October 21, 2009| 
What type of flowers do you want? Where is everyone going to sit? What type of cake should you have? When are you supposed to cut the cake? There is so much to think about when you are getting married! It can be a little intimidating, especially if you are taking it on yourself. That’s why many couples choose to hand everything over to a professional wedding planner.
But there is no reason why – with the right tools – you can’t plan an amazing wedding yourself without the help of a wedding planner and without being overcome by stress.
First things first! You are going to need a ring binder. This will help to keep your wedding planning organised and give you somewhere to keep all of your documents, receipts and telephone numbers. Use dividers to create separate sections in your binder for the different aspects of your wedding. And keep your binder safe! As long as you know where it is, your wedding should come together smoothly.
Also, it may help to get an address book just for your wedding planning. That way you can quickly find the telephone numbers you need without having to go through all the pages in your wedding binder.
There are at least eight main budgeting areas to consider and each should have its own section in your binder. These include the bride, venues, the ceremony, outfits, flowers, food and drink, the honeymoon (if there is going to be one), and a miscellaneous section for everything else.
Start off by making a list of everything you will need for the wedding. Grab a wedding checklist like the Free Wedding Checklist at WeddingDayDelights.com to ensure you don’t miss anything out.
Make sure your list is detailed. For example, you will need to make a note of all the flowers you need – not just for the bride and the bridesmaids to hold, but also for the men’s buttonholes and to decorate the venue/s. Talk with your partner to determine everything you need flowers for and make a note of it. Perhaps you want a row of rose petals as you walk down the aisle or bouquets to present to your mothers. Whatever you decide, write it down and keep it in your binder. Your free checklist can really help you with this.
Once you have lists of everything you think you are going to need, go through them and try to allocate them a certain amount of spending money to each item. If you’re not sure how much something will cost, phone a business that deals with that sort of thing and ask them for a ballpark figure. Once you have assigned a price to everything, add them all up for a rough idea of how much your wedding is going cost.
The key here is not to panic! If the wedding looks like it is going to cost more than you can afford, read through your lists and see where you can trim things back a bit. Perhaps you have a two-tiered cake instead of a three-tiered cake. Or maybe your bouquet is a little smaller. There are lots of ways to make savings on your budget without detracting from your day.
It is really important to know exactly how much money you have to work with, so talk to your parents and your partner’s parents to see if they are willing to make a contribution!
The main part of planning a wedding is going out and deciding what sort of wedding ideas suit you. Go dress shopping for the bridesmaid dresses and go to florists to find out what kind of flowers you like. Research prices and then phone other businesses that may be able to give you a better deal on the same things. You’ll be surprised at how much prices vary and the amazing deals on offer, so make sure you shop around.
If you give yourself enough time to plan your wedding, stay organised and arm yourself with the right information, you really don’t need a professional wedding planner. In fact, it can be a lot more fun without one. And the money you save by planning your wedding yourself can be spent on something more fun – like more flowers or a fabulous honeymoon!
Click Here for more information on being your own wedding planner and your free checklist.
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