How do I Start Planning My Wedding?

Before you start… Stop.

I think it’s worthwhile to take a minute and enjoy being engaged. Celebrate and let it sink in. Once things have calmed down a little bit, that’s a good time to start thinking about planning your wedding.

You’ll probably have a load of ideas bouncing around your head and even more friends giving you suggestions. However, my advice is to consider your day before you book anything. Think about what you want to do. Spend some time talking about it with your partner, bounce ideas off each other.

Think about the type of wedding you want, and how you want it to feel. Get a notebook or fire up your favourite note-taking app and start to jot some keywords down.

Make It About You

Make it about you as a couple, and your time together. Think about all the things you love and try to imagine ways you can build those into your day. Get as much of your personality into your day as possible – don’t let traditions block your ideas.

Trying to imagine the big picture right from the start will hopefully make it much easier to visualise your day. In these early stages, you’ll have loads of ideas and can really let your imagination run wild.

Once you’ve got a good idea of what kind of wedding you want, that’s when you can start to narrow things down and make it a reality.

So, the first question to answer is probably “what type of ceremony you’d like?” as this will have an impact on every other decision you make.

List Your Priorities

Once you’ve got an idea of what you want your day to be like, it’s time to get your priorities sorted! Make a list of “must-haves” and do your best to stick to it. Think about what’s important to you both and make those things a priority. So if music is a big part of your life, prioritise the soundtrack. If you’re massive foodies, concentrate on the menu. If it’s really all about everyone coming together, focus on that.

Making this list of “must-haves” and “would really like” along with a clear vision of your day will make it much easier to choose where you spend your money and where you cut corners. But, it’ll also help narrow down venues and other suppliers too, making the planning process so much easier.

Allocate Your Budget

I’m not going to give you advice on how to save or spend your money, I am most definitely not qualified for that! So what I will say is this… Refer back to your list of priorities, and spend your budget accordingly. Get the important things ticked off first, then get the rest with what’s left.

It’s worthwhile having an initial overall budget in mind, do a little research to get an idea of rough costs to check that you’re in the ballpark for the style & size of wedding you’d like. A quick google will tell you the average price of a wedding in the UK is ~£30,000 😳.

It seems important for me to stress this again, YOU will make YOUR wedding awesome – not what you wear, or not how many tiers your cake has. It’s all about YOU!

Chris Morse’s Ultimate Guide to Planning Your Wedding