Getting married is an exciting life event, and marking your commitment to each other with a wedding reception is a great way to celebrate with your family and friends. However, it can be a little overwhelming to organize (unless you happen to be an event planner), especially if you’re looking to have plenty of guests.  

Luckily, there are plenty of sources of information and inspiration out there to help. Remember, it might get a little stressful, but overall planning a wedding should be something to enjoy – it’s all about you and your partner, so make sure to plan the day that you want. Here, we look at three tips to help you on your journey to wedded bliss.

Set a budget, and stick to it

In the initial whirlwind of excitement that you feel after getting engaged, it can be easy to get swept away. One look at your perfect engagement ring has you scrolling through bridal pictures on Pinterest, longing for rooms full of flowers or a range of amazing food trucks. Whilst that might be completely feasible if you have a big budget, it’s important not to get your heart set on specific items without setting your budget with your partner first.

Every couple will have their own thoughts on how much they’re happy to spend on their wedding, and you know your own financial situation best. Whatever your budget, make sure you stick to it, and keep track of your spending using a spreadsheet so that you don’t get a shock when the invoices come in.

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Nail down the big details

For every wedding to go ahead, you need someone to conduct the ceremony, and a venue. Everything else is important, but these are the key details that you need to get in place first before you start organizing everything else. Any other suppliers such as caterers, florists and a band will need to know where they’re going before they can accept a job, so make that your first point of call.

If you’re having a church wedding, then you’ll need to choose a reception venue as well, but if you’re planning a civil ceremony then you’ll need to decide if you’re going to choose a venue that already has a registrar or not. If not, you’ll need to find a registrar yourself as well as the venue.

Make a timeline

A wedding planning timeline can be a really useful tool to keep yourselves on track and make sure you don’t get overwhelmed. This is where you make a note of what you need to do 12 months in advance of the wedding, all the way through to the night before. Of course, you can tailor this to your own date, and there is no harm ticking off anything you can earlier than your schedule tells you!

Why not add this to your budget spreadsheet, or simply put a paper copy up somewhere in your home? When you put it up, take a look and see if there is anything that you can get help with from family or friends, and contact them to ask, so that they have plenty of notice.