How do you plan a wedding?

Question

I have no idea!! I've never been part of a wedding party or anything, basically I know what dress I want, I have an idea of what I want the Bridesmaid dresses to look like, we have picked our colors, but that's it. I don't need anything extravagant, I was hoping to have a really nice wedding for under 5 grand, but what are the next steps? We haven't even set a date yet, I was hoping for next spring but he hasn't committed to it because of money issues. It will take us a while to even save 5 grand and he just lost his job, etc. I don't know how the traditional ceremony is supposed to work, are there any books anyone would recommend reading on the subject? What if I don't have a Dad that will walk me down the aisle, etc? What kind of food would you recommend serving, I want something light but not really cheap, but I don't want just fruit either. Lots of questions!! Lol

Answer 1

Hi Carolyn, I would love to give you TONS of tips, because I've been a pro. photographer for 20 years, and I've directed many weddings myself. If you're interested in my help (totally free, no strings attached), please email me at [e-mail]. I have too many tips to post here in YAHOO! Answers! PLEASE email me!

Answer 2

k first if u dont have someone to walk u down the isle than ask a grandpa, a best guy friend, or a father figure to do it.
make ur husband help u set a date regardless of money costs. give urself a year in advance so like next spring and u could afford to have a wedding that doesnt need to be 5 grand. a good book to read is "1000 best wedding bargains" by sharon naylor or "How to have a big wedding on a small budget: cut your wedding costs in half" by Diane Warner. also, an easy way to make it cheaper is to have a nice sized wedding with few people. only close family and friends. help ur husband find another job that can make good money too.

make sure u have a program. in order to do this all u would have to do is buy fancy paper at a craft store and go into Microsoft Publisher (they have all sorts of templets to make thank you cards after the wedding and also program templets for the wedding) order the flowers somewhere cheap but nice and dont make it extravagent. as for food...depending on when ur reception will be find a catering place that will be affordable and get something simple. or u could make some homecooked meals which are cheap to make. having someone experienced on a grill make steaks or bbq would be great with a side like mashed potatoes. small appetizers could be the fruit, small donuts, and for the cake...if u have a small budget get a small cake. most of it ends up being left over if u get a big one and ifur planning to have just close family and friends then it really doesnt need to be that big. plus you can have the reception at ur house (if it was an early summer wedding, in the backyard with balloons and streamers) and then u wouldnt need to rent a reception hall. i really hope this helps.

Answer 3

You need to answer the next few questions:

1) How many people do you want to invite?
Good luck if you have large families on yours and your husband-to-be side. Get a quick head count as it will affect the later questions. Don't feel bad about not inviting everyone as you are on a tight budget. I had 125 and I could filled 175-200, easily.

2) Will it be done in a church or will a Justice of the Peace do the service? What kind of a reception hall were you thinking of?

The church or JP is important because you will need to arrange a date at the church and with the minister/priest/other to do the service. A JP can do it at the reception hall.

A main requirement for booking the function/reception hall is head count, especially if they are doing the catering. We ended getting a hall in the off-season (winter) and the rental price was cheaper. They will charge per seat (ours was $35 per plate, but expect $50).

Otherwise you are getting a caterer or cooking yourself. You can save a ton of money by going with a potluck dinner (where relatives bring a dish) for the reception and/or renting out an Elks Club/Rotary/Lions/Knight of Columbus/ etc.

The date will be set by availability for the hall/church. So plan for a range of a month or two for the set date and see what is available. Year in advance is plenty but, we lucked out in 4 months due to it being offseason.

Other things:
Next comes choosing invitations, photographer, cake, etc. This is what I call the small stuff, though the inivitations should be accurate with times and directions. Don't sweat the small issues. Let family members help if they offer.

My wife had to have her brother walk her down the aisle as her father had died years before.

Recommended meals: baked stuffed chicken, baked haddock, New York sirloin and veggies (if you offer filet mignon, many will select it and it will be expensive), maybe a grilled chicken salad meal.

Good luck

Answer 4

I actually just got married on the 16th of this month! Planning my wedding was hard bc we were having it in another state and my now husband is in the military and was on deployment while I was planning everything.

This is were I started! I got lucky and have a soon to be SIL whose Grandparents let us use their backyard for the ceremony and reception, so needless to say that was FREE!

I didn't have any Bridesmaids, just a Maid of Honor and that was my Mother. My husbands didn't have any Groomsmen, just a Best Man and that was his Father. My husband and FIL got their suits from wal-mart. I know that might sound cheap but when you are on a TIGHT budget it works.

I got my flowergirl and ringbearers outfits from www.kidspayless.com (awesome site). For both the girls dresses it was $60 and my son's suit was $30. Check them out!

As far as food, My dad BBQed all the food. We had ribs, pork steaks, hamburgers and all the sides to go with! It was awesome!

And if you don't have a father to walk you down the aisle, then find someone else who is important (ie..Brother, Uncle, Grandfather, etc).

Answer 5

Start with online guide. www.theknot.com is a great stating point. Then figure out how much you can afford (are any other people going to help?) , and then find a location. Next pick your wedding party & take the girls shopping for a day to bridal stores. Try on anything that catches the eye & you'll find what you want. You'll be fine, just relax & enjoy it! There are so many wedding planning resources out there, just a Google search will bring lots of results.

Answer 6

Food: how about finger sandwiches, mini meatballs, brushetta, fruit, veggies, crackers and cheese, shrimp, cookies, and wedding cake? Just have an hors d'ouerves reception right after the ceremony.

Set a few dates and then call around to reception halls. See which dates they have open, then choose one. Also call churches (if desired) to make sure the date is open.

And keep the guest list as small as you feel comfortable so that you can use the money on other things. I'm leaving second cousins and acquaintances off the guest list because I never see them or talk to them. (A 5 year rule usually works: if you haven't talked to or seen them in 5 years, then don't invite them to your wedding. And if they didn't invite you to their wedding, don't invite them.)

Answer 7

well first and foremost you need to pick a date. then you need to find a place where you will get married.....garden, church etc find the hall you will have your reception in. decide what party favours you are going to give to your guests. send out your invitations. i didnt have a dad either i had my godfather give me away. or use your mom if she is around. if you wanna do light, do salads, seafood, meats, etc

i am not sure what books to read, but buy a plain book and start writing what you want and start pricing things out, and go from there, your budget is small, so you have to decide on the neccessities.

Answer 8

I found this planning checklist on line http://www.weddinglenox.com/advises/Wedding_planning_scheduling.php.

You can also try their matching system http://www.weddinglenox.com/f-membersignup1.php that will match you up with local vendors. I tried it and have good result as I only recieved email from vendors according to my request.

One problem I had with my wedding is that it is hard to locate vendors in most website as most likely they group by states and there are too many of them that's too far from me and I have to look at each site to figure out.

The sites I provide above have a easy to use layout to show you pictures, pricing and location in one page plus, you can send out your inquiry for matching vendor to contact you. That save me lots of time to locate the best vendors with the right price.

Answer 9

1st you need to find the place you want to have it at, and book it....Fast! Most places are reserved a year in advance. Then everything else will flow from there...pick colors, flowers, your dress, and find someone to cater the event.

Answer 10

brides.com is an awesome site w/ lots of great ideas, and skip buying a wedding planner just get a binder to hold all of your ideas and paperwork in, you can get wedding checklists on the internet, just go to google and type in "wedding checklist"