10 Steps for Planning A Wedding

Here's our simple step by step approach for stress-free wedding planning. 

You may find it helpful to write down a plan for the months, weeks and days approaching the wedding, so that you know what's expected and when you'll need to do it.

If you've not been involved in helping to plan a full wedding before, you may find it helpful to buy one of the books which goes into detail about every aspect of the wedding day and the time leading up to it.

1.   The Engagement

The first many parents know is that an excited son or daughter phones them or visits to let them know they're either planning to get engaged or that they've become engaged.  This can be a surprise, but it's important to try and be supportive and encouraging, whatever your initial feelings.

Once the surprise has worn off, you'll have more time to think clearly about it and discuss whether there are any definite wedding plans yet.

It's traditional to hold an engagement party or celebration - whether this is organised by the engaged couple, or one or both sets of parents - it is often a family affair.  However, you can celebrate however you wish, and it will depend just how big your circle of friends is.

You can find out more about planning your engagement party at Confetti UK.

2.  The Wedding Budget

Before any real planning starts for any wedding, it's important to consider the budget, as this will help inform your decisions on choosing everything from invitations to venue.

Tradition used to be that the brides father paid for most of the wedding, with the groom paying for the church and the honeymoon.  However, the reality for many couples is that the cost is shared between both sets of parents and the bride and groom.

Whatever your situation is, it's important to know what your budget is going to be and plan carefully for each item of expenditure.  In the week before the wedding there will be dozens of small expenses and you'll want to ensure that you have sufficient funds available to pay for each of them.

Here's just a few of the items that you'll need to include:-

• Bridal Flowers / Bouquet
• Bridesmaids’ Dresses  
• Church/Civil ceremony fees 
• Engagement Ring 
• Entertainment/Band 
• Flower Arrangements
• Going Away outfit 
• Grooms Suit 
• Hair Styles & Beauty 
• Honeymoon 
• Jewellery 
• Order of Service 
• Other 
• Photography 
• Reception food & drink 
• Reception Venue 
• Wedding cake 
• Wedding Cars/limousines 
• Wedding Dress / Gown 
• Wedding Dress accessories – veil/headdress/lingerie 
• Wedding Insurance 
• Wedding Invitation 
• Wedding Night Hotel 
• Wedding Rings for Bride & Groom 
• Wedding Shoes or Sandals 
• Wedding Video 

Confetti UK offer wedding planner software to help you prepare your own detailed budget.

3.  Choosing The Wedding Venue

For many couples this is one of the first big joint decisions they'll make.

Whether you're going to have a church wedding or civil ceremony will set the tone of the day.  Your budget and personal preferences will both influence your decision, as will the number of guests you wish to invite.

You'll need to consider whether you want any religious or Christian content, such as Bible readings and prayers, or simply a few well chosen words.

If you're thinking of having a specific theme for the wedding, this may influence your choice of venue - for a celtic or medieval wedding, an older more historic venue would make a suitable setting as well as being great for photos.

Once a venue is chosen and possibly a theme, you're ready to consider what sort of invitations to send out.  These should give guests an idea of what style of dress will be appropriate, as well as time, location and other helpful information. 

If you're having a formal church wedding, the invitation should reflect this, whereas a simple civil or beach wedding allows you to choose a less formal or informal style of invitation.

4.  The Wedding Reception

This is one area where your budget can really change - from an informal american supper with friends to a full sit-down dinner. 

As well as your personal preferences, you'll need to consider venue availability on your chosen wedding date, as well as what each venue is able to offer in terms of catering.