Weather the marriage is a civil ceremony or a wedding ceremony extravaganza, the bride and groom will work together to plan the wedding, from invitations to the Honeymoon destination.
Wedding Planning
Remember that the marriage will be a joint venture, and so is the process of planning the big day. Some duties and decisions can be delegated, but most decisions should be made together. The Bride and Groom can also decide together if they need assistance with ideas from family and friends. Keep in mind the basic rules of wedding etiquette and traditions. Decide together what traditions are important to include in the wedding day festivities.
The Dream Wedding
Start with a list, independent of cost or practicality, of all things that a Dream Wedding means to the happy couple. Be very specific and include the following:
- The ideal date?
- The wedding dress?
- The wedding ceremony - civil, religious, at home, a church, the neighbour’s garden, a wedding at sea, Paris?
- How big is the dream wedding?
- The wedding attendants?
- What colour will the Bridesmaid dresses be?
- Where will the reception be?
- What music will be played at the dream wedding?
- What will the guests eat and drink?
- What flowers?
Make sure the list includes ideas from both the bride and groom.
Now together, go through and prioritise all the items on the list. What is the most important thing to both parties to make the wedding the best day ever. Is the $20,000 designer dress more important than the eleven bridesmaids? Is the bride’s passion for the colour orange more important than the Groom’s preference for blue? ls Italy the most important location over the family actually attending the wedding?
Working together on these basic decisions will start to give the bride and groom a good picture of what the big day will mean to each other. Write down these decisions and a basic wedding plan is now in place.
The Guest List for the Wedding Ceremony
The basic plan will already indicate if this is to be a big event or an intimate gathering. Based on that make a preliminary guest list. Before asking the parents of the bride and groom, whom they would like on the guest list, give them some guidelines. Then they will know if their list can be an extensive document of all known acquaintances or just the usually forgotten family members from Darwin.
At any event expect up to twenty percent of invited guests to decline but everyone loves a wedding so count on 100 percent attendance suggests Victoria van Brugge, Marcy Blum and Laura Fisher Kaiser in their "Wedding Planning for Dummies", Pocket Edition, Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd, 2009.
The number of guests will assist with the development of the wedding budget. From the basic wedding plan start allocating costs to the most important items. Most items will have a set cost but some will be variable. The most noticeable variable costs will be associated with the number of guests. Before preparing the wedding invitations ensure that the guest list is complete, with names deleted, or added, in accordance with the budget.
The bride and groom will now have a basic wedding plan that includes the most important aspects for each partner. With a cost allocation to each item, a budget is also well under way.
Next is the more practical wedding planning components such as setting a timetable, consulting with a wedding coordinator and arranging the legal components of the marriage. Keep the wedding planning fun and remember it is good practice for a successful marriage.
Natalie Clarke - I have studied Travel Writing and Photojournalism with the Australian College of Journalism and love to read and write. I also own and ...
