Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Worry Free Wedding Planning

Weddings are happy, joyous occasions that are sometimes clouded with months of stress and worry. With a little organization your wedding plans can be a piece of “wedding” cake!


Begin planning as soon as you set a date. Purchase a planner with checklists, file folders, etc., so that you can store vendor information, contracts, etc. Use the checklist to make sure you are on the right track with your wedding plans.


Try to set your wedding date at least ten months to a year in advance. This will allow more time for careful planning and result in little to no stress.


Get your families and attendants involved. Don’t carry the burden of all the planning on your shoulders. Distribute wedding responsibility cards to your attendants, parents, and fiancé so that that they are all aware of the duties expected of them.


Attempt to get your fiancé involved. Although most fiancés are not into details, more than likely, when he sees you working hard on wedding plans, he will probably want to chip in.


Book your reception hall, ceremony location, and caterer as soon as possible. These are the quickest things to get booked when planning a wedding. Getting it done early will help with the biggest headache and expense in wedding planning.


Plan your budget. Set limits for each service and product and STICK TO IT!


When booking your vendors, ask if payments can be made monthly, weekly, or however you like. This will help alleviate the final cost of the wedding.


Make monthly “TO DO” lists for your wedding planning. Follow your overall wedding checklist and attempt to complete the tasks for each month accordingly. It’s surprising how much gets done when you do little things each month.


Attend bridal shows. Use them as tools to gather as much information as possible from vendors. Use this information to help you compare prices and packages that all have to offer.


Shop around. Do not settle for the first thing you see. You may think it is a good price- but be sure to look around and compare before making that final decision.


If possible, get an all-inclusive reception location. Many reception halls offer all in one catering, hall rental, liquor, cakes, and other amenities. This will reduce much planning and leave most of the dirty work to someone else on your wedding day, making it easier for you and your family to enjoy.


Make a date once a week with your fiancé to go out and do something together- EXCEPT talk about the wedding. Go to the movies, have dinner, go out with friends, whatever- as long as your wedding is not discussed. Often, couples will have awful arguments over trivial things because of impending wedding plans. Having a wedding is like having a job, and you should take a weekly break!


These tips should help to make your wedding plans smoothly and stress free! Good luck, and congratulations!

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