Congratulations! You've now entered one of the momentous, important, ecstatic, and stressful times of your life! So many emotions, so much in your brain, so much to plan. But where to start?
First: slow down. Take some time to enjoy this really special time in your life. Soak in the fact that you and your love have decided to do this forever. Gush with your family and friends, smile big time on this life change, and relish in all that you hope and dream will come next.
Once that's out of your system, it's time to start with a guest list. You'll need to know how many you are expecting before you can decide on a location and/or wedding date. In general, you can expect that about 2/3 of your invited guests will come to your big day. I'd start with the people you CANNOT get through this day without. This include the obvious choices, such as your immediate family, your best friend, your dear grandmother. Once that list feels pretty good, move on to those who you'd love to have there, but could still see yourself going through with it if they were not able to make it. Decide if you want to allow for plus ones, or just invite those significant other who you know are in a serious relationship. This part can get tricky, but just go with your heart... and your wallet. Keep in mind that each body you are seating, feeding, and planning for will contribute to your budget. Finally, as bad as this is to say, there are always people you don't feel you need to be at your wedding, but should be: your boss, your distant great aunt, your oldest family friends you haven't talked to in years.
Now it is time to venue search! A lot of factors go into a venue search: do you want the ceremony and reception to be at two different locations, or the same one? Outdoors? Indoors? Handicap accessible? Noise curfew? Ambiance? How many people can be accommodated? Talk these items through with your fiancé to get a good grasp on what you both are wanting out of the day. Secluded venues with amazing views might need a kitchen and bathrooms brought in which can be pricey, as well as required transportation buses for guests due to lack of parking. Winery weddings can provide those killer views as well, but may have hard liquor restrictions and are often a bit tighter on space too. Hotel weddings can act as kind of a one-stop-shop with the caterer, rentals, and sometimes a venue coordinator all provided for you; however these spaces might be lacking in outdoor space, character of the ballrooms, and limit your creative options. Once you've landed on a venue, they'll provide you with a list of some dates they are open during your desired time frame. Friday will be cheaper than Saturday almost all the time. I suggest looking up public events in the area to make sure you aren't asking your guests to travel during the most expensive/high-traffic/all-the-hotels-are-booked time of the year (unless that's what you're going for). It's also worth inquiring about events they have already booked at the space on the dates you are considering. Many venues and churches will have as many as 2 or 3 weddings in a day (at different times and/or locations of course) and you can sometimes pay extra to have an exclusive for the day. Weddings are notorious for running late, and you don't want this potentially infringing on the time you have paid for.
Once these HUGE decisions have been made, you can get down to the nitty-gritty: catering, flowers, rentals, entertainment, etc. Some peoples' minds were made for this, but some can feel totally lost in the details. You want to enjoy this time, so if doing it all yourself allows for that- GO FOR IT and save the money! But if not, a planner can greatly take away the stress that accompanies this happy time and can ensure your details are in good hands.
Happy planning!
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