Congratulations on your engagement.  It’s a very exciting time in your lives!  But now that you’re engaged, what now?

It’s your wedding

You can’t please all of the people all of the time so make your decisions solely on your choices.  Your loved ones will be happy to support you once you’ve made up your minds.  If you involve them too early on in too many decisions, you may regret it.

Many couples would love to get married abroad but choose home for one reason or another (ours was that neither Dad would fly & it was more important to us that they were both there!)  So, once that’s settled, what’s next on the road to getting married?

The mandatory wedding To-Do* list

This is generally where you’ll start & this is the bare minimum for all weddings:

1. Wedding date, Celebrant & Venue. I’ve listed these 3 very important items together as they’re often done in conjunction.  The availability of your celebrant & venue may determine your date.  Or if your date is inflexible, it may dictate the other two.  Either way, they usually go hand in hand.
2. Know your guest numbers. This may arguably be number 1 in your list, as some venues operate on minimum numbers
3. Apply for your civil marriage license. This takes a minimum of 3 months.  If you’re having a church wedding, more paperwork is involved. At one time passports & baptism certificates were necessary so speak to your clergy to get the list of requirements.
4. Book your band or DJ. This isn’t strictly a mandatory item, but for most weddings**, there is some form of music entertainment.

(*) I can’t guarantee that this is an exhaustive list  (**) except for Covid-19 weddings, where restrictions forbid it

And then there’s the rest!

Many couples will use a lot of the following services & if money is no object then you may have everything, but for most, there is a maximum amount that they’d like to or are willing spend.

This is often a time when couples are thinking of planning a new home & possibility a new family or building on an existing one.  So, there is more than the wedding vying for attention & budget at this time in your lives.

So here is a list of supplier services that you may or may not use:

• Photographer
• Videographer
• Makeup artist
• Hairdresser
• Cars
• Church/Ceremony singer(s)
• Reception music during the canapes
• Men’s suits – buy or hire
• Wedding & bridesmaid dresses
• Wedding bands/jewelry
• Florist
• Cake maker
• Candy cart
• Photobooth
• Entertainers – Singing Chef, Cartoon Artist etc.
• Invitations
• Honeymoon
• Décor & event styling

Forge your own way & forge your own day!

I’m pleased to see couples “doing it for themselves” the last couple of years.  They’re ditching the stereotypes & making their own choices over what they “should” include in their big day.

Almost always, couples will have somethings that they’re not willing to do without, be it their wedding photography (which is thankfully very often!), their cars or entertainment & then there are items where a compromise may be reached.

It makes life easier for you both if you can decide on what’s in & what’s out of the above list & it may allow you spend that little bit more on the things you really want.  Or just spend less.  You decide.  It’s pretty usual to not have everything on the list.  Most of us didn’t!

Whatever you do, enjoy this very special time in your lives & congrats again now that you’re engaged! Now what you do is up to you 🙂

If you have any questions, please contact me using this form & I’ll be back to you asap!

Don’t forget to check out my wedding gallery, blog & main website