Saying Yes is the Easy Part

Photo by Unknown, Public Domain (CC0 1.0)

Deciding to get married is frankly, the easy part. Staying together while planning the wedding, well, is a different cup of tea! To survive the wedding preparations as a couple, make sure you focus on what’s important. And by important, I mean what’s important to you!

The obvious decisions include setting the date and budget, finding a venue and agreeing on the guest list as well as for most brides, finding the perfect dress. Also, to ensure the event is forever documented, many spend considerable time finding the right photographer. But these are only the tip of the iceberg.

To get a rough idea of what would be useful to do when, have a look at our article titled “Perfect Planning for Wonderful Weddings.”

What are your priorities?

There are so many decisions that to make, and it is hard to know where to start. As a couple, it is critical to sit down together to identify what is a must for each of you individually and as a unit.

What type of wedding would you like? What time of the year, weekend or weekday, morning or afternoon or evening? How many in the wedding party? Color scheme? What type of food? First dance or no dance at all? What type of cake? Who does the speeches? Gift registry? Where do the guests stay? Dinner party the night before? Breakfast or lunch the day after? What local traditions should you consider? The list can seem never-ending and daunting.

Photo by Unknown, Public Domain (CC0 1.0)

Help is on Hand

As with almost everything in life nowadays, there is an app to help you! Pinterest is excellent for collecting and sharing ideas while others will offer help with things like managing responses, creating seating plans and keeping on top of the budgeting. Many also take the help of apps like the Honeyfund wedding registry, which allows you to request gifts, including experiences or ask for cash for the honeymoon.  

There are also plenty of websites offering you handy online tools. Some are available for free once you sign up while others cost money. Many of these sites aim for the bride, assuming she’ll be the one in charge of all the planning. However, if you ignore the pink backgrounds, there are plenty of useful ideas for everyone.

But there is only so much that the apps and websites can do to help us. Hence, wedding planners are still called upon by many couples. The wedding planners became popular after celebrities and royals revealed that they used help to plan their big days. Also, Jennifer Lopez made the role popular in the romantic movie called “The Wedding Planner” where she plays a dedicated professional bridal consultant. And while your friends may have someone they can recommend or you can find plenty of reviews online, remember that even if you are using a wedding planner, you’ll still have to make all the wedding decisions, and there are a lot of them.

Finally, don’t forget that friends and family can be excellent sources of help. Do you know a great graphic designer who can help you with wedding stationery and produce, for example, invites, menus and thank-you cards? What about a hairdresser or a tailor in the family or among your friends and neighbors? A makeup artist or florist? Anyone playing in a band? Caterers or bar staff? Know anyone with a suitable venue or an elegant getaway car? Do you know any well-behaved children who could be your flower girls or page boys? The list can go on and on. You don’t necessarily need to use them at your wedding, but they can hopefully, help you with ideas or even to manage others for you.

On the Day

After months or even over a year of planning, the wedding day finally arrives. It is time for the big “I do,” the celebrations, the guests, the party, the presents and the honeymoon. It may feel like a whirlwind and be hard to remember it all the next day — for more than one reason — but during the day, remember to find time with your beloved to stop and enjoy the event.