6 Vital Considerations When Planning a Wedding

Planning a wedding on your own is no simple task. There are many things you need to think about if you want to have the perfect wedding day. To help you out, below are six of the most vital elements when it comes to planning a wedding. Think about these elements first, and you should have an easier time putting the wedding together.

The Venue

A good place to start planning the wedding is with the venue. The reason you want to think about this first is that wedding venues are often booked far in advance. If you wait too long to find a venue, you may find that your ideal place is already booked for the entire wedding season. As soon as you know when you want to get married, you should start exploring potential venue options.

When looking at venues, keep in mind how many people you expect at the wedding. You’ll also want to consider factors like how far it is from home, the distance from where you plan on having the ceremony, the costs, and the available dates. Most wedding venues have coordinators on staff who can answer your questions and help you plan out your wedding at that venue.

The Menu

Next, you can start thinking about the food you’ll serve at your wedding. You’ll want to serve food that you enjoy while also offering a wide enough variety for your guests. Many weddings have food during the cocktail hour, a dinner meal, some dessert, and even snacks at the end of the night. This gives you plenty to think about when planning your menu.

You’ll also want to think about dietary restrictions for you, your spouse, and your guests. For example, your culture may require a kosher meal, in which case you’ll need to find a caterer that does kosher meals. According to Windows on the Lake, a kosher catering service, you’ll want to ask, “Does the catering hall do Glatt Kosher catering? Do they use an outside Glatt Kosher caterer? These are the first two questions to ask. But what if you don’t want your event in a Temple? Then you will have to look elsewhere to find a catering hall that does this specialized type of catering.”

Think about any major dietary restrictions that anyone attending the wedding might have, and then make sure you account for those when planning the menu.

The Theme

Most weddings are centered around some sort of theme. The theme is what ties all the different elements of the wedding together, especially in terms of the décor. By choosing a wedding theme, it becomes easier to choose all your décor options, like flowers, tablecloth colors, bridesmaids’ dresses, etc.

For example, a common theme is a rustic wedding. A rustic wedding might take place in a renovated barn, use a lot of warm colors, and have wood-inspired elements. The menu would have a lot of farm-fresh foods, and the attire may be more old-fashioned. As for a beach wedding, you’d see lighter fabrics, coral and blue colors, and perhaps seafood on the menu. Think about a theme that fits your personality or the location of your wedding, and then you can start designing the other elements of your wedding to match the theme.

The Guest List

The next vital item to focus on is your guest list. Weddings are expensive, and you typically need to pay for each person who attends. You also need to have a venue that can comfortably accommodate everyone. Creating a guest list is often a balancing act between wanting to invite everyone you can while also keeping in mind your budget and the available space.

While creating your guest list, you may start to receive a lot of input from others. At the end of the day, though, it’s up to you and your spouse. Only invite those people that you want at your wedding, regardless of what others may want.

The Entertainment

Now that you have a guest list, it’s time to think about how you’re going to entertain them all night. The most common option is a DJ at the reception, while some couples opt for a live band. A live band can be a lot of fun, but they are also typically more expensive and offer a more limited setlist. You’ll want to think about which one is right for your wedding, then start exploring your options as soon as you can. Like venues, DJs and bands can book up early, especially in popular wedding seasons, so you’ll want to get your favorite booked as soon as possible.

The Price

Finally, always keep your budget in mind when planning a wedding. While you should expect gifts from those who attend, you still need to pay the money upfront for everything at your wedding. It’s essential that you make a wedding budget for everything before you begin planning, then make sure you’re sticking to it throughout.

If you can make a reasonable budget and conduct enough research, you should have an easier time planning out your wedding. It will take some time, but the end result is worth it. After all your planning, you’ll arrive on the day with everything taken care of, and you’ll have the wedding of your dreams.