How To Plan A Wedding In Eight Steps

If you just got engaged, you may be wondering how to plan a wedding. The entire prospect of getting all your friends and family members together for a day to celebrate your marriage is daunting. Here are eight easy steps for planning your big day:

Step One: Create a budget

No matter whether you're having a simple, affordable wedding or a huge, expensive do, you need a budget. You definitely don't want to start off your married life in debt because of your wedding!

Look at the funds you have available now, either from your own bank account or from your parents. Then, look at how much you can put toward your wedding in the months (or years) leading up to it.

As you're creating your wedding budget, make sure that you get an idea of what you might spend on the major wedding expenses, such as your venue. Find out roughly how much each item or service will cost; use the internet or phone suppliers for ballpark costs. Although your costs maybe very rough at this stage, the next step in how to plan a wedding will make your budget clearer.

Find out more tips on how to plan a wedding and set up a budget.

Step Two: Figure out what you and your family can do yourselves

You can save thousands on your wedding by doing some things yourself. Make a list of things you're comfortable making or doing yourself or of things your friends and family members are good at. Basics like centrepieces should be easy to work with, no matter how creative you are. You may also want to make things like your cake, your food and your invitations. Make sure you know what supplies you will need for these things so that you can include them in your budget.

Step Three: Get Quotes

Once you've got your budget, you need to get written quotes for the major items. You should talk to at least three suppliers for things like your venue, food and the cake. Having three quotes to compare will make sure you are getting value for money. Make sure you ask lots of questions about what the quote covers so that you can make a choice based not only on price but also on the services that are included.

For smaller items, such as your decorations, favours or accessories use prices from one or two sources.

Find out more details on selecting the right supplier.

Step Four: Meet with the main suppliers

Before you sign a single contract, you need to meet with all your main suppliers and talk through their quotes in more detail. Find out exactly what their quote includes, and ask lots of questions about their services or products. This is your opportunity to negotiate with them, a part of how to plan a wedding that many brides find hard. Ask questions; if something isn't included, ask if they will include it at no extra cost.

Step Five: Create your timelines

Well before your wedding, you will need various timelines for your planning and your actual wedding day. Your timelines should include all the different elements of your wedding that you need to do, as well as the things that need to be done on your actual wedding day.

You can get great wedding timelines here, but make sure you take time to personalise them. It is too easy to forget about important details if you use a generic timeline. Look over the checklists carefully to make sure they match up with your needs.

Find more details on how to plan a wedding using timelines.

Step Six: Start your bookings

As soon as you know which suppliers you're going to use, start making bookings and paying your deposits. Everything from your venue to your celebrant to your hair appointment should be booked well in advance of your wedding day. You should write all the bookings down, and reconfirm them when it gets closer to your big day.

Step Seven: Update your budget and checklists

The easiest way to overspend is to fail to keep your budget up to date. When you're learning how to plan a wedding, the best piece of advice you can get is to update your budget every week, at the very least. If you find you are overspending then you will still have a chance to make savings elsewhere. You'll also need to update your checklists every week or two leading up to the wedding.

As you get closer to your wedding day, there will be so many last minute details you'll need to make sure you're getting everything ticked off your list at the right time in these last few days.

Step Eight: Ask for help

As you get closer to your wedding day, you'll find more areas where you can ask for help. Don't be afraid to ask friends and family members that you can rely on. People will usually be more than happy to help with your big day, this is a big part of figuring out how to plan a wedding. You might be surprised at how many ways your friends and family members will step in to help you if you just ask!

Remember to enjoy it!

When you're in the middle of figuring out how to plan a wedding, the stress can really overtake you. Keep in mind that your wedding day is about your marriage, instead of your marriage being about your wedding day. Do what you can to relax as you're planning your wedding, and focus on enjoying yourself when the day arrives.

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Image credits:
Wedding banquet: © ivylingpy | dreamstime.com

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