnerships rise and fall on hard work, perseverance and love – not whether your groom caught a glimpse of you in your wedding dress before the ceremony.
#7 And finally…
HAVE FUN! Weddings and civil ceremonies are about two people taking the plunge and declaring their love to the world. It is about promising to carry on looking after each other, and making your lives better, together.
So, have fun planning your wedding and have a good time at your wedding… and who knows, you might find yourself planning someone else’s wedding as a wedding planner?
