Keep a tight rein over your wedding plans

As many Hollywood movies have documented - from Father of the Bride to Meet the Fokkers - planning a wedding can be a stressful, but rewarding experience. Wedding planning involves thorough organisation, accurate planning, a head for punctuality and the memory of an elephant - all four of which are hard to come by in one person!

But regardless of whether you can afford to hire your own wedding planner or instead have to rely on yourself and your family to get your wedding plans running like clockwork, it's important to maintain a tight rein over your wedding preparations to ensure things go the way you want them to!

For starters, compile a guest list: it’s a good idea to determine your out-of-town guest list first, and then draw up an entire guest list. You'll also need to decide key dates, such as your engagement party, your bachelor/bachelorette bash, your rehearsal dinner and, of course, your actual wedding day!

It's also crucial to calculate how much space you'll need before you decide on where to book the location for your wedding. You might have had your heart set on the lavish ballroom at the local hotel - but if the space available at the venue is simply too big (or small), it won't be practical to hold your wedding there. Once you've chosen your ceremony location, make sure you don’t just book it for the day of your wedding but also book for your rehearsal as well! Moreover, choose a florist and invite them to look over the wedding location with you, so your flower arrangements can be tailored specifically to harmonise with your ceremony as much as possible.

If you're planning your wedding yourself, it's a good idea to hand over some control of the wedding planning duties to a member of your family - such as a parent or a sibling - as the countdown to your wedding day gets shorter and shorter. This way, you'll have time to do some essential bridal preparations, including wedding gown fittings, selection of bridesmaid's dresses and the arrangements for hair and make-up.

And while it's easy to get caught up in the more romantic bits of wedding planning, like choosing what music to have and buying wedding rings, it's also important to keep in mind certain legal necessities, such as applying for a marriage licence and looking into changing your name (if applicable).

If you choose to have your wedding in a hotel, you're sure to find many hotel wedding packages to suit you. This way, you'll be able to house your out-of-town guests in the same hotel as the wedding ceremony and take advantage of the expert wedding planning advice that experienced hotel experts can give.

Andrew Regan is an online, freelance journalist.