So you’re engaged…

Now what?

NIAMH WHITE

Wedding Coordinator, Horetown House

Congratulations, you’ve taken the plunge and you want to get married.  So how do you plan a wedding anyhow?  There are lots of things to consider, from venues to bands, photographers, flowers, dresses, menus… the list is long and can be a little overwhelming.  If we could offer a little bit of advice it would be this. Stop. Take a little time to just be excited and let your imagination (and Pinterest) run away with you.  Then when you are ready – this is how you plan a wedding.
“Stop.  Take a little time to just be excited and let your imagination (and Pinterest) run away with you.”

How many guests would you like to invite?

This is in fact a trick question.  There is the number of guests you would like to invite, the number your partner would like to invite, the number parents/siblings/the neighbor from down the road would like to invite.  Decide on your combined list and consider a “guest allowance” for parents as they may already be working on their list- since you were born! Once you have settled on the number this will put things into perspective and eliminate some options straight away.

Will you have a civil or church wedding?

If you are going for your childhood church this means you will need to consider travel time from your ceremony to your venue. If you are going for a civil ceremony this means you need to consider venues which have gorgeous ceremony spaces.

Where will you get ready on the morning of your wedding?

If you are staying close to home and dream of getting ready in your old bedroom then this is taken care of.  Another option is to stay in your venue the night before and get ready there on the morning of your wedding. Now you should have a shopping list that looks like this: I want to plan a wedding for 120 to 140 guests, we will have a civil ceremony and I want to get ready at the venue. If you can add a time of year or season to do this it’s a great help. Next thing to decide on is the budget.  It’s really important to work this out before you start shopping for any of your suppliers.

“If you are going for a civil ceremony this means you need to consider venues which have gorgeous ceremony spaces.”
This list from Confetti Magazines Annual wedding survey is a great guide to start off the budget, but remember it’s an average so you can go in either direction with your budget. Now that you have done your homework it’s time for the fun stuff. Let the shopping begin!