On the most beautiful day of a couple's lives, everything should run like clockwork, whether it's the ceremony, the catering or the entertainment. The basis for this: well thought-out wedding preparations. This usually begins with the first considerations after the proposal: "Where do we want to celebrate?", "Do we want to have a church wedding or would we prefer a free wedding ceremony?", and "What food and drinks should be served?".
To increase your anticipation of your wedding, we'll give you our tips and provide you with a wedding preparation checklist.
What makes wedding preparation so important?
Wedding preparation refers to the entire planning and organization of a wedding, including the ceremony and festivities. What makes efficient preparation so important is the variety of tasks involved, ranging from finding a date, choosing the venue, designing and sending out invitations to coordinating service providers such as caterers and photographers. Without targeted wedding preparation, you will lose track of everything faster than you realize.
Organized planning also lays the foundation for ensuring that everything runs as smoothly as possible on the day itself and that the entire festive setting corresponds exactly to your wishes and ideas. During the wedding preparations, you will also make many important decisions, be it about the choice of wardrobe or the wedding rings. This also includes setting and managing the budget accordingly. Careful organization ensures that you always keep an eye on expenses and calculate so that everything is covered by the amount you have set.
Wedding preparation also helps you with time planning. Smart time management allows you to keep a sufficient buffer and react flexibly to challenges. This significantly reduces the stress that many couples experience in the run-up to their wedding.
When to start planning your wedding?
It is advisable to start preparing for the wedding 12 to 18 months before the wedding date. This gives you enough time not only to plan, but also to rent a preferred venue, reserve accommodation or book service providers.
With or without a wedding planner?
You have the choice of taking the wedding preparations into your own hands or hiring a professional wedding planner. They will take care of the entire planning, organization and coordination of the wedding according to your ideas and wishes. This includes all conceivable tasks such as budgeting, scheduling, booking venues and much more.
The advantage of a wedding planner is their expertise, experience and solid contacts with service providers, suppliers etc. As they take on the majority of all planning and coordination tasks, you have more time for other things and you can rely on the wedding preparations to run smoothly at the same time. If challenges arise, you will be spared them and experience the months leading up to the wedding with less stress.
Bear in mind that booking a wedding planner incurs additional costs, which you could spend on other aspects of your wedding preparations without a wedding planner. You also retain complete control over all aspects of your wedding preparations if you do it yourself. Weigh up carefully whether a wedding planner is right for you.
Step by step: the wedding preparation checklist
Before we get to the wedding preparation checklist, you should first take the basic tips to heart to create a stable foundation:
- Gather inspiration
To get a better idea of what is possible at a wedding and what might suit your taste, start looking for inspiration. Good sources are social networks such as Pinterest, blogs or wedding magazines. Step by step, you will build up a picture of your wedding.
- Laying the foundations
When preparing for your wedding, you lay the foundations by deciding on the wedding date and location and answering the question about the setting of the ceremony (purely civil, church or free). This also includes clarifying whether you want to celebrate your wedding on a grand scale or in small, intimate company.
- Work out the details
Once the basic framework of your wedding preparations is in place, it's time to work out the details such as the theme, decorations, flowers, service providers, wedding rings and catering, to name but a few. The more stable the foundation, the easier your wedding preparations will be.
Wedding preparation checklist
- Define schedule
- Prioritize expenses
- Set a wedding budget
- Determine the type of wedding celebration and possibly the theme
- Draw up a detailed guest list
- Search, view and rent potential locations
- Design and send invitations
- Plan decorations and select, order or purchase all associated elements
- Find bride and groom outfits
- Book a service provider for styling (hair, make-up, etc.)
- Buy wedding rings and wedding bands together
- Define catering options (menu, buffet, candy bar, street food, cocktail bar or similar)
- Define the type and scope of entertainment and arrange appropriate artists
- Find and book a wedding photographer
Do not forget:
- Plan B in case of bad weather? When preparing for your wedding, come up with an alternative plan for what to do if it rains or gets extremely warm at an outdoor wedding. Have possible alternatives or the option of a marquee ready.
- Are there enough parking spaces for all guests? When preparing for your wedding, check the availability of parking spaces, especially if you are expecting a lot of guests. If this is not the case, look into other options such as valet parking or shuttle services.
- Who hands over the wedding rings at the ceremony and at what time does this take place? Make sure that the handover of the wedding rings is in safe hands during the ceremony. This is usually the responsibility of the best man or a close relative. The exact time for the handover varies depending on the ceremony. As a rule, the registrar, priest, pastor or independent speaker initiates the ceremony after the wedding vows.
- Do we need to organize childcare? If many guests with children are invited, consider organizing childcare in your wedding preparations. This way, parents can also enjoy their wedding as guests without having to worry about bored children.
