You’ve been proposed to and you’re over the moon; you’re looking forward to the wedding but don’t know where to start, can’t quite picture how the wedding planning process will unfold, and aren’t sure what’s needed for a wedding? Don’t panic – you’re not alone in this! Organising a wedding is an incredibly complex process that causes headaches for every couple getting married!
In the following article, we’ll try to help you with this! You’ll be able to read about the key steps in wedding planning and the wedding schedule, and we’ll also try to provide some useful wedding planning tips that you can actually put to good use when organising your wedding.
Wedding planner vs organising a wedding yourself
A wedding planner or organising the wedding ourselves? This is a very divisive question. Many people opt for a wedding planner, whilst others prefer to organise their own wedding. What are the pros and cons of each option? When is it necessary to hire a wedding planner?
When should you consider hiring a wedding planner?
If you never have time for anything, but want a truly beautiful, well-organised wedding where nothing can go wrong. Of course, this service comes at a cost – and not a small one at that. On the other hand, it will take a huge weight off your shoulders! The wedding planner will take care of everything, put together the wedding programme, liaise with the suppliers and keep both you and your partner fully informed.
Wedding planners organise weddings every day; they have a wealth of experience in this field, so you can be sure they’ll do a great job and ensure everything runs smoothly. It’s also important to know that they have a vast network of contacts and know the best, most reliable suppliers in the wedding industry. What’s more, they’re up to date with the latest trends in catering and décor! In our opinion, if it fits within your budget, you should definitely ask a wedding planner for help!
How much do wedding planning services cost?
The fee for wedding planning ranges from 100,000 to 500,000 Ft. However, it is fair to say that truly high-quality and discerning service providers will not undertake to organise a wedding for less than 300,000 Ft.
How much does a wedding cost? If you’re interested in finding out how much it costs to organise an average-sized, budget-friendly wedding these days, have a read of our article on the subject!
When is it a good idea to organise your wedding on your own?
If you think you can manage the wedding arrangements on your own, with your partner, or with the help of your friends and family, then go for it! Lots of people organise their own weddings! Be prepared to invest a huge amount of time and energy in it! It’s both an advantage and a disadvantage that you won’t have to follow anyone else’s advice – you’ll be completely in charge!
Wedding preparations: the first steps in organising a wedding
What are the pre-wedding tasks? What are the tasks that need to be tackled well in advance? How can you organise the steps involved in wedding planning and the wedding day itself in a clear and structured way, and how can you ensure the wedding schedule stays on track? How can you manage and keep track of the wedding budget? We’ll try to answer these questions with our following wedding planning tips!
Wedding planner: a step-by-step guide to wedding planning
The best way to organise the various stages of wedding planning is to use a wedding planner. By keeping one, you can keep track of what needs to be done and when, as well as what is required for each task.
What exactly is a wedding journal?
A wedding journal shouldn’t be thought of as a diary in the traditional sense, although many designer versions look exactly like one. In fact, you can make one yourself. The idea behind the planner is that it starts 12 months before the wedding and runs right up to the big day. With its help, you can break down the wedding planning tasks by month, week – or even day, if you’re a perfectionist! You can also include the wedding programme, and you can even keep track of your honeymoon plans here.
So far, this seems straightforward, but why exactly is a wedding diary absolutely essential?
Organising a wedding involves an enormous amount of tasks, which are almost impossible to keep track of all at once. What’s more, as the big day draws nearer, you’ll find yourself faced with many wedding-planning tasks you hadn’t even thought of before. It is therefore extremely important to have a notebook, workbook or planner in which the wedding is laid out step by step in a clear and organised manner.
As we are living in the 21st century, it is worth noting that a traditional wedding diary is not the only option. You can keep your diary online, where you can set reminders, and as everything can be synchronised with everything else in our digital world, you can even have several of your devices alert you at the same time to what you need to sort out!
Ideas for creating a wedding journal
What should you definitely include in a wedding planner? What are the essential steps in wedding planning?
Before you even start planning your wedding, there’s one thing you need to make absolutely clear! Always discuss exactly what you and your partner want! Only start organising things that you’ve both agreed to, even if it means making compromises, big or small! The other important thing is that this is YOUR wedding. Choose a venue, date, design and services that are right for YOU! The opinions of relatives, friends and acquaintances are very important, but they shouldn’t play a decisive role in these matters! This is your big day!
Setting the wedding date – Get started as early as 12 months before the wedding
This is Step 0 – without it, the rest of the wedding planning process is pointless!
How much is ‘that much’? Setting your wedding budget – Get started 12 months before the wedding
Once you’ve set the date, sit down with your partner to work out a budget. Discuss how much you can spend in total on the wedding.
Drawing up the guest list – Get started as early as 12 months before the wedding
This needs to be one of the first steps. Without an approximate number of guests, it is difficult to find a venue with sufficient capacity and then, for example, to request a quote for catering services.
Choosing a venue
The venue should be chosen before requesting quotes for services. Without a specific venue, few providers will be able to give an accurate price. It is important for service providers to know, for example, how far they will have to travel, etc.
Requesting quotations
Always get several quotes! That way, you can compare them and are more likely to end up working with the provider offering the best value for money!
Consultation with service providers
Even if you’ve requested a quote, liked it and then accepted it, your relationship with the service providers isn’t over yet. You need to keep them informed of any developments and changes as they arise.
Booking a church or civil wedding – Start the process 6–10 months before the wedding
It’s certainly true that places are filling up here too, so it’s a good idea to book in good time for that particular date!
Renting or buying a dress – Start 6–10 months before the wedding
Finding the right dress is, on the one hand, a time-consuming task; on the other hand, every year there are loads of brides looking for the wedding dress of their dreams, just like you! After a while, the best dresses are bound to be snapped up! Start your search in good time so you have the widest possible choice.
Pre-wedding classes – Start six months before the wedding
If you’d like a church wedding, you’ll have to take part in the pre-marriage course! This is a process that takes a certain amount of time, and you won’t be able to sign up for it any later than three weeks before the wedding!
Finalising the arrangements for a civil wedding! – Start planning 3–5 months before the wedding
Things to do for the honeymoon -Start preparing 3–5 months before the wedding
The honeymoon is also one of the steps involved in organising a wedding. You need to book your flights in good time, book your accommodation, plan your itinerary, and so on. Don’t forget the wedding gift list either!
Ordering a wedding cake and other cakes – Start 2–3 months before the wedding
Find the one that’s right for you wedding cake, which has just as many slices as you need – you’ll love it, and of course it’s really tasty too!
Organising stag and hen parties – Get started 1 month before the wedding
You need to let everyone you want to be there know the date well in advance!
Fitting your wedding dress – Start this 1 month before the wedding
A list of wedding expenses – get organised and save yourself the headache!
We have already emphasised in several of our articles just how important it is, as part of the wedding planning process, to estimate the wedding costs in advance and then keep a close track of them! Planning a wedding is, in fact, a bit like bookkeeping!
Wedding Planning Made Smart! How can you manage your wedding expenses logically and efficiently?
There are many ways to do it, but accuracy is key! You can keep track of your wedding expenses in the much-talked-about wedding journal, in an Excel file, or even online as well. Make sure all the wedding costs are included. Always know which item each cost is linked to and whether it has already been settled.
What does a good list for keeping track of wedding expenses include?
- Set up your expense categories! – Always know where each expense item belongs. Your main categories could be venue, services, wedding accessories, but you can create more and subcategories as well. For example, an animator, a make-up artist and a wedding planner are all services. These can therefore be listed as sub-categories under ‘services’, and everything related to them can be listed under these sub-categories; for example, under ‘make-up artist’, you could list the make-up trial and the make-up applied on the wedding day, etc.
- Check whether the item in question has already been settled! If it hasn’t been paid yet, make sure you know when you need to pay it. Also bear in mind that there will be some wedding planning costs that payment must be made in several instalments! Keep track of when your next instalment is due!
- There should always be one next to the item in question contact person contact details for someone you can turn to if you have any questions!
- Add it all up! – Always remember that how much you’ve spent so far and what outstanding debts you still have, which you’ll have to sort out!
