Newly engaged? Not sure where to begin with the wedding planning? Worry not, we’ve all you need to know below…
Celebrate & Take Time to Enjoy it
Getting engaged is such an awesome time from drinking champers at all hours (breakfast included and not an eyebrow raised) to the celebrations with your pals, the gorgeous new rock you can’t help admiring, and the general loved-up feeling that has you and the fiancé(e) all warm and fuzzy. Take some time to just enjoy being engaged – planning is brilliant but the engagement will be well and truly forgotten once you start searching for venues and eyeing up dresses. Take some time to soak it up and then you can worry about dates and the like. It can be easy to get carried away and start booking the big stuff with all the excitement but it’s best to have a bit of a think about a few important things that will dictate your planning before committing to anything.
Set a Budget
The budget for your Big Day is the first thing you need to think about when you get stuck in to the planning. Setting (and sticking to) the budget isn’t the nicest part of planning but it’s essential you have some idea of how much you can afford to spend on your wedding straight away and how much you’re prepared to spend on each area (venue, photography, band etc.). Once you know the figure, stick to it and make sure to jot down how much you’ve paid out on an Excel spreadsheet so you know what you’re spending. It’s also a good idea to figure out what’s important to you early on (a great band, videographer etc.) – this way you’ll have an idea of where to spend and where to pare back. Not sure where to begin? Check out the results from our 2017 survey to see on average what couples are spending.
Get a Rough Idea of Your Guest List
Save the Date by Appleberry Press
It may seem waaaay too early to be thinking guest list but the number of guests will determine the type of venue you go for – some venues can only cater for a smaller, more intimate crowd while others are more suitable for a larger party. You don’t have to know each and every guest you’re inviting but sit down with the other half and figure out how many people you hope to have – it’s important to have a rough idea as this will effect budget and your venue.
Psst! Once you have your date and venue set, if it’s a bank holiday or you’re tying the knot abroad, you might want to send a Save the Date so you can nab guests nice and early.
Decide on the Type of Wedding You Want
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to weddings any more – anything goes and the more personal the better! Whether you fancy full on Black Tie glamour in a castle, a shindig on the beach, a quaint country house that can be yours alone for the weekend, or a city wedding in a quirky bistro, you can have it – there are venues, attire and decor to suit every style of wedding and budget. Sit down with your partner and think about the type of day you’re after as it will determine a lot of things from the venue and invites to even the dress. The likes of Pinterest and the weddingsonline blog are great for giving you ideas and inspiration and if you sign up to weddingsonline (it’s free), you get a planning space with to-do list, your own countdown to the Big Day, you can chat to other couples in the forums, enter all the competitions and use our venue finder and service finder to find your ideal suppliers. Our Wedding Advisors can also help you with your enquiries – just pop them a message via the conversation bubble at the bottom of each page.
Pick a Date & Venue
Start thinking year and seasons – you won’t have the exact date pinned down until you book your venue but if you have an idea of the time of year you’d like to get married, you can get started on your search. The most popular months to get married in Ireland according to our 2017 survey are during the summer months with July and August being the most popular followed by September. If you’re picking a popular month, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to secure your dream venue. Your venue is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as it will set the tone for your day. The best way to go about it is to have an idea of the month you’d like to get married (with a selection of preferred dates), and then pick your venue in conjunction with the dates they have available for that month. If you’re looking for some help when it comes to finding your dream venue, be sure to take a peek at our Guide to Picking the Perfect Wedding Venue here.
Use our venue finder to help you find your dream wedding location or browse wedding venues in the weddingsonline Supplier Directory!
Think About Your Ceremony
Your ceremony is another major component so it’s worth thinking about the style of ceremony you’re hoping to have. Do you want to get married close to home? Do you want to have the ceremony in the same location as the reception? And what type of ceremony would you like – church, humanist or civil? Regardless of the type of ceremony you opt for, there’ll be a fair bit of work involved when it comes to the paperwork side of things and arranging either a civil servant, humanist celebrant or a Priest (if you’re staying local, job done but if you’re getting married outside your local parish, you may have to organise your own Priest) for your day. Once you’ve decided on the type of ceremony, be sure to check out our ceremony guides which will help you tackle all that’s involved.
Get Organised
Notebook via Feathered Heart Prints on Etsy
Wedding planning can be crazy stressful but with the right tools, it can be a little less manic. A wedding planning notebook such as this cute buy from MyWeddingPlanner.ie is going to be the thing you turn to at all hours when you realise you’ve something else to add to the to-do list or where you can jot down appointments. It’s also a good idea to set up a dedicated wedding email address so you can keep all your quotes, correspondence and RSVPs together – and keeping it separate from your everyday life means you won’t be consumed by wedding stuff all the time. Make sure you don’t over spend by keeping an Excel spreadsheet of what you’ve to pay out and what you’ve already paid out. Pinterest is one of the best visual tools for couples with so many pretty images and inspiration at your fingertips. Create a pin board where you can pin some of your fave images and it’ll help you stay organised, with all your inspiration in one place. It will also help you decide on the style or theme for your day!
12 Tips to Help You Get Organised
Bookmark Your Checklist
This is one piece of reading you’ll return to again and again! A wedding checklist is invaluable when it comes to planning, giving you a rough idea of what to do and when, everything from when to book your florist and hair and makeup trials to the little stuff like remembering to put together a Wedding Emergency Kit. Make sure to bookmark our 12 month Wedding Checklist which will keep you on track – you can find it here! Don’t forget to check out our service finder and directory to help you find your ideal suppliers and check out reviews to see what other couples are saying as well!
Enjoy the Process
Wedding planning is a big part of your wedding journey so make sure to cherish all the little milestones and moments from fittings with your mam to trials with your ladies and tastings with your other half (even if you did get lost on the way there). It’s also important to take some time out from the planning so it doesn’t all get too much, whether it’s a movie night on the couch, a dinner date that doesn’t involve wedding talk or a walk with your ladies. Check out 9 Ways to Make Sure You Enjoy Your Wedding Planning here!
Main photo by Kat Mervyn Photography
