Did you know that over 40% of annual engagements take place during the short period, between Christmas and New Year?
This is why, I have decided to put together a short guide on my TOP THREE STEPS on wedding planning for newly engaged couples.
TIP 1:
The first questions you will hear as a newly engaged couple when approaching wedding venues and suppliers are:
1) Anticipated Guests Numbers
2) The Date of you Wedding
3) Ceremony Arrangements
It is definitely very helpful for you to look at your anticipated numbers as a lot of wedding venues will either have minimum numbers requirement or they might have varied options for you dependent on your numbers and you wouldn’t want to learn about them all – your time is also precious when planning for a wedding! In some cases, you might even benefit form better rates if your numbers are above a certain level too, so I highly recommend you consider your guest numbers before making enquiries.
Do not worry, you do not need to have an exact date of your wedding sassed out right away! (Trust me, not many couples do either!) What I mean by the date is a provisional range, seasons or even months you would ideally like to get married in. There’s a couple of reasons for that, firstly, a lot of wedding venues offer season pricing and you might be benefiting from deals and offers if your ideal date/period falls slightly out of the main season. Secondly, seasonality will also affect your choices of flowers, ceremony arrangements and supplies of certain foods, so once again, I recommend you have a think of your ideal time of the year scenario.
Thirdly, ceremony arrangements! This one is particularly important if you’re panning for a religious ceremony. Availability of your religious venue and person conducting your marriage ceremony might be restricted, so it is worth checking with them first too. Additionally, some venues with charge additional setup and early facility fees for ceremonies taking place on site of your wedding reception.
TIP 2:
I am often asked by couples who booked their venue: “What should we think about next?”
My answer is very simple – consider those suppliers that will truly make your wedding and my recommendations here are:
1) Ceremony Officiant
2) Photographer
3) Evening Entertainment
Remember, a lot of these suppliers are a “one man show” and if you’ve got your heart set on them, you might want to consider them first!
Marriage ceremony is truly the reason why you’re making all these plans in the first place, therefore it is important for you to consider your arrangements early – will it be religious, civil, independent or humanist? Particularly the religious, independent and humanist Officiants will have a very limited availability so if you’ve got one in mind, approach them early.
I also don’t think that I need to explain how important wedding photography is – this is the one element of your wedding that will stay with you for the rest of your lives together and if you’ve got your heart set on a specific photographer or style of wedding photography, ensure you do your research early.
Finally, evening entertainment, weather that’s a band, DJ, saxophonist, tribute act or otherwise – these suppliers book up quickly, so don’t wait to book your choice as soon as you can. At the end of the day, evening reception is the longest part of your wedding and the one that probably most of your wedding guests look forward to the most.
TIP 3:
