How to Plan a Wedding

I’m Getting Married! Now what?

There were so many thoughts filling up my mind, that I could not keep up with myself. I did not know what to do next. It was about 3:00am when my fiance proposed to me. It is a long story. If you want to read about it, check out the most recent blog he wrote about “What to say during a Marriage Proposal.” My parents were certainly not made of money. We have always been the practical family who bonds closer by making things with our hands and hearts. So I knew I was limited on a wedding budget. I had to be creative in making a beautiful wedding, without letting it look cheap. Mission accepted. I find it a fun challenge to make things look great, on a budget. It is like a game for me.

Let the Games Begin

I am always in the mood to hear a great marriage proposal story. I am such a girl in that aspect.  There are so many of them out there on you tube and the internet. Although, what do you do after being proposed to? The many steps of planning a wedding can be very overwhelming. Sometimes we can plan so much, that you forget to enjoy the journey along the way. Your personality can really shine in a good or bad way before the wedding. It is up to you to enjoy the planning process and make the best out of it. When following these ten steps to planning your wedding, remember it is just that…”your” wedding. This is your special day you have been waiting a long time for, so preserve every moment.

10 Steps to Planning a Great Wedding

1. Pick a location

It may not be that easy for some of you to agree in your relationship, but as tradition has it, we had ours in our church. It is nice being a part of a church family, because it makes it easier to get a discount having a wedding there and easier to have marriage counseling with trusted advisers before the official “I do.”

2. Make a Guest List

Again, on a limited budget you can cut food involved and invite more people, or have more food and expenses in other areas and limit the number of guests. That seems so hard to do when you are close to so many people. Again when you go to a church already it can be expected that you may have people come who may or may not have been invited just because they attend that church. So, that is why my fiance and I decided we love people and would rather have an afternoon wedding with snacks and cake instead of the full meal deal. One piece of advice I would tell my future child, in our time capsule, is to start your marriage off right with as little debt as possible (including using your creativity to try and create win win situations for everyone involved).

3. Set a Budget

You know some people dream of their wedding since being a little girl. To each his own, but for my future fiance and I we would rather put the down payment on a house, then spend it on a one day wedding event. Everyone is different, so whatever you do make sure you do not compromise showcasing your own personality in your wedding.

4. Find Helpful Friends

Ask around. You never know the power of networking, until you network. Ask some friends or family members if they know of anyone who can DJ for your wedding, make the cake, donate a nice get-a-way car, etc.

5. Send Save the Dates

Send out Save the Date cards with the invitation all in one. If you feel you need to remind people again later, send out a fun musical email card reminder just before your wedding. Again, be creative. That is what helps make a wedding memorable.

6. Fight about Things that Matter

Please try hard to remember this is “your” wedding. When it starts to get stressful and you may not agree on colors with your in-laws or mother, remember what matters most to fight about…your continued loving relationship with your fiance, his parents, and your parents. Learn or find books to help you word things in a confident and loving way, to get your opinions across. The last thing you need to do is marry this family (because you are marrying his family too, not just him), and start it with a fight over the color of the ties in the wedding. Take a deep breath, and learn to say no in a positive, confident, way. You may even boost your self esteem in the process.

7. Register for Gifts

Find all the gifts you can think of now to register for, to take the financial headache away when you get married. It can be overwhelming supplying a new apartment or house with items for two instead of the one you are used to. You never know who on your guest list may be feeling generous and want to give back to you in a special way. Also, please do not register for weird gifts you think you may use, but end up in the back of your cabinet for years lost. (For example, our pineapple cutter we have yet to use and is about to go to a garage sale next summer.)

8. Participate in Marriage Counseling

You never know what issues may come up, when you are still stuck in the honeymoon stage of your dating months or years. There are people called “seasoned veterans” of marriage for a reason. Take advantage of the advice they can offer you.

9. Pick out the Perfect Dress and Wedding Cake

Again, do not worry about what others think. Worry about the regrets you may have if you do not do things how you want to. So, take your time picking out your perfect dress. It should be like a home. When you walk into it, you know it screams your name and says “welcome home.” Also make sure to find a wedding cake that expresses your style, personality, and budget. Don’t forget to save the top of the cake for your anniversary later.

10. Preserve Mementos Along the Way

So how do you really make sure you are enjoying the wedding day shopping journey? Make sure to preserve your wedding mementos and memorabilia in a decorative Wedding Time Capsule, to open years later (like on your 25th Anniversary) and reminisce. Your fiance may not even know what all you had to go through to put together your beautiful wedding until the day you open the Wedding Time Capsule. Enlighten him and show your personality all over again as you reflect what life was like the year you got married. What a momentous day that will be as you bond and remember? Get a unique and decorative Wedding Time Capsule from https://www.timecapsule.com/product/milestone-collection-wedding-time-capsule/.

So what is an important step you would advice someone to do before their wedding? Comment below.

 

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie