Top 5 tips to kickstart your wedding planning

Updated: Feb 16, 2022

Firstly, you said yes! Sending huge Congratulations to you and your partner.

I’m sure you’re eager to get started, but there are a few things I would recommend doing to really set you off in the right way and make the whole process much easier for you.

NUMBER ONE - Have that conversation

Although we both know you’ve had that secret Pinterest board for a while and you may well know exactly what you want for your wedding, you probably haven’t discussed your wedding day ideas as a couple, in the mindset of fiancé-fiancée. Topics such as date, location, budget, style, guest list etc. are such important elements that you both need to agree on before you start planning so that you set forward into the world of wedding planning aligned and ready to go.

Another important thing that I believe is often missed is compromise. What are you prepared to compromise on and does your partner agree with this? Common compromises are the location of the venue (is your dream venue 20 minutes further out of your ideal area), the season you’re getting married in (has your partner always dreamed of a summer wedding) or budget (is a supplier that you love slightly outside of your budget, can you stretch or do you have to find another that is a little more in the budget?)

NUMBER TWO – Money talks

Do you have a budget? Whether you do or don’t, it’s always a good idea to get an understanding of a breakdown of costs and if you’ve never planned a wedding before, it is understandable that you wouldn’t know exactly how much a wedding cake costs or a bouquet and that is not a bad thing.

Managing your finances is incredibly important and tracking your spending is crucial. If you have a strict budget, without tracking your finances will almost always result in you sending more than you expected.

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NUMBER THREE – Who’s invited

Another vital step is to create your guest list. This will have a huge impact on your budget as guests cost money and this is not just for the food and drink, it is also the invitation, place card, favour. Additional guests, mean additional tables, cutlery etc and additional tables mean more floral centrepieces, all that costs money. If you have the budget to do so, then this is wonderful and you can go for your life! But if you do have a strict budget, then you may have to be slightly stricter on your guest numbers.

By working out your guests from the beginning, makes it much easier when you start your venue search as venues will have a maximum capacity and you can automatically filter to the venues that can accommodate you and your guests.

NUMBER FOUR – How it will look

Just before searching for suppliers, I always recommend that you think about the design and style of your wedding. Suppliers can influence this and you want them to complement each other, for example, a photographer with a light and airy style is not usually the best match when you have lots of dark colours and is better suited to a more light and airy style wedding with blushes and bright colours.

Of course, when thinking about this, you do not need to decide on every single detail, but by creating a simple Pinterest board, not only can you collate all of your ideas in one place, but you can check that all of your designs complement each other. For example, does the blues, golds and greens you love all match together…

NUMBER FIVE – How the day will run

Think about how you envisage your day to run, do you plan on keeping it traditional, or free-flowing. Would you like a formal sit down meal or sharing boards to keep it relaxed? Do you want to get married earlier in the day and have a longer evening reception, or keep it shorter and sweet and get married in the early evening?

All of these will affect the decisions you make and although the day itself may seem far off, it is a good idea to have an idea in your head from the beginning.