Starting your Wedding Planning

Starting your Wedding Planning is exciting but we are conscious it can be stressful and that, for some, the seemingly endless list of decisions can be a bit overwhelming.

We’ve put together some easy tips to get you started which we hope will be of help and ensure that you look just as happy as this client of ours did a few years back on your big day.

Budget

A good way to begin your life together is to make sure you both agree what you can or wish to spend on your wedding and, if others are involved, who is paying what.

If people are making contributions, ensure you know up front what you have to spend overall: it makes for easier decision making as you move forward.

When you’re starting your wedding planning it’s wise to allocate each contibutor’s money to something specific, for example the flowers, the cake or the transport, rather than putting it all in one pot. This way each individual feels semi ownership of one or two particular areas of expenditure which they can research and discuss with you, rather than all contributors being involved in every decision.

Ceremony

It is of course really important to agree whether your ceremony will be religious or civil.

This can sometimes be hard if perhaps parents have assumed you will marry in Church but you would prefer a non religious ceremony.

Some couples choose a legal ceremony then have an alternative faith or Humanist ceremony later, or a fews days afterwards. This can be a wonderful way to personalise things.

Team

Very much like with first babies, practically everyone likes to give advice when it comes to planning a wedding.

For some this can be all a bit much, so think about which friends and family you want involved and let them know in advance what you want them to do.

Give people specific tasks: family and friends love to get involved, but having everyone work on everything can result in no decision being made easily.

Important elements?

Having established your budget, think about what is really important to you. It may be that you’re very keen on a particular designer dress, or you’re real foodies and want superb cuisine and wines.

Shortlist the things which matter most and how much they will cost, then move to the items which matter less to you as a couple, or indeed could be omitted, such as favours perhaps.

I ask clients what their three ‘must haves’ are. This is a good starting point.

Children

A decision early on helps and means you can manage your guests’ expectations from the beginning.

Here at ternevents we advise either welcome children, cater for them and understand that they make a noise, or don’t invite them at all.

Either works well but it’s hard to invite some but not others.

When?

Deciding on when you wish to marry helps a lot. A long engagement means lots of planning time, whereas marrying quickly means lots of quick decisions.

Think about which season you want to marry in and whether or not it needs to be a Saturday.

If, like many, you’ve dreamed of a Summer Saturday wedding, great. However, choosing a Winter and/ or perhaps a weekday can really keep costs down if this is important.

Style

How do you picture your wedding in your mind? This helps identify venue, time of year, even colours and most appropriate decor.

Using tools such as Pinterest can be a fabulous way of keeping all your ideas in one place. Or, if you’re more hands on or crafty, keep scrapbooks.

Try to avoid simply doing what’s ‘in’ this season – do what feels right for the two of you and your guests will recognise it being ‘your day’ even more.

Wedding Planner

Aim to decide whether you want professional help early on. Some couples love to do everything themselves, but if you are concerned about time, or you’d like to hand over the reins, a professional planner doesn’t take over, but rather works with you to make all your ideas come to fruition.

We would suggest you talk to more than one wedding planner. We all vary and it’s so important to find someone you trust, who fully understands you and your ideas.

Have great fun starting your wedding planning all.

Get in touch to discuss your wedding with a Jersey Wedding Designer.

Photo credits: Mark Wallis, Zoe C Photography and Antonio Sanzari