Wedding Wednesday - Newly Engaged? 6 Things to Do Right Now

Eek!  You’ve just gotten engaged, you’ve got a few (or 10) bridal magazines on your nightstand, and you have all sorts of ideas and advice flying at you from all directions.  Where do you start with the wedding planning?  You could use one of the many crazy checklists found in all of your fore-mentioned magazines.  I kept mine on the refrigerator and another copy in my wedding binder.  It was a seriously exciting moment when items got checked off, because that meant we were one step closer to our wedding day!

Checklists are great for a timeline perspective; however, they can be overwhelming and make you feel like you have 101 things to do right now!  Where do you start? What needs to be done first?  Don’t be disappointed, but it’s not dress shopping or completing your gift registry . . . . . that fun stuff comes later.  Today we’ve got the top six priority objectives to get your wedding planning started.

1.  Establish a Budget

This is clearly the least fun of all wedding-planning duties, but it is by far the most important.  Sit down with everyone who will be contributing financially and determine who will be paying for what and what your overall budget will be.  This will be the cornerstone of all of the wedding details to follow.

2.  Choose a Wedding Style

What’s your bridal vision? Do you want small and intimate or big and extravagant?  Whatever you want the vibe to be, choosing a wedding style early on will help guide you when picking a venue, décor, catering, etc.

3.  Start a Guest List

Obviously you don’t need to have an exact head-count, yet, but determining an approximate number will help establish what size venue you will need and it will also help you obtain accurate pricing estimates.

4.  Narrow Down a Few Dates

Picking 2-3 potential wedding dates is a good idea, in case your dream venue is unavailable on your numero uno date.  Consider things like weather, holidays, work schedules, and local events.

5.  Pick a Venue

Now that you’ve taken care of items 1-4, sit down and research potential venue sites.  Once you find one (or several) that fits your style and budget, give them a call, or email to see if the date you want is available and schedule a tour.   If you plan to check out multiple venues, try to do so within a few weeks time.  Some sites book up a year to a year and a half in advance, so you don’t want to hem and haw over the perfect venue for too long.

6.  Hire a Photographer

Excellent photographers are hot commodities, and many are booked out as far in advance as venues! To ensure you get the guy or gal you want; book your photog early on.

Wedding Wednesday - Wedding Planning Etiquette Q&A

This week, I’d thought I’d touch on some wedding planning etiquette. Today you will find some common questions with tricky answers.   I am a stickler for etiquette in general, so it’s no surprise that I often find myself floored by what some people deem appropriate for a wedding. That being said, in the end it’s your wedding:  your day, your way.

Question #1

How do you let guests know where you’ve registered?

There are a few gentle ways to advise your guests of where you and your fiancé are registered. One solution is to put your wedding website on the save-the-dates, and include a page or section of your wedding website to reference your registries.  Please, please, please, do not include your registry info on the save-the date or formal invitation.  This is considered poor taste.  Let whoever is throwing your bridal shower(s) know where you are registered, so they can include your registry information on the shower invitations. Word of mouth works great!  Let your parents/siblings and bridal party know where you’ve registered, and the word will get out, guaranteed.

Question #2

Speaking of our wedding registry, is it okay to “register” for cash?

Absolutely not.  It’s tacky. (cultural traditions and money dances excluded)

You will find that many guests will give money, anyway, simply because it’s easy.  However, if you’re crossing your fingers for some cold hard cash to immediately put towards your honeymoon, take a look at the following websites.  Depending, on where you plan to honeymoon, these websites allow you to register for specific honeymoon related items or activities that your guest can pay for online.

Honeymoon Wishes       http://www.honeymoonwishes.com/

Honeyfund                        http://www.honeyfund.com/

Traveler’s Joy                   http://www.travelersjoy.com/

Question #3

Do we have to include a Plus One for guests that do not have a significant other? 

This is always a tough.  Just for example purposes, let’s refer to the subject guest in question as your college roommate.  I’m a believer that every “single” adult guest should have the option of bringing a plus one, because having a “buddy” or “date” to sit with at the ceremony, chat with at dinner, and dance with all night makes for a lovely time.  On the other hand, there are many reasons why you may not want to include a plus one option on your old roommate’s invitation: tight budget, small venue, they haven’t been dating very long . . . . .

A good rule of thumb is that if attending your wedding requires one or more of the following, then your college roommate should be able to bring a plus one:  a plane ticket, train ride, rental car, over 1 hour drive, overnight stay in a hotel. Also, if your “guest” is a part of your wedding party, it’s a given that he/she should be allowed an escort to accompany them to your wedding.

Often "single” guests may not even want to bring a date because they want to catch up with family and party with old friends without having to worry whether or not their date is having a good time, but you should at least give them the option.  Ultimately, if you aren’t comfortable allowing someone to bring a plus one to your wedding, then perhaps you should rethink including him or her as part of your guest list.

I could go on on, but I’ll stop here (for now!).  Check back next Wednesday for answers and solutions to even more precarious questions.