5 Things To Prioritise When Starting To Plan Your Wedding

So, the time has arrived when you can start to plan your wedding day! This might feel a little overwhelming but the most important thing to remember is that it is YOUR day, and you have both the power and the opportunity to plan your day exactly how you have always dreamed for it to be. You might be inundated with people asking questions, offering their opinion or resisting the urge to start pinning and buying everything! Before you get too carried away we have made a handy list of 5 things to prioritise when starting to plan your wedding so that you know where to start. Doing the all important research before diving straight in will help things run smoothly and keep you in control of wedding planning right from the beginning.

1. Set your budget

Sitting down together and having an honest and realistic conversation about your wedding budget will help all aspects of your wedding plans, not least because the budget has an effect on pretty much everything to do with the wedding! Take a look at your finances, speak to family members who have said they’d like to contribute and consider how much you might want to dip into those life savings for this big event. If you’re already concerned about staying on budget, take inspiration from other wedding planning couples who are keeping aside 10 – 15% of their budget as a contingency. Many unforeseen extras can crop up during the planning and final stages of wedding prep, so having that little pot of cash if the costs start rising will mean you can still create your dream wedding on budget.

2. Get organised

Have you considered how you’re going to plan your wedding? And what you might need to kick things off and keep you on track during the months ahead? You might already have a wedding planner to help with the organising, and if the budget allows we’d definitely recommend hiring one! But if not there are a variety of tools out there available for couples which can support them in executing their dream wedding plans. From trusty spreadsheets to utilising Say I do’s handy checklist to building a bespoke wedding website just for you - there’s a lot to consider but believe us when we say wedding planning tech can help you an enormous amount!

3. Set a date

Setting the date is one of the most important (and exciting) parts of planning a wedding! Not only will it get the ball rolling, it also helps you both to stick to an organised schedule, with a clear goal in mind! Even if you haven't decided on a specific date yet, settling on a preferred month or season will help when it comes to talking to wedding vendors and searching for your dream venue. Once a rough date has been discussed you can immediately have a clearer idea about how much venue hire costs might be during that time, and start building a picture of how the day might come together in the timeframe you’ve set.

4. Research and book your big-ticket items

Once the venue research has begun a lot of other elements should fall into place which is where it starts getting really exciting! Your venue is naturally one of the most (if not the most) expensive thing to nail down. Catering, if needed, is another crucial aspect to research early on as this could take a good chunk from the budget too. Priorities are key here though, if you want to go all-out with flowers or you have a top photographer in mind make sure you move your most-wanted items to the top of the list so that you can make it work within your budget. Once the big-ticket items have been researched and booked you can get down to the super fun stuff that will make your wedding day even more special and unique to you.

5. Selecting your wedding party

Another huge help when planning your wedding day will be to call upon those who you might refer to as your nearest and dearest, the groomsmen and bridesmaids especially. Modern couples may now choose more than one best man or maid of honour, or none at all! However you choose to organise your wedding party remember that team bride and team groom can help to take some of the pressure off by helping to research, plan and lend an ear, and a helping hand, during this exciting but high-pressure time.

Remembering that this process should be enjoyable will help lighten the mood when some days may feel a little overwhelming. Don’t think you have to do it all alone, your close family and key members of your wedding party are there to hold your hand along the way so that you can enjoy this special journey and ultimately plan the perfect day!