The Blog 2.0

Basic Wedding Planning 101

He just popped down to one knee and presented you with a beautiful ring and asked you to be his wife!  You’re newly engaged and so excited!  Not only have you found the person of your dreams to share your life with but you are about to start planning one of the most important event of your life.  And with this comes so many questions…  What will the date be?  Where are we going to hold the wedding and reception?  Who is going to be our photographer; our florist; our planner; our cake; our DJ; and the list goes on and on.  But better yet, how are we going to pay for it and how much time do we need to plan it??? With all these questions, there are answers.  I would like to share with you today, “Basic Wedding Planning 101”.  One question I get numerous times when I’m speaking to anyone about the wedding industry is when the right time is  for a newly engaged couple to start the planning process of their big day.  My answer is as soon as you set the date even if you are planning a two to three year engagement.

First Step:

BUDGET ~ Setting a budget is a very important part of the planning process and should be at least discussed if not completed before you start talking to vendors about your wedding.  I encourage my couples to sit down together with their parents and figure out how much everyone can afford to spend and go from there.  Once you have that magic number figured out, then it is very important to develop your detailed budget.  You might choose to hire a planner to do this for you or else you can use great websites like The Knot, Wedding Wire, and Wedding Planning on a Budget.  Once you start looking at the initial budget, make a list to determine what is most important to you.  For example, if a high caliber photographer is a highly important to you as a couple, then you are going to want to set aside a large portion of the budget so you can get the photographer that you want and cut back in other places.

Second Step:

Okay the budget is in place and the fun begins!   Now the couple needs to start thinking about the style of wedding they would like to have and vendors they need.  Lucky for us here in West Michigan we live in between two very great cities, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. And in between these great cities, there are even greater little towns for those who are looking for more of a quainter wedding. And what is even better then the location is the wonderful options that you have for vendor choices.  There is someone for everyone here!  A great resource for local brides is the West Michigan Wedding Association. On their website you will find links to some of West Michigan’s best wedding professionals.  Other sites to check out also are The Knot, Wedding Wire, Wedding Chicks, and OneWed. Make sure when you are choosing those vendors that are going to play a part of your day that you truly click with them.

Third Step:

Once you have your vendors set up you can start adding the little touches that really reflect you as a couple.  This can be accomplished by DIY projects or working with your designer to make an atmosphere of your wedding that is truly your own…  Be adventurous but don’t overwhelm yourself.  During this same time start looking at making a time line of items that you need to complete before the wedding.  If you have hired a planner, plan on sitting down with them to help you with this task.  We in the wedding planning industry know our business so use us as a tool to make this time of planning as enjoyable as possible.  If you have decided forgo hiring a professional planner then I highly suggested that you use The Knot, Wedding Wire, or purchase planning software such as The Wedding Organizer to help relieve any unneeded stress.

This is a small sampling of items to get the newly engaged couple started.  In the following months I will plan on teaching you how to research and what questions to ask when searching for vendors.  Also I will be giving some great tips on setting up a budget and keeping on that budget.  And finally I hope to share with you some great time saving ideas to help ease the stress of getting all the items on your to do list accomplished.

My name Dee Mitchell of Elements of Elegance Event Planning and Floral and I am very excited to be a guest Blogger here on Modern Photographics! Let me tell you a bit about Elements of Elegance Event Planning and Floral. We are a company made up of three people that offer full service event planning and floral.  From the very first time you meet with us up to your event, our goal is make sure you feel like there is no one more important then you are.  In addition to this you will find that we are very much think outside the box when it comes to design.  There is nothing better then sitting with a client and helping them bring out the design and décor of their special day right before their eyes! I really hope you have enjoyed our posting!

Have a great day and Happy Planning!!!