No, not 101 considerations, though we wouldn’t be surprised if it came to that. Praise the colon, because today we’re talking about just a few of the key ones.
If you’re planning a wedding, then we don’t have to tell you twice that you have a pretty big task on your hands. Yep, you have a pretty big task on your hands; there are all sorts of different aspects to the big day that you’ll need to plan with precision to make sure your getting hitched goes off without one.
This, of course, can feel like a lot of pressure and it’s not all too surprising that many people get a little overwhelmed at some point or another during the process. Avoid this; every moment of this is meant to be a special time, and even the planning stage can create amazing memories for years to come!
First and foremost, your planning process should be fun. Second, don’t get burdened with making everything ‘perfect’ and don’t place unnecessary emphasis on tiny details; such stress can lead to post-wedding blues which simply don’t set the tone right for the rest of your life together. This is a day that is about celebrating your love and the lead up to it should be as positive and enjoyable as the event and happily ever after, too.
So, just the compendious considerations today; our wedding planning 101 and the IDEAL elements in the run up to your big day.
PLANNING SERVICES AVAILABLE TO YOU
Here are some reassuring words; you’re not alone when you’re planning a wedding. Though it might feel like every detail falls on your shoulders from a great height and at terminal velocity, there are whole industries built around weddings and there are countless professionals and services whose sole professional purpose is to help people plan their wedding day. Phew.
So, take a look at your options and see if any appeal to you. These, in particular, can take a load off:
- A Wedding Planner – the most commonly used wedding planning service is that of a wedding planner. Clue’s in the title, hey?
These are people whose entire career revolves around planning weddings. They know the ins and outs of what makes a wedding work and what doesn’t work quite so well.
They also often tend to have trusted relationships within the industry which they can call on to secure favours and better rates. Of course, their services come at a cost. But if you’re looking to minimise stress around the wedding planning process as much as possible, this could definitely be a justified investment that’s worth making!
- Online Wedding Planners – if you haven’t considered using an online wedding planner yet, now is definitely the time to look into it.
This service will highlight all of the key and most common elements of a wedding day and will put you in touch with companies and professionals in the areas you want help sourcing. For example, such a service can guide you to florists, catering companies, venues and much more. This can be incredibly useful, as not only do you get exposure to a wide range of options, but you can easily compare them and get quotes from those you’re most interested in, all in one convenient place.
In these turbulent times of COVID-19 and its subsequent restrictions, these online services look likely to be increasingly popular as face-to-face meetings are made more difficult by safety measures.
CREATING AN ESSENTIALS CHECKLIST
If you’re worried about missing out on any of the essentials – and by that, we mean the really important stuff which requires arranging well in advance – it’s a good idea to create an essentials checklist.
This will help you to tick off the things you deem most crucial to your big day going well. Prioritising is the name of the game here. Remember, these things may vary, but here are the essentials:
The Venue
Wedding venues should be one of the first things you decide on, as the choice of location will determine so much of the big day. Once you know your venue, you can create a guest list that the venue can realistically accommodate, you can start planning venue decorations, and you can start planning appropriate outfits.
Let’s break this thing down. Now, the first big venue related decision you’re likely to make is location. Where do you want to get married? Would you like to stay close to home? Do you want to get married a little further away? Would you consider holding your wedding overseas?
When deciding on a location, consider whether you want everyone in your life to be able to attend, or whether you’re happy having a smaller and more intimate event. Weddings close-to-home tend to be more accessible for your nearest and dearest who live nearby, whilst hosting one further afield may reduce your guestlist, as not everyone will necessarily be able to afford flights, get time off work or secure childcare. A tactical decision to be made, potentially?
Of course, right now and for the foreseeable future, COVID restrictions are in place on the size of weddings; currently, guest lists are limited to 15 attendees, but it’s changing with each and every government U-turn. Who knows what will be permitted tomorrow?
Once you’ve chosen a location, you can start looking at venues in this location. There are countless types of wedding venues, but some of the most popular tend to include:
- Religious venues
- Manors
- Hotels
- Barns
- Beaches
- Much more!
Choosing a venue that is used to holding weddings is likely to help your day run more smoothly, as the venue staff will know how to run things. However, don’t let this limit your options. You can get really creative with your venue if you want.
Finally, in regards to venue, you need to consider availability. Many popular venues have waiting lists and whether you secure the venue you’ve set your heart on will depend on whether you’re willing or able to wait or not. If you do want one of these difficult-to secure-venues, make sure to get on the waiting list as soon as possible!
A Cake
A wedding cake is inarguably a traditional element of so many weddings. They date all the way back to the 16th and 17th centuries, originally starting out as “bride pies” rather than cakes. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the plum cakes and fruit cakes with icing sugar that we more commonly associate with weddings rose in popularity.
Now, it’s important to remember that the wedding cake you choose is entirely down to your personal choice. If you like the traditional, tiered fruit cake – great! But if not, you can have quite literally any cake for your big day! For us, it has to be a layered cake of cheese (not a cheesecake, incidentally).
With regards to the price, a number of factors, such as the size of the cake, the complexity of the design, the ingredients used and the demand for the specific cake maker will sway the cost. Remember that you can spend a fortune on the cake if you want, but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to really splurge.
Of course, if you’re looking for perfection, it’s recommended that you do use a professional baker to create your cake. However, you can go DIY and bake your cake yourself if you’re looking to save funds. The cake can be a beautiful centrepiece, but often, many slices are left over at the end of the big day; a bit of a waste if big money has been spent, we think.
Your Outfit
Well, we wouldn’t be doing our job properly unless we redirected you to IDEAL tips on how to choose your perfect wedding dress. We’ve said it all over there, and won’t waste your (or our) time by repeating it here. Click on before you check out!
These are just a few areas to focus on that will help to get your wedding planning process kickstarted. Hopefully, some of the above advice will come in useful for you, so much so that we expect our invite in the post!