wedding planning

Congratulations, you’re getting married! Once the initial excitement of the engagement has passed, it’ll be time to get down to the nitty gritty of organising the big day. We’re here to help make your wedding day as stress free as possible. Your wedding will present its own unique set of challenges to work through, and yes – this will create stresses which you may not have experienced before. Stresses on your relationship, finances, time and much more. But fear not, take heed of the following 8 top tips and you’ll be well on your way to the stress-free wedding day of your dreams that you deserve. 1. Make a budget Get online, pick up the phone and start doing some initial research to map out the main costs for the day.   Be realistic and write your budget down. We recommend allowing a 5-10% contingency fund on top of this to buffer the shock of any unexpected expenditures. Identify the proportion of your budget that you would be willing to spend on key elements including the venue, catering, entertainment, photographer, dress and rings etc.   Costs such as the venue and catering are likely to take up 50% or more of your budget so be realistic on what you can afford to spend, and subsequently where you would like the wedding to take place. Tools such as spreadsheets are great to keep a track of the budget. If you are lucky enough to have friends or relatives who will assist financially, tentatively ask what you can hope to receive from them.  Whether it be a loan, lump sum or purchase of a certain aspect of the day such as the dress, venue or honeymoon for example. This will then help to determine how much you will need to save or borrow for the wedding yourselves.  Put the work in first. Your budget will then be your bible! 2. Create a timeline This can be as important as the budget.  If you have a year or more before the big day, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking you have all the time in the world.  Believe us, when you have the date confirmed, it will come around sooner than you think! Make a list of the key decisions that need to be made and elements that need to be booked or managed – ensure you have deadlines for these to keep you on track.   Key aspects such as the venue, catering, entertainment and photographer should be booked as early as possible.  Popular services – particularly during peak season – can become booked up a year or more in advance, so act early to avoid disappointment! Many services will only require a deposit to confirm your date.  Be proactive, this will give peace of mind and help to spread your wedding costs over a wider period. This will help to ensure a stress free build up to your wedding day. 3. Send out your invites as soon as possible Once you have your date and venue confirmed, send the invites out to your day guests as early as possible.  It will be important for you to have key members of your friends and family there, so to avoid any avoidable date clashes ensure they have as much notice as possible.  This will also be useful to inform details such as catering numbers, dietary requirements and accommodation numbers as the day approaches. 4. Call in some favours, get your wedding team working for you  As the day approaches and excitement builds, take advantage of your network of friends and family to help with any key tasks that they are willing and able to assist with.  This can reduce the stresses on the two of you significantly.  There will be plenty of tasks you can delegate, ranging from getting the best man to arrange suit fittings and collection, to inviting the hens’ round for a social evening to make table favours or decorations.   Most will jump at the chance to take ownership and play a bigger part in your day. If you know anyone with any specialist skills (and you ask nicely enough), this could also stretch to a capable baker helping with the cake or catering, an amateur photographer taking some great pictures or a classic or prestige vehicle being utilised for your wedding transport, helping you save some money along the way. 5. Make it your own Don’t worry about traditions or living up to other people’s expectations, this is your day. The only people you must be true to are yourselves. Stay in control of the day you both desire.  If you want to go big and blingy go for out! Likewise, if you want to have a low-profile day with just your nearest and dearest, talk it through together and identify what means the most to you both. Don’t let overbearing friends or family push you into anything you don’t really want to do. 6. Prioritise the key elements to you There are various aspects which come together on a wedding day, most of which will inevitably cost money.  The chances are this will place stresses on your budget, and you won’t have an endless supply of funds to pay for everything. When it comes to the crunch, everyone will have different priorities of the key elements which make up their perfect day.  Talk this through as a couple and determine your must haves, and the things you are willing to compromise or cut corners on. Top priorities may for example be the perfect dress, the dream venue, brilliant entertainment or an exotic honeymoon.  Make sure you are on the same page, identify your priorities early on and funnel your budget and efforts accordingly. 7. Listen and Learn The great thing about weddings?  Lots of people have been there before you. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel – talk to your friends and family, learn from others experiences and take advantage of the knowledge available