So, he asked and you said yes and now you’re daydreaming about having the perfect, fairytale wedding. Daydreaming about the perfect wedding is not enough, you need to get down to the action of wedding planning; preparing the perfect, most magical day that you would want the world to remember.

A wedding is a once in a lifetime event which deserves nothing short of perfection. It’s a day of celebration for families and friends, and the day that two people join their lives and become one. A lot of people prefer to go the way of wedding and event planners, while some people choose to enjoy the wedding planning journey themselves. Whichever way you choose to go for your own wedding, there are a lot of things that need to be kept in mind while planning. There are many minor details that slip our minds while we are busy planning the grand event so make sure you’re noting down everything and anything that comes to your mind regarding your big day.

Now if you’re ready to plan the wedding of the century then we’ve got the perfect wedding planning guide for you right here. Get going!

Early Wedding Planning

Although you can pull off a wedding in weeks as well, but if you really want a wedding that will go down in the history books, then you need to plan every single detail from the invites to the flowers for the tables, which means there is a lot of work for you to do. So keeping in mind the huge amount of work you need to put into the wedding, an early start at planning the wedding might not be a bad idea. If you’ve got a year or more to plan the wedding then that can also assure a smooth planning with less sleepless nights and stress. The more time you have to plan an event, the more easily you are able to plan an event, dedicating more time to each detail of the event.

Fix a Budget

Of course, a grand wedding calls for grand cheques out of your bank account, so get your savings ready. Fixing a budget for the wedding is very important so that you know exactly how much money you can spend at the wedding. Allot specific sums of money for all the wedding expenses. Decide how much you want to spend on decorations, venue etc. This way you will focus only on things that fall under your budget. If you spend time checking out anything and everything, even if it’s out of your budget, you’ll only get more confused about things and waste time. It’s better to strictly fix your budget, stick to it and get the best out of your budget.

Guest List

Another important detail in wedding planning is getting your guest list ready well in advance so that you can plan the rest of the things in time. The earlier you decide on your wedding guest list, the earlier you can get your invites made which means you’ll be able to get an RSVP well in time to plan the seating and the menu accordingly. Everything in a wedding is interconnected and interdependent on each other. So if you get the guest list out of the way, you can then move on to the venue and seating, which will depend on the guest list. If you want a small wedding but your guest list is long, then you might need a larger venue, so for decisions like these, you need a fixed guest list so start collecting your RSVPs early on.

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Location/ Venue

Now if you’ve got the guest list out of the way, then move on to the location and the venue. Depending on the budget you’ve allocated to the location and the venue of the wedding, start shortlisting your options. If you’re looking at an international destination wedding then make sure you’re keeping the currency difference in mind and looking at your options. You also need to keep in mind the number of guests expected at the wedding to ensure there is enough space at the venue to accommodate all of them.

Decorations

When wedding planning, the decor of the wedding is probably the most tasking job because of the several options that you will have. Just the number of the variety of flowers available is enough to confuse you. But don’t worry, again go back to your budget for the decor and further divide it into all kinds of decorations you want. Allot a budget for flowers and get the best flowers available in that budget and similarly allot a budget for all the other decoration and choose the best available in that budget. Do not spend more on one and less on other because on the day of the wedding it’s the entire decor that will give the whole effect to the wedding, so if you spend more on flowers and get the most expensive ones but don’t spend on tablecloth or chair decor, then it’ll just be the flowers, which won’t add that much charm to the venue. So make sure you spend equally on everything even if the amount is small.

Photographer

This is one area where you should not compromise, even if you have to exceed your budget a little. Get the best photographer that you can afford because, after the wedding day, it’s only the photographs that will remain as proof and memory of your special day, forever. Get a list of photographers you like and then go through their portfolio to form an opinion about their work. Speak to some friends and acquaintances about the photographers they’ve hired for weddings or other events, but make sure you go for someone who’s a professional in wedding photography.

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Food and Drinks

This is also one of the most important decisions you need to make when wedding planning. Starting from the cake, to the champagne and dinner, everything needs to be perfect. Give yourself an ample amount of time to go for tastings and then decide on what you like. Do not rush and accommodate multiple tastings in a day because that could be too overwhelming for you. Distribute your tastings and appointments over few weeks and keep taking down notes each time you attend one so that at the end of all your tastings you have your notes to go back to and make a final decision. If you start planning your wedding early then you can easily dedicate a few weeks for this.

The Wedding Dress

If you’re on a diet trying to get the perfect wedding body, then try and get your wedding dress much closer to the wedding date because your measurements might differ each month. You can also choose a dress in advance and in case of any measurement difference go for an alteration, but it’ll be wiser to keep browsing through dresses for a while and then towards the end choose the one you really want and get the perfect size.

Conclusion

While all these tips might seem too much for you to do, if it’s spread over a decent amount of time, it shouldn’t get too stressful. Do take the help of your bridesmaids, that’s what they are there for. Planning a wedding can be a lot of fun and you can totally enjoy it if you plan it smoothly. A rushed planning will always be more stressful so give yourself lots and lots of time to enjoy each and every part of the wedding planning. You will cherish this planning forever and will have words of wisdom for the girl who catches the bouquet.

Happy wedding planning!