Wedding Planning: 12 Months Out

If you and your partner have a fairly conventional “courting,” you likely will have about a year to plan your wedding. A year seems light years away when you are planning one of the most important events of your life, but you will find that the time slips by. To make sure that you are prepared for the big day, there are some preparations you should begin to make now that will get you on the right track when it comes to your wedding.

You should take care of these arrangements beginning a year out, and all should be complete by the time your big day is nine months down the road. First, you will need to purchase an engagement ring. Few grooms these days select the ring on their own, but if you will do so, get something simple. Don’t try to be unique if you are selecting a ring that your fiancÃ?©e will wear for the rest of her life. If you are not getting her input, either take one of her friends along or pick a classic solitaire. Once you have the rings and the two of you are committed to taking this road together, you need to get started.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks – and a lead cause of stress during wedding planning – is the budget. Sometimes this issue can become sticky, especially for more modern couples, and it can be a little embarrassing to discuss. It is best for the two of you to talk about it first. Do you anticipate paying for a portion of the wedding? How much can you afford? Once you know where you stand, go to the bride’s parents. They’ve likely been prepared to face paying for a wedding for some time, so you need to include them now.

Find out how much the bride’s parents are willing to pay and where they have to draw the line. Be civil about this situation. If the groom’s parents, or the couple themselves, are in better financial shape than the bride’s parents, it can cause some consternation, so be sensitive to their limits. Don’t scoff if you think they should shell out more.

Once the bride’s parents have been upfront about what they will pay, you should talk to the groom’s folks as well. Sometimes, they want to contribute to the cost of the wedding. At the very least, they probably will pay for the rehearsal dinner, so you need to nail down some numbers with them as well. Because your fiancÃ?©’s mom can feel left out of the wedding planning, ask her how much she wants to be involved with the rehearsal dinner. It’s her show, so if she wants to make all of the plans, hand it over. Just make sure you’re kept in the loop, so you don’t wind up somewhere you don’t want to eat.

Now that you have money out of the way, the big decisions must be made. Look at your budget and decide what you can do with it. You need to decide on the atmosphere now. Will the wedding be overly formal with little personalization? Will you say your own vows? Will you have special keepsakes? It is not the time to select those items, but you need to know which route you are going. The two of you also need to consider how many people you would like to have and other major theme issues with the ceremony.

Take the time to schedule visits to several possible locations for your wedding and reception. Unless you absolutely love a place, be flexible. You need to go in with two to three tentative dates in mind. You should reserve the location now. Once you have looked at all of the places you scheduled, make the decision quickly and reserve the location. You will feel better, and the whole experience more real, once you have put down deposits for the locations.

You also should ask everyone to be in the wedding now. The two of you are the only ones who can make these decisions, so don’t let anyone barge in on them. Don’t let your mom guilt you into asking cousin Sarah to be in the wedding if you don’t want her to be. The two of you should get your list together and then sit down in one afternoon and call everyone. Push for an answer within a week if anyone hesitates. Some preparations will depend on how many folks are in the wedding party, and you need to know.

If you do feel that you’ve left out someone, look for something else that person can do. Blended families can be especially difficult as you may have a larger number of step and half siblings. You will need people to announce you, monitor the guest book, and help with other tasks, so be sure to ask people who couldn’t squeeze into the wedding party to take care of these issues for you.

You should be able to take care of most of these items within the first month, and then you need to settle on the people to provide services at your wedding. You can hire out or do many of these services yourself. Think about a caterer, a minister, a florist, a photographer, and a videographer. If you plan to have each of these services, ask around to friends who’ve gotten married or at the places where you plan the events. They may know of people who provide quality services. When you talk to each person, you should be able to get a feel for how much he or she will be in tune with your ideas. Never hire anyone without references and make sure you feel comfortable with the person you do hire.

These few months will be the easiest of your wedding planning days. Getting these major details out of the way will help free you up for the planning of the details.