There’s so much to do, it can be mind-numbing. Don’t worry. You can plan and hold your first wedding inside two months. If you have the luxury of a year or more, feel lucky!
For your wedding ideas you will need a wedding planner for you to keep with you as you plan your dream wedding. Planning is essential, so a checklist could be your best friend! You may want to invest in a cheap folder to keep all of your notes in order along with any receipts and/or quotes that you get!
You need to decide who will pay for the wedding. The typical wedding planner dictates that the bride’s parents pay for the wedding. In reality, these days that isn’t always the norm.
If you are ill equipped to throw your own wedding, you could contribute, sure, but to throw the whole shin-dig may be out of your realm. Maybe you could ask each parent-couple to contribute $500 and they may agree wholeheartedly. This could give you a budget of $2,000 which should be plenty!
We’re assuming you want a traditional ceremony as opposed to a “theme” wedding. That information alone could compose a whole other book on wedding ideas. Assuming you want a traditional wedding, the first decisions to be made include: the date, your attendants, and where the reception will be held. Of course, the date might be your most important decision.
Traditionally, couples tie the knot on a Saturday. If you really want to save some cash, consider having your ceremony on a Thursday or Friday. How about having a Sunday service on a holiday weekend? You’ll find that there are many more open dates on these days and you’ll ultimately realize more savings by booking on these less traditional time frames. Many reception locations will offer a discount for an off day. If they don t offer it, ask for it.
Also as part of your wedding ideas planner, you may want to consider an early marriage and an early reception. An 11:00 marriage with a reception immediately following can realize great savings as most guests will have already had lunch before your ceremony and the reception will most likely be over by dinner, so all you’ll have to provide is some light finger foods to tide over those rumbling tummies!
Additional savings may be realized by having your wedding in the months of November through April. These months are less busy for most wedding related services and locations. Again, ask for a discount for being off-season.
You need to decide how many attendants you will have so you can bestow the honor on them early enough! They can save the date and help you plan! Traditionally, the bridesmaids are responsible for their own wedding attire, but the bride usually has the final say on what they wear. Be mindful of your attendants’ financial situation and don’t choose that $500 satin chiffon number. Remember, you’re trying to throw a wedding on a budget. Let them save some cash as well! We’ll have some suggestions later on in this blog for attendant attire, so keep that in the back of your mind!
Where your reception will be held is another huge decision that has to be made early on in the wedding ideas planning stage. If you want to opt for a traditional reception hall, you’ll have to book early to be sure you can get the venue of your choice.
If you or someone in your family is the member of a benevolent association, consider these as viable options. They often give discounts to members and you will probably have access to a huge area for your wedding reception as opposed to Aunt Emily’s backyard! Just remember to book early!
Most weddings take place on a Saturday and the reception held in the church parish hall. If it’s a Catholic church ask if they will graciously allow you the ultimate leniency with liquor, food, etc. If you are members of the church, you may only pay a small charge to rent it for the afternoon.
If you choose to be married on a Saturday at your local church try and hold the reception at the local Legion or Social Club if any family members are members there. You can save a ton by booking the venue the day after you decide to marry. Plus, you save on the headache of trying to find a reception hall!
We’ll have much more on the dream reception later in this blog, but remember to book early. Having that out of the way will free up more of your time to concentrate on the little details that can mean so much!
You can also look to find a free place to hold your reception such as a friend’s home, a church’s reception hall, or even the local fire department’s reception hall! You could look into a local park, art gallery, and even your own home.
You’ll need to start on a guest list as soon as possible and begin thinking about invitations as part of your wedding ideas.
