Wedding planning can be highly stressful at times, because to plan a wedding for a successful outcome takes a lot out of you. Not only do you have to deal with your own anxiety and desires, but relatives and family members can also play an active role in the wedding spectacle. Many couples choose to hire a professional to help them plan their wedding, but it is such an important personal occasion that they still end up handling a number of responsibilities themselves. You do not have to be on a tight budget or inspired by the DIY potential of the event to plan your wedding yourself. After all, the occasion marks a dream milestone of your life.
However, there are too many details to mind, and you need to be very well organized to deal with all the decisions, lists, and deadlines involved while also getting on with everyday life in the meantime. The more time you allow yourself to plan your wedding the better it is. Aim for a longer timeline, ideally a year. As you begin to plan your wedding, hopefully you have already found your significant other?. Involve your partner in the process too as your wedding should be a reflection of both of you as a couple.
So, let’s discuss how you can plan a successful wedding that people shall remember for a long time and also have fun doing it. After all this is your chance to cherish every step on the way. Do not get too mixed up in trivial details, instead focus on what truly matters for you to celebrate your love and your union. Here are some suggestions from Meadowvale Party Rentals, that will help you from planning, coordinating, to finishing the wedding event successfully.
❇️ Get Organized
There are many elements that go into planning a wedding, but it only takes one error or mishap to throw the day off course. Planning is essential to ensuring your wedding is a success, so it is something that you have to take seriously.
First of all, you have to create a method to your planning and following up. Make a thorough checklist, noting down everything that needs to be done under different headings. This will help you put a timeline to accomplishing everything you need to do and will also make sure that you do them in the right order. For instance, setting a date and booking a venue precedes choosing your attire for the day because you want to ensure that your outfit corresponds to the setting and season of your wedding event. This is just one example to show how doing the things in the right order is critical when planning a wedding. Set up a special email address for your wedding, and store important vendor numbers in your cell phone. They might come handy if you need them in an emergency on your wedding day.
Then prioritize the things in the order of their importance. When you take a look at the things you need to do to plan your wedding, you will find some things a lot more important than others. For example, picking a venue is more important than what cake design will you choose, or choosing a caterer is more important than the color of the napkins. Identify the tasks that are top priority and keep an eye on their early completion. There are surely somethings that can wait till close to the wedding day.
❇️ Establish a Budget for the Wedding
Regardless of the scale and splendor of the wedding you have in mind, the first step in wedding planning is to establish a budget. It may not be an enjoyable process and may entail making some tough calls, but it is essential for adding method and direction to the rest of your wedding planning. You do not want to invest a lot of time looking around to fall in love with a venue, dress, menu, or another item only to discover it is completely out of your budget. So, sit down with your partner to draw up a total budget, and then allocate it to different parts of the wedding. Moving forward you will have some room to adjust or move the budget among different vendors or services as you finalize actual outlay for each item.
In our experience an average wedding budget is spent somewhat like this: maximum 50 percent of total budget to reception; maximum 10 percent for flowers; maximum 10 percent for attire; maximum 10 percent for entertainment/music; maximum 10 percent for photo/video; about 10 to 15 percent for invites, gifts, and miscellaneous items such as a wedding coordinator. Any money saved from the maximum allocated to a category can be spent to meet budget overflow in another category.
❇️ Get Galvanized
While you do not lack imagination for your dream day, harnessing your inspiration is one of the most enjoyable steps of planning a wedding piece by piece. Imagine how you want your wedding to appear and feel. For example, do you want to opt for a traditional and formal look? Or do you have in mind a more easygoing and pastoral wedding style? Such big and small decisions should be yours. It is a good idea to start scouring internet and social media for the latest wedding trends. Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook should help you get some good ideas for wedding colors, dresses, décor, and more. Start the process early on and then get into the full gear once you have set a date and chosen your venue.
❇️ Start a Guest List
It is important to have an estimated guest count as early as possible. That will hugely influence your budget and your choice of the venue. After all, a 50-person wedding and a 300-person wedding are not the same things.
Then once you have chosen the venue and decided on your budget, you can further fine tune your guest list. We recommend allowing for 25 to 30 square feet per guest. That is what you will need for the tables, bustling waiters, the band, and a dance floor all in one place.
❇️ Fix a date
Select a few potential dates and start looking for a venue. Having a few prospective wedding dates in mind will be greatly helpful during the venue selection process. Then you can set the final date based on the availability of a venue of your choice. As you think of potential dates, start by considering the season in which you want to get married. Also, are you hung up on a Saturday night wedding or open to a wedding on a different day. By the way, to give you an idea, Friday and Sunday wedding venues usually cost thirty percent lower than Saturday. Then, consult the calendar; considering work schedules, holidays, school year, family conflicts, and so on, and reduce your options to a few dates.
Also bear in mind if a date falls on the same day as a major event like a sport final. Local events in the area can also affect traffic and hotel room availability. Where possible, stay clear of problematic dates.
❇️ Select a Venue
One of the most foundational elements of your wedding planning is the venue you will choose. By now you have almost all the information – a budget, an estimated guest count, and a few potential wedding dates in mind- that is necessary for you to book a venue.
Do your research online, find out from people, read online reviews of nearby wedding venues, go to the location, and work together with your partner to find your desired wedding location. Once you have negotiated with the venue, read the contract for your ceremony, and signed the document; you have officially set a date for your wedding. The fun begins now.
❇️ Decide on the Menu
Feeding the guests at your reception is another essential part of your wedding. First thing to check is whether the venue allows you to choose your own vendor, or you are bound to order food from the venue. As you finalize various contracts, make sure that you are not required to serve the same meal to your vendors as you will to your guests. Prepare a decent but less expensive meal for them. Let your wedding caterer know what meals you want to serve to your vendors and how many of them you have.
❇️ Coordinate Transportation
Take a look at the transportation arrangements for the day. Depending on the location of the venue, you may require transportation to the ceremony for yourself and the wedding party. Then you may need further transportation to take you and your guests from the ceremony to the reception.
You may not need to organize all this transportation, but it is important to be on top of these arrangements. For example, let’s say, your venue is in a remote location, and you have some out-of-town guests. In that case, it is thoughtful of you to book group transportation from the hotel to ceremony to reception and then back. You can be innovative with means of transportation that truly speak to the surroundings for an especial touch.
❇️ Book your Vendors
An average wedding requires more than a dozen vendors for it to be planned and executed well. Even if that appears too many to you, it remains critical for you to hire some professionals to make sure that your special day runs smoothly. Create a timeline of your own to determine which professionals to hire and when. This will include your wedding photographer, videographer, florist, DJ, decorator, caterer and many more. Do some research, you never know what you might get when you do not put in the time to research vendors and venues for your wedding. Ask people you know and read online reviews to make sure you choose the right professionals to make your wedding day a memorable occasion.
Once you find a vendor, asking questions, scheduling a tour, and arranging for tastings, for example, can help you make a more informed decision. In fact, your wedding vendors should be your go-to and reliable experts during the planning process. With them you should feel free to really explore what it is you want—maybe they can deliver. They are better placed than you to know what you can and cannot make happen within your wedding budget.
❇️ Take Counsel or Help where Needed
Do not forget that you are not the first person planning a wedding, many people around you have been through this process already. You can always seek advice on what works better from your family and friends. However, do not involve too many people as it can be overwhelming dealing with other people’s opinions. Be very selective and do not feel obliged to follow any piece of advice. No need to change your plans to make someone else content, this is your and your partner’s day, not anyone else’s.
Do not assume or take for granted. Consult your partner to determine the budget and ascertain the best size and theme of wedding party for the two of you. Make sure you both agree on all important details. Think about who you want standing next to you during this important occasion and whether they can perform the duties of their position throughout the planning process.
If you want to do everything yourself, you may end up getting over-stretched. You do not want to feel burned out on your wedding day. Delegating is an important part of planning. Especially on the day of the event you will have to rely on others and proper delegation will matter. Delegate tasks to members of the bridal party, friends, and family that you trust for the job.
❇️ Send Wedding Invitations
Organize yourself to send your wedding invitations well in time. Target at least six to eight weeks before the big day, with an RSVP deadline of two or three weeks before. Sending out wedding invitations with a reasonable notice is one of the important aspects of successful wedding planning.
❇️ Plan Wedding Reception Seating
By now you know the number of guests and how many tables your wedding venue can accommodate and, therefore, can plan the seating. There are several online tools that can help you design who sits where, while taking into account relationships and family dynamics.
Once your seating plan has been settled, send the chart to your venue, caterer, and to whoever is responsible for the reception desk and making escort cards.
❇️ Create the Right Atmosphere
To start with, forge a relaxing ambience for your guests with the help of music setting the mood, an unhurried pace, and plenty of space for your guests to move around and mingle. When you want to rev up the mood to a party tempo later in the evening, go for enhanced lighting, louder music, and DJ pepping up your guests to start swinging. Your wedding reception will be a massive success if you can create the right ambience and then build up the mood as the event progresses.
❇️ Conclusion
We think the above is enough information for you to plan your wedding as a highly successful event but keep in mind that no guide can cover every aspect of a wedding because each wedding is unique in its own way. Use your imagination to make yours unique too. Also, there are no hard and fast rules to wedding planning because you can mold the steps above to your timeline and budget – slowing down or speeding up, increasing or decreasing where warranted.
If you are looking for a professional party rental in GTA, look no more. We at Meadowvale Party Rentals have your back. It is our mission to turn your experience at your special occasions into a source of pride for us. We are here to help, serve, and give advice.