Planning a wedding  

The wonderful world of planning weddings- part one

It all seems like a dream- the man you have loved and admired for ages, gets down on one knee, looks adoringly into you eyes and proposes! You breathlessly say "Yes" and that's the easiest part of the whole planning of the wedding. After that it could be downhill all the way. The only thing that takes over your life is not your wonderful husband-to-be but PLANNING THE WEDDING.

Where to start? You probably have not the foggiest idea.

The problem is we have all been brainwashed by the celebrity weddings. We know we cannot emulate Posh and Becks, but we all hope to get a lot more than the average "run-of-the-mill" wedding .We do not want to settle for a mundane, haphazard affair. But all wonderful occasions need PLANNING - not to mention that rude word MONEY!

In our parents' day it did not matter about making a big splash. They probably got mum's or granny's dress refitted to their size or even bought a dress by mail order catalogue. Perhaps grandma was handy with a needle and knocked something up in white very quickly. The flowers were nearly always white and the height of culinary cuisine was poached salmon at the wedding breakfast. Eat you heart out Jamie Oliver!

These days we've seen the pages of glossy magazines filled with celebrity weddings. We have seen the huge marquees decorated with multitudes of flowers with "thrones" for the bride and groom, the romantic beach weddings, the multi -tiered wedding cakes, the huge stretch limos. We all would like a piece of the action,

BUT getting a piece of the action requires very careful committed, dedicated planning, more demanding and stressful , possibly, than anything you have ever done before, particularly if your wedding budget doesn't quite stretch to having Elton John on stage and a fleet of Rolls Royces or helicopters carrying your guests to the reception.

Weddings are very big business these days. We are told that even very ordinary weddings can cost £16, 000 and even more if you live in London.

So the first thing you should do is sit down with your husband-to-be and/or parents and talk about what you have in mind. You may imagine sitting down in a castle with 300 guests whereas he had in mind a romantic, intimate dinner for 40 people. Set the budget and stick to the target. Remember, if you accept parental help, that gives them an element of involvement in the wedding.

If you budget carefully and keep in control, it can be one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences in your life. The MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember in it all is that you are getting married because you are head over heels in love. Not because the flowers match your mother's hat or the wedding napkins.

Your budget should include the following:

Engagement ring, Wedding ring (hers), Wedding ring (his), Dress, Shoes, Veil, Hair accessories, Jewellery, Hair trial and on the day, Make-up trial and on the day, Special lingerie, His outfit, Attendants outfits, Going away outfit, Honeymoon wardrobe, Ceremony fees, Reception venue, Catering and food, Drinks, Cake, Entertainment, Photography, Video, Flowers, Transport, Stationery, Attendants gifts, First night hotel, Honeymoon, Anything else?, Total

So now you have added it all up you are shocked eh? But it is VERY important that you sit down with both sets of parents if they are going to contribute. Work out how much each of you can afford to spend and write your estimated and final costs in the budget planner. Then you can see what you can save on and where you can be extravagant.

This is just the first stage of planning - let's look at the rest of it in stages. Don't lose sight of the reason you are doing all of this - you want to spend the rest of your life remembering the most important day when you married the person you loved more than anyone else.

For a bit more information on the subject visit:-

http://steffi1.wedsecrets.hop.clickbank.net/ This is weddings on a budget or here:- http://steffi1.libroswed.hop.clickbank.net/ A wedding planning guide http://steffi1.weddguide.hop.clickbank.net/ This is about discounts available for weddings

About the Author

I have been in and around weddings for many years as a professional florist, caterer and wedding cake maker. I have decided to write a book about planning a wedding and this article is a precursor to that book - hope you like it.