How to Make Your Own Wedding Plan

Wedding Plan - important

Your Wedding Plan is a very important part of your wedding. Marriage is one of the great milestones in the life of any woman, or man for that matter though he has less to do with the planning and more to do with just being there sober at the right time! You want to make sure that in planning the big day you do not want to miss or forget anything that would be liable to detract from it.

Your Wedding Plan will help prevent that, and it is so important that many women hire a professional wedding planner or organizer to look after it all for them. However, for many reasons, which might be financial or just that the bride wants the satisfaction of knowing that she did it all herself, many women do not seek professional help.

Wedding Plan - timeline

Your Wedding Plan should be a timeline containing all the tasks needed to make your wedding a success. It sounds easy, but in reality you have to capture all the tasks and be aware of how long it actually takes to complete them all. A good wedding plan begins about one year before the planned event if possible, though many weddings do no have a year for preparation. In such cases, the requirements detailed below will have to be compressed into the time-scale that you have available.

Your Wedding Plan will be easier to follow if you split it into months. Thus, twelve months before the big day you should decide with your intended what type of wedding you want: traditional, themed, destination or whatever you both decide. Having made the decision, speak to the minister if necessary, and start checking out venues for the ceremony and reception. These should be booked about a year in advance.

Wedding Plan - honeymoon

Also book your honeymoon since many popular destinations, such as Niagara Falls and many Caribbean locations, will need to be booked a year before. If your funds are not unlimited as part of your Wedding Plan also decide to start saving together, and open up a ‘wedding and honeymoon account’.

Wedding Plan - photographer

Next month, ten to eleven before the wedding, as part of your Wedding Plan book your photographer, and band or DJ. Discuss the guest list with both sets of parents, and also check out the venues to determine any restrictions in photography, music, etc. Some ceremony venues allow only religious music so you might not be able to walk down the aisle to Aerosmith or Bryan Adams.

Wedding Plan - cake

During months ten and nine you should decide on a cake design and book the confectioner or baker. It might seem a bit in advance, but if you leave it any later they can be fully booked, especially if you are having a spring or summer wedding. As part of your Wedding Plan find out if the venue sets up the cake or if your confectioner has to do that. Also book your limos at this time if you are being married in the prom season. Limos are hard to come by in the spring and early summer. You should also be looking for dresses about now, but you will not want a final fitting until very close to the time. Also book the florist now unless the venues look after the decoration themselves.

Wedding Plan - licenses

Months eight to seven are when you should be checking up on what licenses are needed and any residency qualification if you intend having a destination wedding. If you reside in Alberta and want to be married in the Maldives, then also book somebody local to your destination to look after things that side. They will let you know of the legal situation and be able to book the catering and venues and also look after anything you might have overlooked.

Wedding Plan - invitations

You should be looking at wedding card samples in month 6 ready to send out about two to three months later, and also contact your venues, band and photographer to ensure that all is still well. Frequent contact will keep everything rolling along as it should. From month six down to about three you will be making hair appointments, getting gown fittings and also looking after the bridesmaids’ dresses is an important part of your Wedding Plan.

Your groom and his attendants should be arranging any dress hire needed, and the caterer should also be booked. Keep in touch with all the other bookings again: cake, photographer, venues, limos, invitations, and florist.

Wedding Plan - passports

At month four make sure your passports are both in order. If you are going abroad, some countries, such as the USA, insist on your passport having from 3 – 6 months still to run, so you won’t be able to travel if it has only two months to expire. Also get your going-away clothes and check up that your honeymoon booking is still OK. Also choose the rings as part of your Wedding Plan.

At months three to two, book your rehearsal and rehearsal meal if any and send out the wedding invitations. You might also have to confirm the menus now, though not the numbers. Get your wedding gown, shoes and accessories fitted and arrange for a final fitting with about two weeks to a month to go. Also decide on an order of service for the ceremony and have them printed if necessary.

Wedding Plan - reception

During the last month you will have to confirm the numbers for the reception, confirm everything else booked is still in order, especially photographer, DJ or band, limos and cake and flowers. Collect the rings and make sure that they fit. Get your favors now that you know the numbers. Work out the seating plans for the ceremony and reception. Get your hair and make-up done, and sort out any foreign currency or traveler’s checks for your honeymoon. Confirm all bookings of everything one last time, and then relax. There are a multitude of items in your Wedding Plan.

All you need do now is to enjoy your final night out with the girls, and look forward to a fabulous wedding that you have arranged all by yourself. If your Wedding Plan includes a check-list for every month and every job that needs to be done, then you will have done all you could have to make sure that it will be a day to remember for ever by all who attended your wonderful day.










Wedding Plan

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