There are an average of 7,000 marriages in the United States every day. And like many of life’s biggest events, a wedding can be equal parts exciting and stress inducing. 87 percent of brides wear white dresses, but it’s no easy task to find that dress. You can blame Queen Victoria for that, as the tradition dates back to her marriage in 1840. There are just so many things to plan for to have your wedding go off without a hitch that it can be overwhelming. But what every married couple will tell you is that it all comes down to proper event planning for weddings. Without the proper event planning for weddings, any number of things could go wrong. Here are some tips for event planning for weddings to make sure your wedding ceremony and wedding reception go as smoothly as possible.
1. Don’t wait until a few months before you plan on getting married to start your planning. Many couples make the mistake of basking in the glow of their engagement until time has almost run out for wedding planning. Don’t wait too long after your engagement to get planning. Cramming all of your planning into a couple months greatly increases the chances of something going wrong during your wedding.
2. Buy a datebook and set aside time for planning. Event planning for weddings isn’t something that just happens by itself. You’ll want to start looking at different wedding venues and great places to get married as soon as you set a date. Use your new datebook to help you plan out when you want to have major things accomplished by. Get as much done as possible in the first few months so the last months won’t be any more hectic than they need to be.
And make sure you set aside time for all this planning. Event planning for weddings can be time consuming, so setting aside one day a week (or several if you’re pressed for time) will help you get all your planning done in a timely manner. Include your partner in all of your planning to eliminate any confusion. You don’t want one of you looking for waterfront weddings venues while the other wants nothing to do with it.
3. Share those duties. In addition to communicating your planning effectively, you want to make sure one person isn’t doing all the work. Both of you should be involved in every step of the work. The bride traditionally stands on the left during the ceremony, so that the groom could fight off suitors with a sword in his right hand, but we’re in the twenty first century, and you should both be aware of any potential suitor-related problems. Additionally, you’ll want to check with your significant other that you won’t be getting anything other than rice thrown at you after the ceremony. Many cultures shower the couple with symbolic food, with the French throwing wheat, Sicilians salt, and the English cake.
So communicate as much as possible with your partner, so you know exactly what you’ll be getting into. Make a list of things that need to be done and split it down the middle, with each of you choosing the things you want to do. This will help reluctant grooms feel like they want to help instead of feeling as if they have to help. Find out more here.