Image Map

Wedding Wednesday

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

For Wedding Wednesday this week I want to talk about the first agenda items to tackle after getting engaged!  I feel like I have a great advantage being newly engaged since I work as a wedding and event planner.  But even knowing the wedding world inside and out doesn't prepare you for planning your OWN wedding.  The first items to start checking off your list are definitely the "big tickets"...such as budget, venue, location, etc.  I have placed them in order based on what I find to be the most important.
 
1.  Budget:  Budget is by far the most critical thing to iron out before you start ANY sort of planning.  Although it might be awkward, the "who's paying for what" conversation really needs to be dealt with early on.  Making elaborate wedding plans and then finding out no one is willing to pay for them can be heartbreaking and very difficult.  Sitting down with your fiance and figuring out what you are able to contribute and then speaking with both families to determine what they are willing to contribute is extremely important and crucial to the planning.  How can you pick a venue if you don't know if you can afford it?
 
2.  Location:  After you know how much money you have to work with, you can iron out what portion of that will be able to go to your venue, food, etc.  This is when you can start discussion location options.  Do you want a destination wedding?  Are you getting married in a church?  What about getting married in the town you met in?  There are a lot of factors that come into choosing a location.  For Ross and I, we both grew up in New England, but in different states and didn't meet until after we both were living on the opposite side of the country.  Our relationship grew in Utah and now we live in South Carolina and don't know a soul.  For us, the hardest part has been to nail down a location.  We fell in love in Utah...but price is too high.  We grew up in New England, but have never even been there together.  We live in South Carolina, but hate it.  Where do we go?
 
3.  Venue:  After nailing down an area of the country/world that you would like to focus on, the real research can start.  Looking at the different venue options and what they have to offer for your special day.  I have always found The Knot to be a fantastic resource.  Venues are broken down by location and have a guide to price, ceremony options, capacity, etc.  They also have an iphone app so you can access their database of information from anywhere!
 
I am going on a few site tours when I am home for Christmas to see if anything stands out!  Ross and I are looking for a different venue - trendy, excentric..not your average hotel ballroom.  I like quaint restaurants, tents, or old historic buildings.  And for those of you familiar with New England...those things are abundant!
 
Besides just chatting about weddings I am also linking up with Shanna of Because Shanna Said So today!  Stop by and say hello!
 
 
Happy Hump Day!
xoxo, Jess