Wedding Planning Guide

Have you always had an idea in your mind about your perfect wedding? Whether it be a simple wedding ceremony at a scenic spot at sunset followed by cocktails; or big church wedding with a full nuptial mass and a formal wedding dinner in one of the best hotels, good planning can help you achieve the wedding you want with a minimum of stress on your big day.

Planning a wedding is a huge job. If you plan your wedding well, you will be able to sit back and enjoy your big day. The first things to consider when you start planning your wedding are your budget, the amount of time you have to devote to the planning, and the amount of control you want to have over the final result. If you have a big budget and very little time, a professional wedding planner may be the way to go. They can assist you with all of your planning needs from booking a celebrant to organising room decorations, wedding music, limousines etc. On the other hand, if you would like to have more control over things and want to have control over your budget, you may like to do your own wedding planning.

Stage 1: Get your wedding venue and celebrant sorted.

Don’t set your date yet! You need to decide upon your ceremony and reception venues. At this stage, if you are having a civil ceremony, you need to make enquiries and secure the services of a wedding celebrant. The date that these are available may affect your choice of wedding date. Do you have your heart set on a particular church or reception venue, or is it more important to you to secure a particular celebrant?

Some popular venues and celebrants can be booked out many months or even years in advance. It is a good idea to be flexible with your wedding date until you have checked out their availability. It may be necessary to have your wedding on a Sunday or a Friday evening so that you can get what you want.

Finding a Wedding Reception Venue

A great venue is essential to the success of your wedding. Most venues have a function coordinator who will manage your wedding. You need to feel comfortable with the function manager as they will play an important roll. If you have a small number of guests a smaller, more intimate venue with a lovely view may be nicer for an afternoon wedding, but the view is not as important if they wedding reception is in the evening.

A few questions to ask:

• Do they have a room suitable for the number of guests you are planning?
• What different packages do they provide for different budgets and styles of wedding?
• Do they provide a drinks package or do they sell alcohol on consumption?
• Are they flexible with regards to vegetarian options/ special dietary needs?
• At what point do you need to finalise the numbers? Will you have to pay for guests who are unable to attend?
• Can you make an appointment to be shown through the venue by the function coordinator?
• Can you make an appointment to try the food and wine they have on their menu?
• What kind of deposit is due upon booking?
• When is the final balance due?
• If you are planning to have live music, is amplification allowed?

Finding a Celebrant:

You need to find someone who can share your vision of your wedding ceremony.

Do they have a set format they like to use or are you able to design your own wedding ceremony? Ideally, you might have a combination of your own words and suggestions by the celebrant.

Religious Ceremonies:
 
If you are having a religious wedding ceremony you should find out what the religious requirements are. Many religions will require you to go to pre-marriage counselling or participate in other special preparations.

Once you have set the date, you need to choose and invite your brides maids and groomsmen.

Legal Requirements:

Once you decide to marry, you are required to give a marriage celebrant at least one month and one days notice (and not more than 18 calendar month’s notice) of an intended date of marriage.

Once you choose a marriage celebrant, they will ask you to complete a Notice of Intended Marriage form which they will provide to you. Alternatively, you can download the form from the Attorney General’s website.

Stage 2: Organise your bridal party.

Once you have chosen your bridal party, you may like to have a chat with your maid of honour and the best man about their responsibilities. You can give them as much or as little as you like. Here are a few ideas:

You may like to ask your Maid of Honour to

• Give moral support to the bride during the wedding preparations and during the wedding itself
• Help with shopping for a wedding dress
• Hold a bridal shower
• Attend wedding ceremony rehearsals
• Help the bride get dressed on the wedding day
• Witness the signing of the register
• Hold the bridal’s flowers during the ceremony

You may ask your best man to:

• Help with formal suit hire for the groomsmen
• Hold a bachelor party
• Attend wedding ceremony rehearsals
• Assist the groom to get ready on the wedding day
• Hold the rings at the ceremony
• Witness the signing of the register
• Propose a toast to the bridesmaids at the reception
• Dance with family members at the reception

Stage 3: Finding Wedding Service Providers and a dress.

After you have set your date and decided upon a wedding ceremony venue and reception venue, it is time to look into other services. A few you may need are:

• Wedding flowers
• Wedding musicians
• Wedding cars
• Wedding cake
• Wedding photographers
• Wedding decorators
• Wedding Stationary
• Wedding Suit Hire

Most brides these days gather their information online, but you can also purchase wedding magazines such as Bride to Be, Cosmo Bride etc. and you may also like to find out what bridal fairs are in your area and attend some. Your friends are a great resource for wedding planning. Ask married friends about their wedding experiences.

At this stage it is a good idea to purchase a note-book, wedding folder or start a new file on your computer to keep track of your information as there will be a lot of it! Put in all of the information you have gathered so far regarding your venue, menus, your celebrant etc. If you are computer savvy, another great way to go is to get your own wedding website. These have great resources for keeping track of all of your information, as well as important information and handy tips.

 
Online:

You can search online for most services either by typing information into your search engine and seeing what comes up, or using one of the many reputable online wedding websites. The quality of a website can tell you a great deal about the quality of the business being promoted. Make sure you create a special bookmark folder in your web browser so that you can easily re-locate the sites you like the look of. Another great resource is wedding planning e-books. If you are not quite sure where to start, there are some great wedding planning e-books which can be purchased online, which can give you some great tips about planning and budgeting for your wedding.

Stage 4: Making enquiries with wedding service providers:

If you have a big budget you may like to hire a company that specialises in wedding decorating. They can help you with our overall theme for your ceremony and reception. Of course, you can always do your own research and theme a wedding yourself. There are some great online resources to help you.

Once you have found some wedding service providers you like the look of, it is time to make some enquiries. The response to your enquiries can serve as a very good indicator of the service you will receive on your wedding day.

• Are their responses prompt?
• Are they friendly and helpful?
• Do they have positive feedback or references from previous clients?
• Do they have experience in the wedding industry?
• Do their services fit in with your budget? If not, do they have some cheaper alternatives?

Stage 5: Booking wedding service providers:

When you want to secure their services, there are a few things you will need to know:

• What kind of deposit do you need and when is the final balance due?
• Do they have public liability insurance?
• What are their booking conditions?
• Will they be flexible with regard to changes in times etc?

Stage 6: The Guest List

Now that you have booked everything, it is time to finalise your guest list. The number of guests will depend on your number of family members and friends you have, and of course, your budget and the constraints of the venue. If you are trying to cut back, consider not inviting people not seen for more than a year or two. Remember…this weeding is about your future, not your past! Invite people who you genuinely believe will make a positive contribution you your future marriage. If you are concerned about the potential for bad behaviour, it is very easy at this stage to exclude those people who you think may cause you stress. This is not about pleasing people, it is about you celebrating your relationship. When sending out invitations, make sure you invite according to the number of people you wish to attend. Do not assume people will decline! Most people will say yes to a wedding invitation. In the even that someone can’t come, you can always have a back-up list of people to ask.

Stage 7: Tying Up the Loose Ends:

Once all of your guests have RSVP’d, you need to confirm the numbers with your venue. You also need to re-confirm all of the wedding service providers in the week before your wedding. Call any important people and make sure they know their responsibilities. Have a final dress fitting and make sure you are happy with the fit. Make sure you speak up if it is not quite right!

Stage 8: The big day.

Hopefully all of your great planning has paid off! You have a long day ahead, so don’t start drinking too early. Have a good protein based breakfast to get you through the day. Have a luxurious bath, get your hair and makeup done and slip into your dress. Make sure you protect your dress from the make-up when you put it on. Get your bridesmaids to assist if necessary. Have a bag ready to go which contains the essentials: a small sewing kit, some makeup and a mini hairspray for touch-ups, a mini deodorant, some breath mints, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and some Paris Tape for any potential wardrobe malfunctions.

And when you arrive at the ceremony……Just enjoy yourself. All the hard work has been done.

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Authored by Jane Hart from Sydney Wedding Music.

Jane Hart from Sydney Wedding Music has extensive interest and experience in the wedding business. This is the first installment in a series of articels to assist you in planning for your big day.

For more information about wedding music and wedding planning, go to www.sydneyweddingmusic.com.au

Making your own wedding website can be an important and fun part of your wedding. We get lots of great feedback from couples who are just so happy that they decided to use MomentVille to create their wedding website.  For those who have yet to make their own wedding website, there are a number of reasons that you should consider making one.

A wedding website can be very helpful for sharing information about your special occasion. Putting all the details of your wedding on your website can avoid the need for a bunch of emails and phone calls.  A wedding website lets you put all the information in one place, where your guests can quickly and easily find it.  To make this communication with your guests even easier, MomentVille has a few great features to help. First, guests can subscribe either by email or RSS so they get notified any time you update your wedding website.  Second, you can share your Momentville updates on Facebook.  Third, our new wedding RSVP system allows you to send emails to guests and the invite system includes vCal calender events.

Another great reason to create a wedding website is so that you can capture the memories from your wedding online! Imagine, on your first, 5th, or 50th wedding anniversary looking back at all the guestbook, photos, videos, and other wedding info in one place!  What a great way to relive the joy of planning and celebrating your marriage.  Wedding websites on MomentVille help you out by allowing you AND your guests to upload photos. In addition, wedding websites on MomentVille (unlike our competitors) never expire.  Your memories don’t expire, why should your website?

Wedding websites can also help you plan for your wedding.  You can use an online RSVP to keep track of guests. (This can also save money). Online guest books are also a great way to get comments or request from your guests.  Why not use a guestbook to let your guests pick the music they want to hear?  You can also find wedding vendors in your area, or find wedding essentials via our online wedding shop.

There is no shortage of great reasons to make a wedding website, but planning, sharing, and remembering are 3 key ones that ultimately guide us as we continue to improve MomentVille.  We sincerely hope our service helps you to achieve those things.

Many individuals ask why should I pay for a pro video when myself or friends and family can tape it with our camcorders? Even with access to camcorders today, most friends and family don’t have the training and or experience as well as the professional broadcast equipment of a professional videographer.

Professional videographers have made the investment of purchasing state of the art broadcast quality cameras and editing systems that most of the public cannot afford to invest in. Professional video production companies also have other equipment that most consumers don’t have such as camera cranes, dolly systems, multiple cameras, professional audio microphones, and most of us have college degrees and years of training at broadcast stations and cable networks.

If you are an individual and have an important event to capture such as a wedding or special event that you want to keep for a long time, then it is smart to hire a professional videographer that has the skills and the ability to make the production look professional.  

The best way to come to a decision about hiring a professional videographer is not by price alone. Meet with the video production company and discuss what your needs are. A price quote alone can result in hiring an individual or company that may not live up to your expectations.

Make sure to ask to see a completed video production. Demo tapes only highlight the best video clips they have compiled.

For technical specifications you should look for video that is stable shot mostly with a tripod. Why pay someone to do a video for you when the shots are shaky out of focus and you can’t hear the sound.

Make sure the videographer uses multiple audio microphones to capture every person that speaks. Look for quality of the video, make sure it is color corrected and is not over saturated or completely dark. All these qualities are important when hiring a competent videographer.

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Authored by Victor Sieff.

Victor Sieff is owner and operator of VS Video Productions based in Denver, Colorado. The website for VSVP is http://www.vsvideoproductions.com.

To really look your best on your wedding day it’s important to start with some pre-planning - a few months are great… but even weeks are fine too.

It’s important to get your skin in tip top condition and this can be done with the help of a beautician or else in the comfort of your home…. this will depend on your budget and your time constraints.

I prefer natural, simple skin care and there are a lot of natural home based products that are really effective. Baking soda mixed with water or your cleanser makes an excellent weekly facial scrub. Just make into a paste and apply, gently moving it around your face with minimal pressure and wash of after about a minute. Your skin will be tingly clean and fresh.

Whatever you choose to use for your skin care routine remember that to really achieve beautiful skin ensure you cleanse twice a day – morning and night – and use a scrub once a week. You will see an improvement in your skin if you are consistently using a gentle and simple skin care routine twice a day.

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Authored by Victoria Strong.

Victoria Strong has been modelling for over 20 years and is a qualified make up artist.  For more information on Victoria Strong and the services she offers please visit her web site www.victoriastrong.com.au

These tips to keep the process of ordering, mailing and addressing your wedding invitations stress free are pure gold if you heed them now.

1. Order at least a dozen extra invitations and envelopes.

This is probably the #1 mistake that brides make. Mistakes are likely to happen when addressing envelopes so you should be sure to have extra envelopes on hand. It’s surprising how many times a family member supplying you with a list of guests inadverdently leaves out a few guests. Most invitations cost much more per invitation when ordered in small amounts, so don’t end up making the mistake of not ordering extra invitations and then having to pay more for just a few invitations.

2. Make sure to order a few extra for keepsakes.

Find out who wants keepsakes. and include this in your invitation count. There may be parents, grandparents and siblings. Many times invitations sent in the mail don’t arrive good enough for a keepsake.

3. Have your invitation envelopes delivered early so that you get a head start on addressing them

Most invitation companies will hold your order and ship everything at once. Let them know you want your envelopes first and they’ll get those right out to you. You can get started on the envelopes and save a little stress by not having to rush the addressing.

4. When counting your guest list make sure to count each couple or household as only one invitation.

Many times the bride and groom look at the guest list and count 200 wedding guests coming to the wedding. Only to realize later after ordering the invitations that they didn’t need 200 invitations but only 100 since each family or couple only needs one invitation.

5. Allow plenty of time to carefully address, assemble and mail your invitations.

We suggest allowing at least two weeks for addressing and mailing your invitations. It’s a good idea to add in a couple of “just in case” days. I know this is common sense but addressing envelopes can get tedious and the best way to be sure this isn’t stressing you out at the last minute is to give yourself plenty of time to address your envelopes.

6. Check your postage.

This is a biggie! Many invitations today are odd size or made from heavy paper and require extra postage. The postage regulations are always changing on envelope sizing, so be sure to take a complete setup of your invitations to the post office and have the postage verified. Verifying your postage assures that all your invitations arrive as planned.

7. Read up on invitation wording ettiquette

There are many different circumstances today and you want to make sure you get it right. How do you list your divorced parents on the invitation when one is remarried? Can you mention the gifts on your invitation? There’s lot’s of do’s and dont’s. Be sure you know what they are.

8. Give some thought to where you want responses sent.

Gifts are usually sent to the address on the invitation return envelope or the RSVP envelope. Make sure that the person whose address you are using is ready and able to handle the RSVP’s and the gifts that will arrive.

9. Be organized

Addressing and mailing your invitations goes much smoother and eliminates confusion if you develop a system of organization that allows you to have all your guests information on one list before you start addressing the envelopes.

10. Double check the spelling of everything on your invitation.

Not only the spelling but check and recheck that all addresses and information is correct. Then have someone else proof your invitation again. Prevention is the key to paying for your wedding invitations only once. Don’t forget, when your wedding invitations are all addressed, stuffed and mailed. Sit back with a nice cup of tea, put your feet up and take a deep breath and relax!

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Authored by Sherrie Abruscato.

Owner of Invites Galore! Custom Wedding Invitations where you can choose from a beautiful selection of custom printed invitations. Her staff works diligently to get your perfectly printed invitations shipped out to you in 24 to 48 hours.

Unfortunately, this is a common misconception.

While digital capture eliminates the need for film and developing, the difference is negated when you now add the time it takes for the photographer to process all of the images. When using film, you purchased film, photographed, sent it to the lab for developing and printing where the lab took care of color correcting and analyzing. Now, the photographer is responsible for all of the work that the lab used to do. This added workload is tremendous. It results in more man hours needed to process any given wedding (about 40 hours for an average wedding) or event, as well as the extra expense of hiring people to do so.

In addition, the equipment needed to efficiently produce digital photography is of considerable expense. Not only are the cameras and associated equipment to perform digital capture much more expensive than their film counterparts, but there is a considerable amount of ancillary equipment necessary.

Computers are an important part of the digital photography scenario. With files from professional digital cameras being anywhere from 25 megabytes on up, powerful computers are needed to manipulate these files. With the average wedding consisting of 600 images, this comes to a whopping 15 gigabytes of digital images. Plus, these have to be backed up several times to ensure the security of your wedding photos.

Oh, and files this size won’t fit on CD’s… they will only fit on DVD’s and physical hard drives. Add in high capacity Flash Cards (4gigbyte
capacity or more) and the devices to read them, plus having a powerful laptop computer to take to the event for backup, etc. This translates to more expense for computers with the proper disc burners and processing power in the 3+Gigahertz range with RAM minimum of 1 gigabyte or more. Software to process these images is also pricey Not to mention the necessity for high speed internet to upload files of this size to online viewing and posting sites as well as to the photo labs for prints.

In reality, digital photography should probably cost triple what it does.

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Authored by Ryan & Becky Kercher.

Ryan & Becky Kercher are owners of Black Forest Photography in Colorado Springs Colorado. They are an award winning photography studio that has been in business for ten years. You can read more about them and view more of their work at www.blackforestphoto.com

Here’s how to keep the peace and still have the crowd you want.

Choose your battles, be firm, but give in if it’s a small issue and it looks like emotions are running wild. Arguments aren’t worth winning if they mean you and your mom aren’t speaking.

Divvy the peeps evenly. If your parents want to invite 30 friends, then you should give your groom’s folks the same option.

Ditch the “AND GUEST” pals who don’t have a long term love can attend solo. Tell singles that space is tight.

Skip your co-workers. If you don’t hang with your colleagues outside of the office, leave them off the list. If you can though, invite your boss or assistant.

Cut the munchkins. Be clear and consistent if you’re asking parents to leave their kids at home, for example, make a “NOBODY UNDER 18″ or “JUST NIECES AND NEPHEWS” rule.

Avoid the chain gangs. If putting just one person on your list, compels you to add the six others you associate with him or her, then drop them all.

Stagger the invitations. This tip is our least favourite, but if it will keep you from strangling your parents, or his, try it: Have an A-list of “Must be Invited People”, and a B-list of “It would be Nice to Have People”.

Send A-list invites out about 10 weeks before the wedding. For every regret, mail out a B-list invite. Don’t send a B-lister out later than one month before the big day.

Ceremony Considerations

5 things you and your fiance should discuss before meeting with your officiant.

1. The type of ceremony you both envision. Traditional and Religious? Interfaith? Non-religious yet spiritual?

2. Whether you would like to say anything to each other (aside from traditional vows)

3. Any religious or cultural rituals that you would like to incorporate, such as lighting of the unity candles or breaking a glass or jumping a broom at the end of the ceremony.

4. Special reading you’d like to include (a favorite poem, an ancedote about your first date, etc)

5. Particular relatives you’d like to honor by mentioning them, or with a symbolic gesture (wearing a piece of jewellry or a religious item of theirs, for example)

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Authored by Reverend Jerry Tindall at the Victorian Wedding Chapel in Aiken,S.C. where we put the bride and groom’s wants and desires first. After all, it is your wedding.

If your hair is short your options are somewhat limited but the chances of a hair malfunction is decreased as well. The longer your hair is the more options you have. Up- do’s, partial-up do’s, braiding, curls, the list of possibilities is long.

What you decide should be what you prefer and what looks good with your dress but if you choose to have your hair up be prepared for a headache if you don’t plan ahead. I don’t mean to say that having your hair done will be a headache. I mean that an up-do can literally cause you to have a headache because of how tight your hair is pulled back. Prepare yourself for an up-do. For two to three weeks before your wedding put your hair in a pony tail, pig tails, braids or anything that can simulate the pulling back and pulling up of your hair to get used to the feel.

I have seen brides with their hair up so tight that when they smiled it made them look uncomfortable. When I asked if everything is ok the answer was always ” I am getting a headache”. They would just assume it was from the stress of the day and it would be gone after the excitement and anticipation of the ceremony was over. It was the hair.

Hope this helps a little.

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Authored by Alicia McGinthy.

Alicia McGinthy works with her husband Jeff as wedding photographers. Their business is named Save the Moments Photography and they have photographed over 300 weddings together since 2002.

Their website is www.savethemoments.com and they travel Nationally.

Do you really want the day to pass without a professional video? As a bride you will be so busy on your wedding day; as a result, it will pass quickly and there will be so much that you will miss, that is, unless you have a really good video. Many brides have commented to us that they enjoyed the video more than they enjoyed the wedding day itself. (see testimonials). You can throw a party with your bridal party and family and watch the video, relive the emotion during the ceremony, enjoy all the funny things that happened, make fun of Uncle Tom’s dance moves at the reception. With the Menu & Chapters, you can just watch the parts that you want. It can be a tool to keep a strong marriage, as some brides have told us they watch it with their husband on anniversaries or during the holidays. You can just sit back, relax, and really take in the day, reliving all those special moments.

This is not a responsibility you want to leave to a family member with a camcorder. He doesn’t have the experience, nor the equipment of a professional. I would say that the first 100 weddings that I filmed were not very good videos. It takes a long time before one really becomes skilled as a videographer to be able to handle all the obstacles you will face during a wedding. A photographer can re-create shots, but a videographer, simply has to be in the right place at the right time. This takes an ability to anticipate, as well as having an attentive eye, an ability to see beyond the surface. Now fourteen years later, I am still evolving as a videographer and as an editor. A professional will have cordless mics. Without cordless mics, you won’t hear the audio during the vows. With our Big Screen Projector you can enjoy the video immediately, as it runs in the background during your reception. We can do unique things like play video of the father walking the bride down the aisle as the two of them share the father-daughter dance. If you are using our DJ service as well, we can show the vows, with the audio from the video, as we play “Lost In This Moment”. It creates a great ending to your reception and leaves your guest impressed with something they have most likely have never seen before.

With the slow motion and the right music, mixed with a well framed steady shot, a cinematic style video is sure to leave you with a greater appreciation for life. You will not only be able to relive it and show your friends and family, but show your kids and grandkids in future generations. A good video is well under $1,000…… ……the cherished memories it captures…… PRICELESS.

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Authored by Randy Markham from Celebrations of Tampa Bay

Randy Markham is the owner of Celebrations of Tampa Bay, which started in 1991 as a DJ and a Harpest.   Today Celebrations of Tampa Bay employs 20 people including Photographers, Videographers, and DJs.

The location. The cake. The dress. The invitations. The honeymoon. The vows. The photographs. The food. The music. There’s so much to think about when getting married that most couples forget one of the most important elements of all: their wedding dance.

The wedding dance is your first step forward as man and wife. It is your opportunity to show everyone how beautifully you move together.

“My fiancee and I started taking swing dance lessons to prepare for our wedding,” reports Hudson Valley resident Emma Stokes. “We had no idea what we were getting into, and had no previous experience dancing together. Wednesday nights quickly became our favorite night of the week. The instructors created a comfortable atmosphere for learning. We spent most of our time laughing, and we actually ended up being pretty good! We never thought we would swing dance at our wedding, but by the time we were done with the classes, we had so much fun that we signed up for private lessons. Our teachers designed a series of swing moves for our song, and we swing danced as our grand entrance! Dancing was a wonderful way for us to take the time to connect as a couple during the stressful planning periods, and we will certainly be back for more!”

There is nothing more beautiful than watching a couple in love dancing together. “My sister watched us practice our dance a few nights before the wedding,” adds Emma. “She was moved to tears and rewrote her speech to say how touched she was by the obvious connection we had, and the joy and pride we had in each other while dancing.”

A skilled instructor should be able to work with you and your song, or help you select a song and appropriate dance style. The earlier you can begin lessons the better since you’ll be able to feel completely comfortable by the time you get to the wedding if you’ve had sufficient time to gain skills and confidence. But even if you can only squeeze in one or two lessons, they will help you look more at ease and not succumb to the stand-and-sway of most couples.

Learning to dance together is not only a great way to look fantastic on your wedding day, it’s a great way to bring a new hobby into your married lives. And don’t forget lessons for the father daughter dance, mother son dance and the entire wedding party!

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Authored by:Linda Freeman

Linda and Chester Freeman of Got2Lindy Dance Studios have taught all over the world and regularly on cruises. They are based in the Hudson Valley New York area where they provide group and private dance lessons and specialize in helping couples prepare for their wedding dance.