Planning your wedding and getting married should be a wonderful and unforgettable experience. Without great planning, your wedding can be stressful and you can quickly become overwhelmed by rising costs, family politics and the myriad of things you need to do. To make sure your wedding runs smoothly and that you stay sane throughout the process, follow these simple wedding planning tips.

Ask for help

Recruit your most creative, organized and enthusiastic friend or family member to help you plan your wedding. This will immediately cut your stress and workload by at least half. That is, if you can delegate and share responsibilities fairly.

Use the following list of ‘wedding planning things to do’ to help divide the responsibilities between you.

Things to do:

Reserve the church or wedding ceremony location.

Give yourself plenty of time to plan the wedding and for guests to make sure they are free for the day. Anything from one year to two years is usual for an advance wedding venue reservation.

Request the license:

Depending on where in the world you are, the rules around marriage licenses will vary. Be sure to comply and do what is necessary according to the laws of your state.

Set the budget:

The size of the budget will determine any other actions you take when planning your wedding, so take the time to come up with an accurate wedding budget based on what you can afford and what you think is reasonable to spend on this special day. The parents of the bride and groom can offer financial support. Don’t take this for granted. If the parents announce that they will cover the cost, they will presumably set the wedding budget for you. Be sure to respect the imposed limit.

Once you have the budget, you need to divide it up to cover the many costs associated with planning and executing the wedding.

Things to consider are listed below:

• Guest List
• Who is coming?
• How many can you afford to serve?
• Should they attend the wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, and wedding party reception, or just the reception?

Some people only have close friends and family for the wedding ceremony and include a larger guest list for the evening reception entertainment that may include work colleagues and occasional friends. Children are a consideration as some prefer not to have children at their wedding while others are more than happy to encourage a family wedding atmosphere. If you include children on your guest list, remember to meet their needs when setting up the reception and planning the entertainment.

wedding theme

Most brides like to have a “theme” for their wedding, if only to establish that it will be a traditional white wedding theme. When considering a theme for your wedding, consider what reflects the personality of you and the groom and what can be easily managed within the scope of the wedding budget.

Popular and trendy wedding themes for 2014 and 2015 include rustic weddings, shabby chic weddings, country garden (tea party) weddings, and all things vintage.

There are many resources you can access online and offline (wedding magazines) for ideas on how to create the perfect themed wedding. Create a wedding mood board of your favorite colors, fabrics and flowers to set the tone for the wedding and help collate your thoughts. If you’re hiring a wedding planner, he or she can create a mood board with you.

wedding ceremony location

Knowing your wedding theme will help determine where you want to get married. Select a venue that sets the tone for your themed wedding. A small chapel or church for a traditional wedding for close family and friends or an outdoor garden ceremony for a more rustic wedding with a country theme. The weather will be a factor as will the number of guests and the budget.

wedding reception

When deciding where you’d like to hold your wedding reception, evening party, or cocktail hour, consider how your guests might travel from the ceremony location to the reception, and how long they might be lost in between. You may need to budget for transportation. for guests, allow ample parking and prepare detailed instructions. For guests who have to travel some distance to attend your wedding, you may also need to arrange overnight accommodations or provide a list of local hotels.

Once you’ve determined your budget, theme, venue, and guest list, you can enjoy choosing the details that will make your wedding unique to you. These include:

• Wedding invitations – personalized
• RSVP cards
• Save the date Magnet or card
• wedding programs
• Menu
• table cards
• room plan
• Seals

You can buy a wedding stationery set that includes coordinating items for all of the above, or you can make your own! There are many resources online to help you create your own wedding invitations. These include wedding invitation templates, printables, and craft items. If you are making handmade wedding invitations, give yourself plenty of time to do it.

• Catering including drinks
• Flowers including bridal bouquet, ceremony venue flowers and centerpiece arrangements
• Decorations for ceremony and reception – ribbons, flowers, pennants, balloons
• Wedding dress, underwear, reception suit, shoes, jewelry, accessories
• Groom suit, cufflinks, accessories, shoes
• Bridesmaid dresses, shoes, nails.
• paige toddler costumes
• best man suit
• Hairdressing and makeup fees
• Car rental for girlfriend, boyfriend, family
• Wedding cake
• boboniere
• wedding favors
• Gifts for brides, mom, bridesmaids, godfather, etc.
• Hotel room rental
• Honeymoon

The wedding planning checklist can be exhaustive, so I’ve included the main items for you to consider. Add anything else in the comments section below to help our brides-to-be plan their perfect wedding.