A wedding will take a lot of planning. To ease the stress, you should prepare a schedule. Even with a wedding planner, the couple should still do most of the planning. Everything from getting the dress to sending out invites, booking hair and makeup, and planning for the ceremony and reception should be planned at appropriate times before your wedding. Here are five tips to help you keep to your timeline.
Book a Venue As Soon As Possible
Research where and when you want to get married and book that venue as early as possible. Keep in mind that venues offer many amenities to meet your needs, and the popular venues book very quickly. Your reception venue and a wedding venue should be booked up to a year or more in advance for optimal dates.
Get Your Dress As Early As You Can
While wedding plans can take up to a year to the day you walk down the aisle, one of the first things you should do is get your dress. Your wedding dress is one of the most important aspects of your wedding day, and you need to secure your dress as early as possible. Brides who don’t leave enough time for finding the dress — including order lead time and final alterations — will spend money to rush the alterations. Your tip shop for your dress at least nine months before your wedding so everything has enough time to be done.
Send Out Your Save the Dates 8-10 Months Before
Letting your guests know the date, time, and location of your wedding early will allow them to mark the date and start planning. This tip is especially needed if you have a destination wedding or have a lot of guests coming in from out of town. If all your guests are local, you can wait until 6-8 months before the wedding to send out save the dates.
Get Bridesmaid Attire 6-8 Months Before
This is an important part of wedding planning, and you need to make sure you have input from your bridal party. Finding the dresses for your bridal party reasonably early gives the bridesmaids time to work with the bride and consider options. This also allows time for alterations if needed. You should also choose flower girls’ dresses in this time frame. Groomsmen can make their selections 4-6 months before your wedding.
Start Planning Your Ceremony 4-6 Months Ahead of Time
Finally, the ceremony. If an outdoor wedding, plan for the weather, including tents and fans for a warm season and comfortable seating for any season. Whether an indoor or outdoor event, the order of the ceremony and selected readings (as well as speakers/readers) should be discussed and completed in advance so everyone has time to feel comfortable with their participation.
Planning will be a lot of work and as a couple, it is important that you both share the planning of your special day. Check out Fan C Designs for bridal wear and other tips.