Planning Your Wedding
So, you’ve decided to get married or tie the knot! Congratulations and best wishes! Other couples who have walked down the aisle before you will be the first to tell you that arranging your own wedding can be one of the most stressful (but exciting and memorable) activities that you can pursue in your whole life.Planning your wedding will entail a lot of steps, from choosing the members of your entourage, to choosing your bridal gown, etc. There are wedding planning books or checklists available in wedding magazines that can help you with that. For a start though, you will need to focus on the most important things that you need to pay attention to. These are:
1. Choose a date and set your budget: Everything starts from here. When do you wish to get married? Is there a particular month or day that you and your soon-to-be spouse are fond of? It is best to give yourselves ample time to plan everything – six months to one year would be good. Anything beyond that may be too dragging. As they say, “work expands to fill the available time.”
How much money do you have for the ceremony and reception? What kind of a celebration can you afford? It isn’t wise to blow your whole life savings on just one day. It is best to be prudent in terms of costs and expenses so that you and your spouse will have a good amount of money stashed away as you start your life together. Plan to have the wedding that you have always dreamed of but be sure to celebrate within your means.
2. Reserve the place for your wedding ceremony: If you are Catholic and you have a particular church in mind, it is best to reserve that at the earliest possible time. Chances are, you are not the only couple eyeing a particular church for a certain time and date. Depending on your religious beliefs and convictions, you may plan a ceremony that is appropriate for the occasion. The kind of proceedings that you have in mind will dictate whether you need to reserve a church, a hall, a garden, or make arrangements with a beach resort.
3. Choose your venue for the reception and/or party: Where do you wish to celebrate after the wedding proper? Do you want to party at a hotel? At a restaurant? What kind of food do you want to serve? What will the program be like? All of these considerations will help you in deciding where to have your reception after the actual wedding ceremony.
4. Put your papers in order: Different countries have different rules on what documents need to be arranged for a couple to be married. Prior to worrying about gowns, menus, and what not, do your investigation about what papers you need to file and when. We wouldn’t want you to do all the preparations for nothing.
5. Prepare yourself physically, spiritually, emotionally: Preparing for a wedding can be physically and emotionally draining so it is best to keep yourself healthy and in positive spirits. Be focused although it is important to also be flexible. Do not expect everything to go your way. Keep an open mind and remember that should you and your partner successfully complete all that planning and still decide that you want to be together, you would have accomplished 1/1,000,000 (it’s actually a bigger denominator but we didn’t want to be too discouraging) of the challenges that come with married life. After all, in an ideal world, you only get married once.
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