It’s January, the month of wedding planning! Especially if you were proposed to on New Year’s Eve (if so, congratulations!). Now that the engagement is confirmed, it’s time to plan for your wedding day.
This doesn’t mean the planning has to be a stressful time though! In this article we’re going to share with you some tips on how to start planning for your 2020 wedding (or 2021, if that’s what you’re going for) so that your special day goes without a hitch.
Why January is wedding planning month
The biggest reason why January suddenly seems wedding crazy is because it’s a new year, and all of the hubbub around the holidays is winding down. This makes January a prime time for all of the venues and vendors who help out at weddings to promote their services to newlyweds. They usually do this at wedding shows, trade shows, and online.
February takes second place as a planning month because it’s a month of love (i.e. Valentine’s Day!). Again, for some businesses it’s a very quiet time of year so they have more time to promote their wedding services and start accepting engaged couples as clients or customers.
Regardless, with a lot of these tips you’re going to want to start now, as opposed to later. “The early bird catches the worm” is a very accurate saying when it comes to weddings in general! Check online for wedding shows and trade shows, or browse social media where there are event ideas galore.
As for planning out bridesmaid dresses, if you like our Love U convertible dresses, we recommend you order them as soon as your wedding day is booked. This will help Emily gets your bridal party’s correct measurements and there’s enough wiggle room for alterations and adjustments needed (see
our FAQ for more details on this).
Be flexible with booking the venue
Some venues have different requirements when it comes to booking for a wedding to take place. If you want to get married in 2020, start now as opposed to later. Don’t be disappointed if it turns out they’re fully booked or you can’t get the date you really wanted. Some are booked all the way into years in advance! It depends on how popular of a wedding spot the venue is.
If you really can’t wait to tie the knot, there’s nothing wrong with looking at smaller venues or locations in order to get married in 2020. There are wineries, parks, beaches galore…sometimes even the backyard of a home can be spacious enough!
Check social media
Pinterest is wedding central when it comes to finding decorations, food, and crafty DIY ideas. There are some amazing and creative ideas to give your wedding an extra sense of sparkle and delight. The two of you should look at this together (after all, it’s your love’s big day too!). Make a board and put the ideas you two like the most, so you can refer to them later. Be sure to share this list with anyone else who is helping to plan such as your maid/matron of honour, your parents and/or in-laws, etc.
Start your guest list
Before you go all out with planning for things like decorations and cake, start jotting down your guest list as early as possible. Anyone you can think of who you would love to come and celebrate your big day with you, possible bridesmaids—be sure to include the photographer, venue staff etc. (hey, they need to eat too!). You should also discuss with your betrothed whether you two want your wedding to be family-friendly (i.e. kids can attend) or if you want an adults-only wedding. This kind of decision is crucial when forming your guest list (though really, the final decision is all up to you two).
Once you have all of your ideas for guests written down, pare it down based on your budget (more on that below) and based on who you really want to see celebrate the day with you—not just fair weather acquaintances or people you haven’t spoken to in over a year (that includes family).
Don’t forget to budget
Nobody enjoys this step (repeat:
nobody). However, you do have to make sure you’re not going overboard with the costs of the wedding and doing this can help reconfigure where your priorities lie. For example, how much do you want to pay for the bridesmaid dresses (if you’re looking for your bridal party’s sake)? How many hours do you want to hire for a photographer? Are you prepared on balancing a large guest list with cost per plate?
The more you budget the costs, the less stressful your big day will turn out to be. Sometimes a smaller budget can end up forming a very creative wedding in the process!
Instill some of your own traditions
Everyone has their own special tradition and way of saying ‘I love you’ even after the wedding bells have rung! Just because you’re getting married doesn’t mean you should forget about those fun little quirks you discovered during date one, or that favourite book or movie you two have in common. Weddings can be a fun way to take some of the traditions you two love, such as a meal or a season or quotes from a movie, and instill some of that fun into your upcoming big day.
Have some fun with it!
Once you’ve pegged down the bigger details and confirmed dates, it’s time to relax and enjoy the planning process. After all, the day is about tying the knot with the love of your life–a day you’ve probably been dreaming of for a very long time. You should cherish every moment of it.
Need help with the bridesmaid dress planning?
Check out our online shop for some great possibilities! Be sure to send Emily a message if you’d like to see some
free swatches, or if you want
a special service dressing up your bridal party the day of the wedding!
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Love U Designs and a clickable link back to this page.
