Planning a Wedding

 Dos and Do Nots

Do - Spend some time with your spouse checking out the places you want to register and making lists of the items you really do need.
Do not - Just add a toaster oven you know you won’t use so guests will have enough of a selection.
Do - Register at more than one store. There is no hard and fast rule that says you have to register at one location only.
Do not - Choosing items that are really expensive because you know you won’t be able to afford them in the first year of marriage isn’t fair to your guests. Instead, choose a wider price range selection.
Do - Discuss your options with different stores, online sites and even handmade facilities. You’ll be surprised by how many places feature registries this day.
Do Not - Feel limited to asking for only household goods. If you are already set up in your house and don’t need a lot, ask for some things you ‘might’ like to have or even items like movies, CDs and more.

Planning for the Venue

Planning a wedding always begins when the question is popped. Most people know the type of wedding they would like to have, but when you add another person’s dreams, aspirations and religious feelings it can require some discussion. The couple are an important part of planning a wedding and whether it’s the parents of the bride or the groom or a wedding planner, the wishes of the couple have to be taken into account. This is especially true of the type of ceremony that the couple decides on.
Determining whether the wedding will be a religious, civil or other type of ceremony will play a part in determining the venue. The couple usually has an idea of where they want to have the wedding. Your job as the wedding planner will be to contact the venue and verify all information with regard to booking it for the day in question. Be sure to have a standard contract available that you use for negotiating a venue. At bare minimum you will need confirmation on the following:

• Contact Person?
• Location of Utilities?
• In-house staff?
• Clean-up responsibility? Yours? Theirs?
• Parking?
• Entrance?
• Dressing Room?
• Fees?
• Rehearsal availability?
• Piano? Organ?
• Rules about Photography (specifically in Churches)

You will want to confirm a booking of the venues at least three to four months ahead of time. In many cases, it’s better to settle on the venue in the first hours of planning wedding because much of the rest of the planning will center on the location. Planning a wedding is like setting up dominoes, each decision helps you make another one. The first domino is the question, the second domino is the type of ceremony and the third domino is choosing the venue and it continues from there.

Wedding Timeline

Wedding planning is arduous. The proof is in the details and if you want to keep track of the details you’ll need a wedding planning checklist. If you hire a wedding planner, he or she will have his or her own wedding planning checklist to go over. In the meanwhile, please find a sample wedding timeline below to help your wedding planning. If you are setting up your own portfolio for wedding planning, this wedding planning checklist should go at the very front of every wedding planned in order to verify that you are getting everything done and checked off in a timely manner.
Timeline:
12 Months Before:

• Book Ceremony Venue
• Book Reception Venue
• Determine and Book Liability Insurance

10-11 Months Before:

• Book Caterer
• Book Musicians
• Book Photographer
• Book Videographer

8-9 Months Before:

• Book Florist
• Book Cake Designer/Baker
• Book Transportation

6-7 Months Before:

• Book Rentals (i.e. chairs/tables etc as needed)
• Review All Vendor Contracts, Update Timeline

5 Months Before:

• Order invitations etc.
• Order Flowers
• Provide Music/Requests to Musicians

4 Months Before:

• Meet with Caterer for food tasting (w/Bride & Groom)
• Order Wedding Cake

3 Months Before:

• Have Bride Book her Beauty Appointments for hair, makeup etc.
• Provide Caterer with menu and beverage selections
• Have Bride/Groom meet Officiant to review ceremony
• Verify with Printer that Invitations, etc are ready

2 Months Before:

• Contact all book vendors to confirm arrangements
• Pay any balances to booked vendors
• Prepare information sheets for bridal party and vendors

1 Month Before:

• Provide photographer with list of desired photos
• Provide guidance for videographer
• Confirm Music and Arrangements with Musicians
• Confirm transportation
• Confirm flower orders with florist
• Confirm rental requirements
• Confirm drop off times

2 Weeks Before: o Confirm With All Vendors One More Time
1 Week Before:

• Make sure Caterer has final RSVP numbers for reception
• Make sure vendor bills are collected to make final payment

Day Before: o Oversee the decoration of the ceremony and reception venue
Day Of:

• Oversee and coordinate with all vendors
• Pay Vendors their Final Checks

Planning a Wedding Should Be Fun

Congratulations, you’re planning a wedding. You may hire some to help out with partial planning of a wedding, complete planning and co-ordination of the wedding or coordination on the day of the service only. Wedding planning revolves around one singular event: the ceremony. There is a great deal of pre-planning and post-planning related to arranging the vendors, the dresses, the tuxes, the site and the reception. Yet all of these components are directly related to the central focus that is the actual ceremony.
Weddings are a symphony of organized chaos with the wedding planner in the role of conductor. There is a great deal to planning a wedding and the following is just a sampling of what you need to plan a wedding whether you are the wedding planner, the bride, and the mother of the bride or some combination thereof:

• Ongoing Communication with the Bride and Groom
• Budget Planning
• Schedules, Timelines and Checklists
• Selection and booking of venues for wedding and reception
• Selecting and booking of the minister or justice of the peace
• Planning theme and style of the wedding
• Coordinating design, ordering and mailing of invitations
• Coordinating selection of wedding attire and accessories
• Coordinating or Providing vendors (florist, caterer, photographer, musician, beautician, hair stylists)
• Negotiating and reviewing all contracts
• Assistance with marriage license
• Itinerary planning
• Ceremony planning
• Rehearsal oversight
• Direction of processional and attendant duties
• Planning the reception
• Wedding Day gift coordination
• On-hand coordination on the day of the wedding

One thing that people seem to forget in all the chaos and pressure and stress of planning a wedding. Planning a wedding is a lot of fun. It can be fun for the bride and it can be fun for the wedding planner. Take your time and have fun with the process of planning a wedding.

Purchase a Pocket Wedding Planner

Keeping all of your wedding appointments and tasks organized isn’t always easy. Consider purchasing a pocket wedding planner to assist with the details. A pocket wedding planner easily fits in a purse or briefcase so you’ll always have it with you and you’ll be able to see appointments and activities at a glance. Most wedding boutiques carry these wedding organizers or they can be found in bookstores and online.

Assume Good Intentions

The first rule; assume good intentions is the most important. Don’t assume that someone did something just to piss you off or upset you. If you assume from the get go that they didn’t do it on purpose, you will find that there’s a lot more room for compromise, conversation and communication.
Don’t react when things go wrong. Act. Reacting means you do nothing except respond to the negative stimulus whether it’s a misunderstanding or a genuine fight. Getting angry or responding to accusations with retaliatory remarks will only further inflame situations. By making a pact to act on the information, to keep it cool and to avoid inciting a bad situation to worse is a great way to minimize and even avoid fights.

Source:
http://wedding.lifetips.com/cat/97/planning-a-wedding/index.html