I'M ENGAGED, NOW WHAT?
"I want it to be special." That’s what you’ll hear from most brides when asked what they expect from their wedding. But, what makes a wedding special? The dress? The cakes? The reception? According to 90 percent of Americans, personalizing a wedding celebration gives it that special touch.
Planning a wedding provides an opportunity to express yourselves to your friends and family. Once you have written out a wish list for your dream wedding, try to set priorities. Do you love music? Is a great culinary experience an important part of your celebration? Or, are the photographs and finished album high on your list?
Planning a wedding is a big deal. Between now and "I do" you will make hundreds of decisions – and every one will bring you one step closer to your happy beginning.
• The first thing you should do is decide on a date for your wedding. That is the most important thing to have before you start to even think about looking for possible vendors. Make sure you have more than one possible date for your wedding.
• If you are going to hire a wedding planner, do it first. The earlier you do this the better off you will be in general. Not only does this give you more time to pay for the consulting fees, but it gives the planner extra time to plan your wedding and make sure that you have gotten the best vendors.
• Why is a Wedding Planner helpful?
1. Saves you time. Rather than interviewing multiple candidates in each vendor category, your planner can provide you with a short list of reputable professionals.
2. Keeps you on budget. Bridal magazines typically suggest a percentage when considering how much to spend on each category. Your wedding planner can focus your finances on the items which are most important to you and suggest ways to save.
3. Added savings. Some vendors may offer a discount to planners which can be passed onto the client. They can also usually negotiate a better price on items.
4. Confidence builder. Your wedding day is probably your first venture into event planning, but your wedding planner has the experience of hundreds of weddings and events to call upon. Details that you might never imagine will be managed successfully by a professional wedding planner.
5. Networking Advantages. Your wedding planner has the opportunity to work with many amazing wedding professionals, and therefore is able to offer you ideas and wedding professionals that you probably would never have thought about.
6. Stress reduction. Your wedding planner will handle every detail so that you, your family and your guests are not burdened with any responsibilities (well, except for you and your fiancé walking down the aisle, saying “I do” , and enjoying your wedding day.)
Submitted by: Heather Crabtree, Outstanding Occasions. 602-923-0227. www.outstanding-occasions.com
• Formal or informal, intimate or large, summer or winter, indoors or outdoors? Every wedding plan starts with the big picture. Test your imagination and review your wedding dreams as you discuss with your fiancé the ideal way to celebrate your union. Talk about the weddings you have attended, what you enjoyed, and what you would want to avoid. Bridal magazines are a great source of inspiration.
• When booking your church or reception hall, the date you have chosen may also be booked. Having an alternate date will help you and your planner in booking the venue you want. This goes for other vendors as well.
• Photography is more expensive than you may think. Most brides and grooms have some "sticker shock" from the costs associated with a good wedding photographer. Currently, you can expect to spend around $2,500 or more for a photographer, including proofs of the photos. Enlargements and an album will be added to the base price.
• Here are the most important tasks to get started on right away:
1. Church or Wedding Site
2. Reception Hall/Site
3. Photographer
4. Caterer
5. Videographer
6. Florist
7. Honeymoon
8. Band or DJ Service
9. Cake
10. Transportation
11. Invitations (need to be mailed 2-3 months prior to wedding)
12. Save-The-Date Announcements (need to be mailed 6-9 months before wedding)
13. Wedding Dress (needs to be chosen at least 8 months prior)
14. Bridesmaids Dresses (need to be done at least 6 months prior)
15. Decoration Rentals (at least 6 months before)
• When you are ready to tell your family and friends of your decision to get married, know that such great news travels quickly. It is traditional to tell both sets of parents first, before they hear it from anyone else. You probably will want to make personal visits, if possible, to your parents before telling others. Make a list of the other members of your family, friends, and colleagues to whom you want to formally announce your engagement, and decide how you want to tell them (in person, formal printed announcement, telephone, fax, e-mail, video, etc.).
• If your families haven't met, arrange a meeting. If your families live far apart, set up a meeting by phone. If your family plans to help you pay for your wedding, or if you plan to ask them to assist you in paying for it, be prepared to begin discussing initial ideas about the event and the amount of money you are hoping to be able to spend.
• Make a preliminary budget. This is the first reality check. How much can you afford to spend? Can you afford the wedding you envision? Who is going to pay for it? It is difficult to gauge how much you might spend before you know what anything costs. In general, about 50 percent of your budget will go to food and drink at the reception. Allow another 10 percent for flowers, 10 percent to 15 percent for music, 20 percent to 30 percent for photography and 15 percent for various purchases, fees, and attire. You might call two or three local reception sites to get an idea of what it costs to rent them and what the range of catering costs are.
• One of the largest variables in the cost of any wedding depends on the number of guests you invite. Catering, invitations, and wedding cakes are all priced on a per person basis. The fewer guests you invite, the smaller the reception site, and the less food, drink, flowers, and favors you will need to purchase. On the other hand, the cost of buying your dress, and hiring a photographer and band will not be affected by the number of guests who attend.
• Setting a budget for the ceremony and wedding reception is somewhat easy -- you have what you have and that's that. Sticking to the budget is where things get tough. For now, the engaged couple needs to sit down with both sets of parents to discuss how much money they have, how much money they need, and who will be footing the bill for what part of the wedding.
• You will need to get finances straight before you can start planning a wedding. Reception sites and many professionals as well as retailers of wedding attire will more likely than not demand a 50 percent deposit when you reserve their service. You could end up spending a large percentage of your budget as much as nine months in advance of the actual wedding. Ideally, you can set up a separate checking account for wedding expenses, and you, your fiancé, and your family can deposit the available and agreed-upon wedding funds in it now. This system makes it easier to keep track of total expenses and ensures that money for deposits and bills is there when you need it.
• Newly engaged couples often send an official announcement to their local newspaper and/or city magazine. They need to contact the publications to find out the submission deadlines, run dates, and photo requirements (you may want to keep an engagement photo log with key information). Be sure to keep track of the newspapers and magazines contacted so you both can buy up plenty of copies when the announcement is published.
A proper announcement includes: * Bride's full name * Groom's full name * Bride's mother's name * Groom's mother's name * Bride's father's name * Groom's father's name * Bride's parents' hometown and state * Groom's parents' hometown and state * Wedding site city, state * Season, month, and/or date of wedding
• Engagement parties often occur soon after making the official announcement. Presents are not generally given; if, however, someone does bring a gift, be sure to promptly send a thank you card. It's an easy gesture to forget, since about now both of your minds are focused on wedding plans, and you probably do not yet have official thank you cards printed.
• Hiring a Consultant. Some couples decide to add a consultant into their budget. This is definitely the way to go if you both don't have time to plan the wedding. Keep in mind that you can opt to choose a wedding consultant that works by the hour. This allows you both to do most of the planning but provides an outsider's perspective for some of the more difficult decisions.
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