New Brides: So you're engaged, now what?

Not to make you panic, but a lot of time and preparation goes into a planning wedding.

This is why wedding planners can charge as much as they do, they get all of YOUR stress, all you have to do is point and give a bit of direction. This is why they are a very worthy investment!

They take care of everything including suppliers, advice, ideas and some even be a 'toastmaster' on your day!

Should your budget not stretch to getting a wedding planner (like mine!) and you are planning to do a DIY wedding, then here are some tips to help you along your way.

Gorgeous DIY Wedding Planner from amysboutique.co.uk 

I found most of this information in magazines actually, some are pricey but well worth it in terms of content.

Right, the very first thing to do, is figure out your guest list, because quite a considerable amount of your money and the style of your wedding will depend on this.

I say style, because if you are fancying having a sit down meal at a manor house that only caters for up to 80 people, your guestlist of 150 people won't work. So your original style of having it in a manor house (picture vintage cars and the like) probably won't happen. (Unless of course you find another manor house that does). My point is, once you have a guest list, you can see how many people you are catering for so you will know what capacity of venues to look at. Next, your budget. Establish early on how much you can actually spend from now until your chosen date.

After you have chosen your guestlist and your budget and know roughly how many people you would like to invite then you can start looking at different venues in your area. 

One thing I didn't realise before becoming a bride-to-be, is how many types of venues there are!

I had it in my head for some reason that it was either a church or a registry office, but there are so many different kinds; manor houses, country cottages/houses, barns, farms, fields, castles, hotels, museums, even! I think it was at this point that I really started enjoying planning a wedding. 

Also, you don't need to be restricted to your area, lots of brides actually elope and get married abroad!

I still have no clue what kind of venue is right for me and my husband-to-be and I have been looking for 3 months now religiously. I have bought my dress before picking the venue, but that was because it was on sale and about to be discontinued :) As you can see, rules are sometimes made to be broken and sometimes with weddings, anything goes! What I am giving you is what I call 'the recommended way to do things'! 

So, guestlist, budget, venue, pick your date, confirm your date with the venue, book your registrar as soon as possible (they are the people that make it so that you are legally married, it's quite important to have them there). Your venue will help dictate to you your 'theme'. Don't worry, I didn't know what one of those were either. A theme can be colour schemes, subject-related (movies / favourite football teams etc), era-related, it can be anything you want it to be really. Visit my inspiration page for more info, I'll be adding more as I find it too to help.

And then after that, the list just keeps getting bigger and bigger :)

• Guest List.
• Budget.
• Venue.
• Theme.
• The wedding breakfast/buffet menu.
• Wedding dress.
• Wedding shoes.
• Bridal accessories (veils, jewellery, tiaras, bag).
• Bridesmaid dresses.
• Bridesmaid shoes.
• Bridesmaid accessories.
• Grooms Suit.
• Grooms Shoes.
• Grooms cufflinks and accessories.
• Best man/Usher's outfits.
• Groomsmen's outfits.
• Flower boy/girl outfits.
• Flower boy/girl shoes and accessories.
• Flowers - for the venue, for the tables, for the bride, bridesmaids, buttonholes for the men.
• Wedding Cake.
• Wedding favours.
• Centre pieces.
• Wedding Save the date cards, invites, RSVP's, thank you cards.
• Gifts for the bride's family and bridesmaids.
• Gift's for the grooms family and ushermen/groomsmen.
• Wedding rings.
• Novelty and unique ideas you might have.
• DJ/band.
• Wedding Insurance.
• Honeymoon.

You might want to rethink your budget? 

I actually still feel like I am missing a few...care to highlight them for me?

Don't worry if that list scares you, it did me too writing it and reading it back, there is a lot to do, but you are more than capable. The trick is to concentrate on one thing at a time and before you know it you will be his mrs :)