Planning Your Wedding

Planning your wedding can be one of the most exciting parts of planning for a special event. One of the first things you should do is to set a date for the event. You might want to hold your wedding in a special location that is only accessible during the months of September through May. Your wedding date could be in the fall or in early March. Once you have decided on a wedding date, it is time to begin looking for a wedding venue. To narrow down your choices, make a list of all the locations that appeal to you that fall within the months of your chosen date. Then, rank each potential location according to how convenient it is for guests traveling to and from your intended destination, as well as your budget. For example, would an open air studio be more suitable than a large hotel if you want your guests to enjoy the weather while outdoors? When you are ranking venues, it will be critical that you consider the amount of space that you will need for your reception and the number of people that you intend to invite. It can be very difficult to book a large venue if you know that there will not be enough room for the number of people that you have decided to invite. So make sure that you are clear about the number of people you want to get married and the amount of space that you need. Next, you should find out the cost of a wedding venue in your desired city, state or country. Depending on whether you plan to pay in cash or use a credit card, the venue's overall fee might change. If the wedding venue is far from your home or office, you might want to factor in travel expenses that will incur when you travel to get married. Once you have the location and your wedding venue booked, it is time to start working on your wedding budget. It is not a bad idea to start making a list of how much you can spend each month, week or day to pay for everything that is associated with planning your wedding. This includes the cost of the invitations, caterer, florist, photographer, musicians, cakes, etc. If you are working with a limited budget, this list could be quite long. After your budget is established, you can start thinking about the wedding date. Ideally, you should book your venue at least four months before the date of your wedding. This will give you enough time to find anything you need and to find the best possible deal on anything that you book during that period. If your wedding date is at such a crossroads as to be booked in the last few months, you may want to wait a few months and see what your options are. A lot of venues offer discounts if they book your event at the last minute. So you could potentially save quite a bit of money by doing so. Your wedding checklist should also include a good amount of information about what to have planned for after the wedding, including seating arrangements, decorations and gifts. The planning checklist will help you stay on target with this information. Planning your wedding checklist will also include information on how to plan for your honeymoon, including finding a travel company that offers honeymoon packages. You want to make sure that you are able to afford to take your honeymoon on the days leading up to your wedding and at the same time make sure that it fits into your budget as well. Finally, the wedding ceremony details should not be forgotten. Wedding ceremony details should include the time and location of the ceremony, where the couple will eat, how many guests will attend and where the reception will take place. Be sure to get this information at least four months in advance so that you are prepared. Many venues offer discounts on their wedding ceremony details if you are going to use them for your wedding ceremony details. This can save you a lot of money.