Planning your wedding is easy, said just about no one ever, but it also doesn’t have to be difficult.  If you’re just engaged, or feeling a bit stuck with planning your wedding, we recommend that you close Pinterest and put your wedding checklist to the side – just for a moment.  Next, dim the lights, pour your favourite beverage and sit down to make these 3 wedding planning decisions together.  Trust me, once you do, every other wedding planning decision you need to make will be so much easier.

#1 What style of wedding do you want?

The very first wedding planning decision I recommend that you make with your partner is what style of wedding you want.  To do this consider what’s important to you (individually and as a couple) and how you envision the day when you close your eyes and imagine it unfolding before you.

I often refer to this as your Vision and Priorities for the day and it’s important that you work it out now.

To get started consider if you want your day to be casual, or formal and lavish. Should it be intimate, or will it need to be big?  Would you like a traditional wedding, or something that puts an emphasis on fun? Would you like to hold it outside or indoors and what should the vibe be?  Is there something significant that has to be incorporated; such as getting married at a certain location, or in a particular Church?

If you’re finding it hard to pin down the style of wedding you want, go ahead, pick up some Wedding Magazines, read Wedding Blogs and yes, have a browse on Pinterest.  But, I recommend doing these things after you’ve considered the above questions and made some notes together.  Try to have some ideas in mind before you confuse yourself with an overwhelming number of options.

The reason this stage is so important goes beyond having a nice ‘look’ for your wedding.  A Wedding is truly magical when it is a reflection of your style and personality. Keep that in mind as you have this conversation and be prepared to give and take.  You may not agree on everything initially, but you’re a team and you should be able to find a happy compromise so you both get the day you want.

#2 Who would you like to invite?

Almost every decision you make from this moment on, hinges on how many people you’re inviting.  You don’t need an exact list, just a rough guide to numbers is fine.  As you draw up your list, also consider the style of wedding you’;re having.  If you would like an intimate wedding, but have a guest list of 150, something needs to give.  Your budget, which is next on our list, is also going to influence your numbers, but at this stage just work on the ‘ultimate’ list.  You can refine it after you have the next conversation.

#3 How much money do you have to spend?

From my experience, this is one of the toughest conversations to have when it comes to weddings. At this stage you don’t even know how much things are going to cost, but do you know what, that actually doesn’t matter right now and in fact, thinking about that is what causes a lot of issues when it comes to Weddings.  Too many people don’t have a budget for their wedding and honestly, just about everyone needs one. There are only a small number of people who don’t and you may be surprised to learn that the people who can most afford to lash out, usually do have a budget.

You may decide to spend more than your budget later on, but if you start out with a plan for what you can afford to spend, you can make wise decisions about going over.

My advice is to first determine who will be contributing and confirm the details. If Dad, or Aunty Jess said they would help, ask them to put a figure to it, explaining that you want to make wise decisions and need to understand how much you have to spend on your wedding.

Then make a list of your income and expenditure between now and the month to 2 month’s before the wedding (when most things have to be paid for in full) and consider how much of your income you are willing to save towards your wedding costs.  Calculate your total projected wedding day savings and add in any contributions and you have your wedding day budget.

Now that you have determined what you have to spend, what style of wedding you want and who you would like to invite, you have decided some essential things and no doubt prompted further conversations.  If you think the I Do Crew could help you take the next step in planning your wedding, contact us.  We would love to talk to you.