Friday 17 June 2011

Planning Your Wedding, Your Way

When it comes to planning a wedding, everyone seems to know what would be best for your special day. From the type of flowers you should carry, to your table centerpieces, you will likely get several different opinions the moment you begin to tell people you are engaged. The real question, though, is what do you want? What is your vision and how do you separate your vision from the hundreds of opinions that will likely come your way?

In the end, your wedding should be a reflection of who you and your fiancé are as people, and as a couple. It’s not about what kind of wedding your parents want you to have (they already had their wedding), and it’s not about impressing friends and relatives. It’s about celebrating the love you share, and the special things that have brought you together. There are all kinds of ways you can accent aspects of your wedding to reflect your personality, so let them shine! With a little creativity and a lot of dedication, you can have your wedding your way, and make it a day you’ll never forget.

If you and your fiancé talked about the possibility of getting married prior to the proposal, you likely already have an idea of what style wedding you want in your mind. If you haven’t, this would be a good conversation to have shortly after you get engaged. Painting a picture of your wedding – just the two of you – can help define the taste, style and atmosphere of your wedding before you begin planning. Better yet, write down your ideas, including elements you want to be part of your wedding, and those that you would rather do without. This can give you something to refer to when you begin planning, and can also help alleviate confusion when opinions are offered. It can also help you stay organized in the months of planning ahead.

Having an idea of what you want for your wedding shortly after you get engaged also serves another purpose. If you tell people that you are undecided about an aspect of your wedding, they will likely see this as an opportunity to make suggestions. However, if you can say with confidence that you want an outdoor ceremony, for example, they are more likely to accept your decision and bite their tongue. Don’t get me wrong, some advice is good when it comes to planning such an important event as a wedding, but too much advice, especially unsolicited, can be very overwhelming.

It’s important to seek advice from people that you respect, and avoid the topic with others who have a history of being judgmental. There is a lot to think about when planning a wedding, so the last thing you need is someone placing doubt in your mind. You want to feel good about your wedding, not doubt every decision because one person doesn’t like an idea. Nothing kills confidence worse than someone frowning at an idea you were excited to share. So be careful about whose advice you seek, and whenever possible, seek advice from people who will appreciate your vision.

It’s important not to lose sight of your vision when planning your wedding, which can be difficult to do when you have multiple opinions coming from all directions. One of the best ways to keep your vision in the forefront of your wedding planning is to get yourself organized. Start by coming up with ways to execute your plan without causing stress, then stick to them. A good way to help keep you organized is to make a checklist of tasks that need to be completed before the wedding. Sample checklists are available in bridal magazines and on websites such as TheKnot.com. These samples are helpful because they also recommend a timeframe for completing each task. When you get into the nitty-gritty of planning your wedding, these recommendations can help keep you on track and make sure you don’t forget anything important.

Also, you will inevitably gather a lot of informational materials throughout your planning process. Invitation ideas, magazine clippings of wedding cake styles, dress styles, and centerpieces will flood your living room floor, so having a place to keep this material will help you stay organized. A three-ring binder is a good place to start because you can categorize your binder using section dividers, and set up the binder the way you want. Pre-designed wedding planners are also available, but I have found very few styles that actually include pocket folders to store items such as those mentioned above, so I recommend creating your own binder where you can easily store pages in sheet protectors. Creating your own binder can be a lot less expensive too, and considering the cost of your average wedding, cutting costs anywhere you can will probably be welcomed.

Now that you have gotten yourself organized, you’ve decided what you want for your wedding, and you’ve come up with strategies to combat unsolicited advice, you can start to have fun. Planning a wedding should be fun – not stressful – and it’s up to you to keep it this way. It’s also up to you to keep your wedding true to the vision that you and your fiancé have created for your special day. So set a manageable time line for yourself and start enjoying all of the fun parts to planning your wedding. In the end you will have a wedding that you will remember fondly for the rest of your life.

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