Any successful event starts with a specific step: the planning part. It is not different for a wedding ceremony, which means dedicating the right amount of attention to yours is core.
Wedding planning is not a simple process, and each detail must be thought thoroughly to avoid unpleasant surprises in the last 30 days right before the event is about to start.
Therefore, we will broach the step-by-step must-dos in a timeline, guiding you from month to month, beginning about a year in advance.
This article is the first part of our wedding planning content series, and you can find its sequel on the bottom of this page.
We’ll start by covering the wedding planning necessary between 12 and 9 months until the big day.
Follow it up to check what it takes to throw a perfectly neat event.
Wedding Planning: 12~9 months until The Day
Choose dates (3 to 5 days – be flexible)
There can be several personal reasons for couples to determ their wedding date, like: sentimental value, best climate period for the honeymoon destination, the relationship anniversary, and so on…
In any case, being too restrictive can end up complicating the process and it will result in a disagreement between you and your spouse-to-be, or a failure to meet your expectations.
Save at least 3 possibilities and narrow them down as the time passes. If you really want a specific date and have it as a mandatory day, make sure to start planning exactly 12 months in advance and get prepared to deal with climate changes and guests transportation.
By getting prepared in advance you’ll also save money that would be spent on the venue booking, the honeymoon transportation, and many other ways.
Decide on a budget
This is the most stressful part of the entire event and can even be demotivating; but, without it, the event cannot come to life. Then, the best you can do is to deal with this troublesome headache right away.
How much do you have available for the wedding? How much do you have available for the honeymoon? Who will be the investors? (just you and your future spouse?) How much can you count on the family members’ help? How many people will be invited? (The number of guests determs the venue and the caterer staff size, and many other costs too).
Decoration, cake, dress… You need to plan everything beforehand so that nothing gets out of control. If you want to have a luxury wedding, you will also need florists, consultants, vendors, planners, photographers, and other specialists to provide you with professional assistance.
In order to get to know exactly what itens you’ll spend money on, keep on reading this article and take notes!
Get inspired by wedding styles and decide onto what theme your event will occur
After the most horrible migraine is gone, the joy of being able to look at the world without wrinkling the forehead when your eyes make contact with the daylight is indescribable. It’s just like that when you leave the budget part and heads to deciding your wedding theme.
Analogies set aside, choosing your wedding theme might be the most amazing part of the planning process, and, without it, there can’t be decor, guests or even cakes. Therefore, I recommend doing it after you’ve decided on the budget.
Here is where the glamour begins; the romance… your innermost dreams… imagination and creativity rule.
In order to match your dreams and come up the an awesome theme idea, you need to learn about the most traditional wedding themes and start aligning imagination with what can be done indeed.
Set up a bridal party (maid of honor, bridesmaids, best man, groomsmen, flower girl, and ring bearer)
It is a wise decision to plan your whole party in anticipation and ponder over who you will invite. In another article, we mentioned that you may not want to involve friends and relatives out of your nuclear family to avoid arguments with possible “forgotten names”. After all, we never know when our friends create expectations to be included in the great moments of our lives, but we don’t think of them the same way, and by that they will feel forgotten and forsaken.
Even though it might be true, the vast majority of events take place with intimate relatives and friends integrating the bridal party in the end. Most of the times, it’s a magical moment by the way.
Setting up the bridal party involves critical thinking, phone-calling, and paying back for people’s favors. That’s why we recommend planning it at least 9 months until the big day.
Get in touch with planners, photographers, florists, caterer staff, and musicians, and choose who to work with.
The easiest way to do this is to look for a wedding planner right away. This professional has been working in the market for years and can give you smart tips to get the best services out of it.
Good vendors take their clients budge into consideration, but if you disagree with their suggestions, you still can search for other options autonomously.
If that happens, take the professional’s suggestion as a basis to compare with the other options. Just make sure you will choose what you think suits you best and try to have no regrets.
Create a website for the event
The main function of the wedding website is to inform guests about the date, place, and the event news. However, there are still other functions you can use it for:
- Create and show the couple’s wishlist to the guests, who are supposed to contact you when decided what their gift will be;
- Share teasers and incentives to instigate the guests to attend the event;
- Create a space for visitors to leave their intentions to attend or contact you in case they won’t be able to.
Start planning the honeymoon
The time to make the trip of your dreams will come soon!
Choose a place that both parts have always dreamed of visiting: a well-located and high-class hotel; follow a programmed itinerary in the place visiting its main attractions, and so on.
You should ponder on the possibilities, but keep the budget paper in your hands.
Explore wedding venues according to the chosen theme and budget
Think about not only the wedding theme when choosing the venue, but also have the number of guests you intend to receive in mind. You should look for a balanced location in terms of size and budget, trying to reach a proper cost-effective place.
Still, you should not let your aspirations and dreams go off: a wedding ceremony is a unique day in life – one that few can experience. So, try to balance the budget with the resources and attractions you’ll offer. Look for good places within your city, but on neighboring cities as well.
Wedding Planning: Your Ultimate Guide In Series
This is the most important article for those who think: “I’m engaged, now what?”. Here is where you learnt how to start giving life to your wedding day and build your expectations.
Follow this series’ next articles and make sure you can host a flawless wedding event.