How to Plan my Wedding
to tell my Story of our Love and Life Together
There are many elements involved in knowing how to plan my wedding. Often brides, grooms, and couples focus on the clothes, and that is good because what is worn expresses the personality of the couple and sets the tone for the event. But there is more, a lot more.
A well-thought-through process in planning your wedding will reflect you and your personality, in every aspect of the wedding from the wedding invitations, decorations, music, toasts, and tributes, right through to the threshold of the honeymoon.
A well-designed wedding plan will create an experience to be remembered by all and cherished by the engaged couple.
Of course, there is lots more that we leave for you to discover. We wish you the very best in using Our Wedding Guide to create Your Wedding Day.
Do you wonder about where, when, and how to begin?
We can help!
This section will address the question, "how to plan my wedding". It will describe what to do first, and then what to do. Each step will suggest when you should begin work on this particular aspect of your wedding. In general, start soon after your engagement.
5 things that early planning helps to ensure
1. Knowing how to plan my wedding and planning early makes the process much less stressful
2. Time for more creativity
3. Ability to make changes in the plan that you initiative as well as addressing unexpected changes of which you have no control
4. Enables time to gather the needed resources whether financial, material, and products, or confirmation of contracts and commitments
5. Focuses on the joy of the journey as much as the destination, making the process a relationship-building process
Get started with how to plan my wedding
This section entitled, how to plan my wedding, outlines several steps in the planning process. Click on the links associated with each step for more detailed information. Browse through each step. You will find that your own creativity will begin to emerge.
Pay attention to this as this is the process that will make your wedding day even more special.
Never discount the value of your own insights and the inner design processes that are within you waiting to emerge.
Our Wedding Guide will both serve as a library of concrete ideas and the birthing ground for your own rich interpretation of what your wedding day and experience should look like.
The following steps are major elements in planning your wedding. Each step listed below provides a few points, however, more detailed information can be found in the links associated with this multi-step checklist. There are more steps that you will want to add. This is a good start.
Each step indicates which month that action should take place. I have chosen a middle ground 9-month planning process as a guide. A 6-month planning process is short, and a 12 to 18-month planning process is ideal.
A step-by-step process about how to plan my wedding
Month 1
1. Communicating about Your Wedding Plans
- Talking with your partner sets the tone for your entire wedding experience
- Helpful tips for communicating with your partner, with family, and with your friends
- 5 things to consider to make communicating more effective
- Wise words from wise people
Month 1
2. How to make wedding planning decisions
- Consider what you both want, now and in the next 5 years
- 5 things that set a framework for making wedding planning decisions
- Working together
Month 1
- Who pays is a key question
- Are you in the driver's seat concerning your budget?
- Ready Set Go
- Your wedding budget and your future
- Helpful tips for developing your budget
Month 2
4. Wedding Planner, Designer, or Coordinators to help with your Wedding
- The role of wedding planner, designer, and coordinator
- Do it yourself
- About the cost
Month 2
5. Apps and online tools for your wedding: Are they right for you?
- Is using an app right for you
- Do you like apps
- Consider hiring someone, if only for a day: here's why
- From simplicity to complexity
- Destination weddings and wedding planners
- Budgets and timelines
Month 2
6. The Date and Venue for your Wedding Ceremony and Reception: How to choose
- The date and venue for your wedding ceremony and reception: How to choose
- Which comes first? the venues or the date
- Seasonal and holiday weddings
- Money again: the budget
- Things to consider before locking in your venues and date
Month 2
- The Caterer
- Entertainment
- Decor
- Access
- Seating Plan
- Recruit Help
- Order of the Evening
- Master of Ceremonies
- Toasts
- The Beginning
Month 2
- Things to consider when selecting your wedding party
- Do gender traditions matter
- Dressing up
- Extend a written invitation to be part of your wedding party
- A written invitation example
Month 2
9. Wedding Themes and Decor: How to Decide
- Inspiration
- Organize your thoughts
- Wedding themes
- 10 Questions to help you narrow your options
- Important things to consider
- Ask yourself
- Passion or practical
Month 2
11. Wedding Rehearsal and Dinner: What you need to know
- Plans and protocols for your rehearsal dinner
- Types of rehearsal gatherings
- Who pays for the rehearsal dinner
- Timing of the rehearsal dinner
- Location: Picking the right place for your rehearsal dinner
- Food and beverages
- Hospitality: Welcoming words and closing out the evening
Month 3
12. Guest List: Who will you invite to the celebration?
- Who will you invite to the celebration
- When to start planning the guest list
- Your wedding party and their significant others
- How to manage expectations
- Setting guidelines
- Helpful tips
Month 3
13. Wedding Invitations and Guest Thank You Notes
- Selecting your wedding invitations and guest thank you notes
- Electronic versus Paper Invitations: The pros and cons
- Who selects and who sends the invitations
Month 3
14. The Wedding Officiant; Who can perform the ceremony?
- When and how to select your wedding officiant
- Your officiant and the content of your wedding ceremony
- Is your officiant supportive of what you want said
- Click on the links to see selection options for each component of the ceremony
- Who can officiate at your wedding
- Officiants of religious wedding ceremonies
- Officiants who are family or friends
- Officiants at destination weddings outside the United States
- Choose your wedding officiant without the legal hassles
- Does it matter how the officiant is dressed
- Wedding officiant tips if you are the chosen one
- Five important things to consider
Month 3
- Wedding flowers and the wedding ceremony
- Flowers for the reception
- Flowers - leave it to the professionals unless . . .
- Flower delivery details
- Decorations and details that make it special
Month 4
17. Wedding Ceremony Script: Creating your Ceremony
- Creating your ceremony
- Ask yourself
- Highlights of the elements of the ceremony
Month 4
18. Gift ideas for your wedding party
- Thank you gift presentation container ideas
- Personal convenience gift ideas
- Keepsake Gift Ideas
- Functional Gift Ideas
- Relationship Gift Ideas
- Fun Gift Ideas
Month 5
19. Wedding gifts and your gift registry
- Wedding gifts
- Begin your registry
- Ideas for wedding gifts
- Update your wedding gift registry
- Share your registry
- Generosity
- Thank You and example wording
Month 5
20. Sending the wedding invitations
- When to send the wedding invitations
- The RSVP list
- Reference your prior work
Month 8
21. Marriage License and Certificate
- Five things to know
- Second or subsequent marriages
- Do you want to retain or change your name
- After the wedding; don't forget
Month 9
22. You did it: Enjoy Your Wedding!
- If you planned early, take the week prior to the wedding off and relax. You might want a spa day, time to read a book or go to the gym.
- On the day of the wedding, nothing will go wrong. Whatever happens, happens, and it is all good. Adopt this outlook. Joy is from within.
- When you are alone with your partner, talk about what was exciting and how delighted you are with various elements of the day. Compliment your partner on their part in making the wedding a perfect experience.
Months and Years to Come
23. Be Blessed!
- In the weeks following your wedding, look at the photographs and videos of your celebration. This will bring back so many wonderful memories and let you re-live the event.
- Continue those foundational elements like taking, listening, and sharing your ideas, thoughts, and wishes for each day.
- Develop an attitude of gratitude for each other, and for everything that comes into your life. A positive outlook is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes.
I'm Getting Married: Now what do I do?
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