Planning a wedding can be very overwhelming. There are several details to consider when planning your special day. Although wedding planning is challenging, it can be done with ease. Properly planning for a wedding requires organization. When planning a wedding, couples should announce, ponder, calculate and decide.
Announce: Announcing your engagement
Marriage is a very huge step for a couple. Naturally, when a couple becomes engaged, they are eager and excited to share the news with family and friends. As with other important life events, announcing an engagement should be executed carefully to ensure all friends and family receive notification simultaneously. In most cases, couples reach out to immediate family members (i.e. Mother, father and siblings) informally, either by phone or in person. However, notifying friends and extended family requires a formal communication.
There are several ways to announce your engagement. Some couples host engagement parties to share their news. Wedding etiquette says that this party is to be hosted by the bride's parents. If following wedding etiquette, it is "frowned upon" to host your own engagement party. Why? Engagement parties are considered "gift giving" events. It is considered "tacky" to host your own event at which you would receive gifts.
Couples also send out electronic cards or even post cards to announce their engagements. In the interest of cost, an electronic card is the more reasonable option. It is really simple to upload a photo of the couple and attach a few witty or romantic words. Some couples also wait and formally announce their engagement with their Save the Date cards.
There are several other ways to announce an engagement. These are the two options that we have found to be the easiest and the most common. As with all of aspects of wedding planning, by all means select the option that works best for you!
Ponder: Decide WHAT Being Planned is
Before planning a wedding, one has to determine WHAT is being planned. There are several types of wedding. Intimate, large elaborate weddings, budget weddings and destination weddings are only a few of the many options couples have when planning their day. It would be senseless to start visiting local churches when the wedding is held in another country. The couple should first determine what type of service they would like. Some great questions to consider at this time are:
Would we like a religious ceremony?
Who would we like to attend?
Would we want to include a bridal party?
There are several other aspects to consider when deciding on a type of wedding, but these three questions are a great start. Once it has been determined WHAT is being planned, it is much easier to organize the event.
Calculate: Set a Wedding Budget
Intimidating wedding fact #1: The Average wedding costs over $25,000.
Is this true? Yes. Should this intimidate someone planning a wedding? No. The keyword in this statement is "Average". A couple's wedding will be personalized and fashioned to meet that couple's desires. "Average" for one couple is not always the same average for ALL couples. A nice wedding CAN be planned for LESS than $25,000. Now that we have cleared that up, let's take a closer look at setting your wedding budget.
What means the most?
The first step is determined where the priorities lie. Which are more important fresh flowers or photographs? Determine which areas are the most important and it will be easier to identify opportunities to eliminate or cut costs. If there is something that is not desired or required, there is no "golden rule" that states it has to be included.
Who is paying for what?
There are books and wedding planning websites that provide all types of information that "declares" responsibility of wedding costs. If the couple plans to abide by traditional wedding etiquette, this portion is a breeze. Simply visit one of these many websites and print a list to distribute. However, for those couples planning to NOT handle things according to "traditional wedding etiquette", a little more thought is required. First, determine who is paying for what. Once that has been outlined, have a detailed discussion with the responsible party. Once all of the expenses have been assigned, create a document that lists ALL expenses and the responsible parties and distribute to all parties involved to eliminate confusion.
Track your progress.
Once the budget has been set and the ball gets to rolling, it is important to keep record of all payments/transactions. Creating a budget is pointless if the budget is not followed. It is pretty difficult to follow a budget if payments are not tracked.
What's next?
Create your budget. Document your budget. Stick to your budget. As with any other event, situations will arise that will result in doubt or second guessing. In those times, remember the following statement:
The Average wedding costs over $25,000.
After reading that aloud, consider the "situation" again. Doesn't seem as important...right?
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