Tips for Your Wedding and Reception

According to wedding planners, nine months is about the average time required to plan your wedding. You may choose to hire a wedding planner, but you can do everything yourself if you pay attention to the details. There are a number of good checklist type wedding planning guides available. These checklists can be invaluable. Using a lead time of 6-9 months, list all the things that need to be done and prioritize them

First on the list – how much money will you want to spend? Create a budget that will cover at least the “must have” things. If you’re trying to economize, add in other things one at a time and look at how they affect the overall cost.   You must choose a wedding date, of course, and it doesn’t hurt to have some alternative dates, too.

How many guests will be invited? The number of guests will affect where you hold your wedding and reception as well as the overall costs for catering, etc. Are you going to have a “destination wedding” that will require travel or will you be getting married close to home? Booking a wedding venue, arranging for entertainment, and securing a caterer generally require making arrangements months in advance – more than a year ahead for many venues. If you plan an outdoor wedding and/or reception, be sure to make alternative plans to allow for inclement weather. Make arrangements for everything you can book in advance – flowers, cake, photographer, etc. Choose colors for your wedding, pick out wedding outfits, and your dress. Get friends to help you with some of the details.