Here’s What to Do…
You’re undoubtedly looking forward to getting married. You might have settled on the date a while ago and suddenly you look at the calendar – it’s already January!
You’re getting married in summer 2018 and your wedding day is approaching fast – perhaps just a little too fast. Especially as you haven’t organised anything yet…
Fear not, as there is still time to get planning and arrange your 2018 summer wedding. It won’t be too stressful either.
Here’s what you need to do:
Sort out the guest list
The most important thing to do is to finalise your guest list. The number of people you’re going to invite will influence many of the other things – your venue, the catering and even the entertainment.
Once you know how many people you’re going to have there, you can tailor everything else around this number.
Sort it out as soon as possible to move on to the other details.
Create a wedding budget
You can then set a budget for your big day. This is crucial.
Because the cost of getting married has increased, budgeting will help you make better decisions.
It allows you to pick priorities – do you care more about the floral arrangements or the catering? You can always adjust your budget as your planning progresses but it’s beneficial to start with estimations.
You might have to make some tough decisions and drop some things you’d really liked to have had for your wedding, but it’s better than planning the whole thing and realising you either can’t afford it or now have a massive credit card bill.
Pick a wedding theme
Before you book a wedding venue, entertainment and buy the wedding dress: pick a wedding theme. If you have a specific theme you want, it will influence the other parts of your planning. Creating a medieval themed wedding is a lot easier in an actual castle rather than a super-modern ballroom!
Your wedding theme can be anything – you can use a specific colour combination, a historic era, your favourite movie and so on. You can be as specific or as broad with your ideas as you want.
Book the venue and catering
Finding the right venue can be the hardest part of planning a wedding this close to your ideal date. Some of the most popular venues are booked as far as two to three years in advance. Summer is a busy time and if you’ve not yet booked your wedding venue, chances are you might not get your first choice, especially if you’re not willing to budge on the date.
Start by considering your venue and narrow down the search based on location and the type. Do you want an outdoor venue? Would you prefer a venue that allows you to provide your own catering? Do you want venue with a specific feature, such as a lake nearby?
It’s important to be clear about what you want from the venue. For example, certain venues might have different policies regarding things like wedding bands, wedding fireworks and catering. Ask questions for everything you want to know, and find a venue that meets your demands.
You can take advantage of venue directories online and use them to find your dream venue.
When booking the venue, you can also sort out your catering. You might book it together with the venue or opt to have an outside caterer create your dream menu.
Move on to finer details
That wasn’t so bad, right?
As soon as you clear the above hurdles from your way, you’re almost there. After that, it just becomes about fine-tuning and adding elements that turn your wedding from good to great.
The next big things on your list are:
- Wedding Invitations. Send these out six to eight weeks before the date.
- Your Wedding Outfit. What are you wearing? If you’re having a themed wedding, then this may require some focus. Do bridesmaids or others featuring in the wedding need to match?
- Your Wedding Entertainment. Find a DJ or a wedding band that fits your theme. Choose a professional with plenty of wedding experience – it guarantees you create the right ambience and your guests enjoy the party.
You don’t have to go crazy at this point. Think about table card designs and napkin colours later. When you have the above sorted, you can move on to these extra elements, like the floral arrangements, placement cards, and the politics of who is going to sit where.
Most importantly, enjoy the planning process!
Even though your summer 2018 wedding is only months away, you still have plenty of time to sort things out and create the wedding of your dreams.
We set up Independent Weddings to provide a free resource for brides and grooms to use when they are planning their own, unique, wedding.