This entry is from our Expert Guest series where wedding and honeymoon professionals share their best tips on creating memories that last a lifetime….
Before the planning of your dream wedding begins, take some time to celebrate with your new fiancé. This may be the only time the two of you get to share this special, once in a lifetime, moment before the world knows. Be sure and commemorate this special moment with pictures. Just don’t upload them to social media until you read our advice below.
10 Tips For Planning Your Dream Wedding
Here are ten things to do to make planning your dream wedding a reality:
1. Share Your Good News
This is the time to let your family and close friends in on your secret and share the joy you feel with them. Even if you have not spoken to some in a while, reaching out in person or with a phone call will make everyone feel they are an important part of your lives. Now is not the time to send an email or do a social media post. People want to hear the news from you, personally. After you have told your family and close friends, then you can announce your engagement via social media.
2. Listen to Each Other
What type of wedding do you both envision? If you are polar opposites when it comes to your dream wedding, it’s important to talk it out and find some common ground. What are the things you both want and what can you both live without? Listening to and being very clear on what you both want and don’t want will make future planning much less challenging!
3. Start Collecting Ideas
Today, there are lots of resources for wedding and reception ideas and inspiration: magazines, images, books, blogs, websites, Pinterest, Instagram, television, and online media wedding programs.
4. Set Up Your Website
Having a wedding website will help you present information in an organized fashion to everyone who “needs to know” and give people the opportunity to check up on wedding news and information as it happens. Be sure to include links to your bridal registry and any pre-parties leading up to your wedding. You can set up your website using free services; Wedding Wire, TheKnot, and Zola.com are just a few sites you can use.
5. Set a Date
If you haven’t yet set a date, set an approximate or tentative date. Do you want to get married in the spring, in the summer? Is fall the time of year that makes your heart sing? Did you always envision a winter wedding? Whatever time of year you choose, start planning and reserve all those things you need as early on in the planning process as possible. Some venues require that you book their space a year or more in advance. In-season flowers are often less expensive than out-of-season flowers… details, details, details. Having a set date will help you as you fine tune the details. Once the actual date has been set, send out “Save the Date” notes; people need time to plan, and this allows your guests time to plan to attend your wedding.
6. Now That You Know WHEN, it’s Time to Choose WHERE
Do you want to get married in town or in a rural setting? In your hometown? if not, then where you currently live? Have you always dreamt of a destination wedding? A wedding on the beach can be so romantic and memorable for everyone who attends. Whatever your choice, it’s a good idea to start thinking about where very early on in the planning process. Ask your planner to help with ideas for venues. The best venues are often booked a year or more in advance, and you don’t want to have to settle for your second or third choice.
7. Insure Your Engagement Ring
It would be a shame if something happened to one of the most important pieces of jewelry you will own in your lifetime. Nothing can replace the original, but insurance can help lessen the blow if it is lost or damaged and will help you get a suitable replacement.
8. Set Your Budget
You should have an idea of what you want to do for your wedding and what you can feasibly spend. You also need to know who’s paying for what. It’s easy to get carried away but it may not be practical. Whether or not you have not saved for your BIG DAY, or your parents don’t have an endless stream of money to help you pay for your wedding, a budget will keep you on track so your costs don’t get out of control. Ask your planner for a budget tool.
9. Sign up on Registries
It is important to register early. While many people are last-minute gift shoppers, others like to know what you need as soon as they find out you’re engaged, so that they have access to the largest group of gifts to choose from. Choose registry gifts with your spouse-to-be; it’s fun to see what your partner wants and vice versa. Be sure to check the store return policies to help you better plan your registry. List the places you are registered on your newly created website. And, be sure to check out Honeyfund, a perfect one-stop wedding registry site where you will find thousands of five-star reviews, and sign-up is FREE.
10. Enlist the Help of a Wedding Planner
There are so many details that a wedding planner can help with that will save you time, alleviate needless stress and even save you money, especially when it comes to destination weddings. A wedding planner, from the area where you are being married, is familiar the venues, vendors and local traditions and can save you hours of work and cut your destination education in half or more!
As you go through the wedding planning process, never lose sight of why you are getting married in the first place. Be sure to find time to focus on each other. And remember to enjoy the planning. Your big day will go by more quickly than you expect, the memories you make leading up to your big day will last a lifetime. Make sure they are positive, fun and filled with love and anticipation.
Bio: A Beautiful Florida Wedding is a full-service destination wedding team of wedding professionals whose desire is to help you plan, coordinate and officiate the wedding dream that lives in your heart.
With over 20 years of wedding planning experience, we are dedicated to helping you plan, coordinate, and officiate your wedding in a timely manner that respects your budget and your timetable. We have served over 1,500 couple and their 50,000 guests enjoy a stress-free, beautiful destination wedding.
From venue site to officiating to flowers, photography, music and more we are your personal wedding team. Visit our website today.
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