Wedding Preparation

The wedding date

You may already have a date in mind for your wedding but you may also find that your wedding date may be determined by your honeymoon destination.  If you dream of a long haul honeymoon straight after your wedding this will steer you from a traditional summer wedding to one in Autumn/Winter so you can take advantage of the hot climates of your honeymoon destination. It is always a wise idea to have more than one suitable date especially is you are planning a Saturday wedding as often venues have Saturday bookings for years in advance.

Religious or Civil ceremony

People often have their own preferences on the type of ceremony they want and traditionally it would have been a choice of a church or registry office ceremony, but with legislation changes a wedding ceremony can now be held at any location if the wedding service is conducted on a religious basis. Future legislation is likely to state that this will also include civil ceremonies, which presently are restricted to a registry office.

If you are considering a religious ceremony at a venue other than a church please be aware that all clergy man not be prepared to do this and it may take slightly longer to find one who will conduct the ceremony at your designated location.

The wedding budget

It is essential a budget is set before preparations for the wedding commence to assure the wedding is planned and keeps within the assigned budget.

Traditionally it was always the bride’s parents who would pay for the wedding, but with the rising costs of a wedding, it is now common that both sets of parents contribute to overall costs, and we are also seeing more and more couples are paying for much of the day themselves.

If it is going to be a case of parents either paying or contributing to the wedding you must consult them as to how much they can afford to spend and if it is the case how much you as a couple will be contributing. Once this has been done it will allow an accurate budget to be set.

One important thing to consider is that if parents are making any sort of financial contribution to the wedding you may have to make compromises and frequently this will be in the area of the guest list, ultimately it is your day but it is an ideal way to show your appreciation of the financial support. Make sure you constantly monitor the budget throughout the plans updating it when deposits etc have been paid. An easy way of doing it is using a computerized spreadsheet, which will calculate everything for you, although a notebook will be sufficient.

Wedding Fairs

Some couples find it useful to attend the various wedding fairs, which are held regularly at exhibitions centres and hotels and this can help generate ideas for your special day. If you haven’t got any ideas on reception venues you may find it useful to attend the bridal fairs that individual hotels run as it can give couples a chance to get a feel for the atmosphere, entertainment and accommodation facilities, the quality of the catering on offer and the cost of the venue. Once a date for the ceremony has been set there are some things that you must do immediately... Make arrangements with the clergyman or registrar

Book the reception venue

When booking the reception venue people will frequently do this on the basis of picturesque grounds surrounding the venue, which are intended to be used for the wedding photography. Make sure you consider the photography potential inside the venue as if the weather is unfavorable it may prevent using outside backdrops for wedding photographs.

Wedding Date

Church

Budget

Wedding Fairs

Reception