Planning a wedding can be one of the most complicated, stressful events of a couple’s life together. There can be hundreds of details to perfect and decisions to make, even with the simplest ceremony. Here are some tips and tricks to ensure that your wedding is as stress-free and as happy as possible.
Most weddings are planned to fall on the weekend. If you are looking to save money, consider having your wedding during the week. Venues and hotels have higher prices during the weekend since that is when most people want those things. Switching to a weekday could save you a decent amount of money.
For food, consider going to a store such as Costco. Wholesale prices are generally lower. Also, ask family or friends to help offset the cost of the food.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a great wedding. Many churches and religious buildings charge nominal or no fee at all. If you keep your guest list small, and avoid a meal time wedding, you can pull off a spectacular event on a very small budget.
Make sure that everyone in your wedding party knows how they’re getting to the wedding site and back home from your wedding! This is especially important if you’re going to be serving alcohol, and essential if it’s an open bar. If you’re worried about anyone getting too inebriated, offer free cab rides to anyone who doesn’t bring a car, or drive them home in your limo.
If you are having an outdoor wedding, check your wind speeds for that day. A windy day can ruin an outdoor wedding if not planned for. If it is going to be windy, avoid hairstyles that will be greatly affected by wind. You should also keep in mind that some tents are not designed to handle very windy conditions.
If you are going to be getting married soon it would be wise to decide whether it will be a simple wedding or a grand wedding. Having this squared away from the first moment will help center and guide all the decisions related to the wedding. This will prevent a clutter of ideas.
Before you leave for your wedding, make sure that you have a solid breakfast that is filled with a lot of carbs. Typically, you will not eat until later on in the day and will be under a lot of stress, which can drain your energy very fast. A proper meal will combat a haggard feeling.
If you’re planning on having a buffet at your wedding reception, work out a plan to get the food moving quickly so that no guest is left waiting. Consider having multiple tables at different locations in your venue so that many tables can go up at one time, shortening the lines at each.
To save money on your wedding, you may want to consider making a CD of your favorite songs instead of having a DJ. The price of a DJ can really hurt your pockets and picking out the songs that you and your spouse like can make your day more personal.
When choosing a venue for the reception, be sure to account for enough space to dance. You want to have ample room for everyone to get down, so if the dance floor of your favorite venue is lacking at least make sure that you can add some size by moving nearby tables and chairs.
Don’t get drunk! If you don’t want your guests getting inebriated and making a scene, then you don’t want to behave like that either. Keep your alcohol intake to a minimum so you can actually remember the night you had for the rest of your life and not end up on the nightly news.
Planning a wedding means setting a budget; being successful in your planning means sticking to your budget. It is easy to add a few dollars here and a few dollars there when choosing vendors, venues and assorted wedding needs. A few dollars adds up and can carry you far outside your expected budget. Stick to your budget and you will thank yourself after.
Consider borrowing a special piece of jewelry from a friend or family member. This can make your wedding one of a kind and achieves a fantastic look for you.
If you are traveling abroad for your wedding, consider hiring a local wedding planner. A good wedding planner in your country of choice can make the difference between your greatest memories and your worst nightmares. With the planner at your side you can overcome language barriers, service mishaps and any multitude of wedding day chaos that would ruin the day.
Even though modern weddings can be extremely complicated, and can take months to plan properly, you can survive the process and make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch. These tips will help you have a wedding ceremony that goes so well that all your friends will want to know exactly how you did it.
