Wedding Planning Checklist

Planning a wedding is tiresome. But preparing should be fun and memorable. From choosing the venue, to the gown/dress the bride would wear… whatever decisions and plans you made, remember that your big day should be one worth remembering. However, before you go on your checklist, you should note some things on planning so that even the preparation stage is memorable.

Choosing the Date
Date is important as you plan the venue of the wedding. The weather and the mood have an undeniably great impact on your wedding.

Spring
The first year’s wedding happened every March, April, and May – but that would depend on where you are located. Most of the time, March is unpredictable as sometimes it bring strong winds and rains. Less on being erratic are the months April and May. April is a good month as most of the beautiful flowers bloom this month.

Summer
Being a June bride is an infamous quote on weddings. In most areas, June has the most predictable weather. Roses bloom the loveliest in June. One of the down sides in this month, price ranges are high, being in demand and all that. The month of June is great for those couples who really want a summer wedding. Just make preparations much earlier, and distribute invitations earlier than usual; who knows, your relatives might just go on a vacation!

Fall
Getting married in September or October has many good reasons. For one, the weather is fine; in fact, you can consider it as crisp and mild. The summer has ebbed. Luring your relatives to attend your wedding would be easy. One advantage of wedding in the fall is that honeymoon sites are less crowded.

Winter
Popular venues are highly available during this season because there are not so many people who want to get married in winter. Folklore said getting married on the last day of the year would make the couple lucky. On some account, there is another lore that says January is a very fruitful month for the couple. Note that February is the most romantic wedding month of all; this is the month where we celebrate Valentine’s Day.

The Wedding Budget
Now that you have noted what date you should get married, plan how much you are going to spend for your wedding. Many couples are shocked when they learn that the average cost of a wedding is $27,500. But of course, you don’t have to spend that much. There are many options to lower this cost, apart from being realistic. Examine the following options:

Searching the Internet
The Internet is a very helpful tool for everyone. This can help you save your money and time as it can serve you whatever you are looking for your wedding in just a touch of a button. Wedding sites provide useful links to businesses that cater to your wedding needs. These sites have quality products and services that can help you in your planning. Other sites provide wedding check lists, professional services, resources directories, discounts on bridal mall, wedding gifts, and accessories.

Setting Your Budget and Priorities
Plan your wedding using the following categories:
1. Must have
2. Optional
3. Nice to have

Choosing a Site
Choosing a perfect wedding site is fun. The bride and the groom should brainstorm before looking for the place. Consider your budget, the wedding theme, the atmosphere for the wedding, the couple’s interest, and the guests' interest. Choosing the site of the wedding being the most important aspect of planning your wedding, carefully consider the aforementioned things to make your big day as memorable as possible.

The following are some ideas for a wedding site:

1. Home – practically, a do-it-yourself special wedding
2. Auditorium
3. Beach – this may need license or permit
4. Rented Halls – rental basis
5. Patio – Garden – a do-it-yourself wedding
6. Mansions – rental basis
7. Ranches – rental basis
8. Hotel, Ballrooms, Grounds, Gardens – full service
9. Convention, Conference Centers – some are full service, some are on rental basis

Full service
They can handle even the smallest details of your wedding. However, you still have to attend to personal things. You have to take care of the attire, wedding accessories, wedding gifts, family and wedding attendants.

Rental basis
Most of the time, some wedding sites provide tables, chairs, linens, tableware, glassware, and flatware. There could also be an extra fee for your own caterers.

The Floral Designers and the Musicians/Entertainers
You must remember that flowers are the central components in a wedding. Flowers set the wedding atmosphere. They add fragrance and beauty to every occasion, especially weddings. You have to remember that you need to choose the season of the wedding, the day and time of the wedding, the theme and colors, and to shop for flowers and check with the decorations specialist as early as possible. Flowers should be arranged in coordination with the components of the wedding.

By asking your bridesmaids to put their bouquet as centerpieces at the reception, you can save lots of money. You can also use students of nearby flower design schools in your area. It can save a lot of money as the students still have to work with their instructors and thus, you can save money and the designs would be assured with high quality.

In a wedding, it is important to have a good music to represent the couple. You have to choose at least three Music and Entertainment providers. The service by the musicians would serve you while you are walking down the aisle, accompany you as you leave the venue of the wedding, and entertain guests while you are busy with picture-taking at the reception. The music provider should be identified as early as possible.