Congratulations, you’re engaged!
If you’re already being bombarded with a flurry of suggestions for planning, we have a checklist for you of the 10 most important decisions you’ll be making when planning your wedding. Make these decisions with our help and the rest of the planning will breeze by.
Budget
Before you do anything else, you should decide how much money you are willing to spend on your wedding. How much are you and your fiancée contributing? Are your parents pitching in? How much? If you’re not sure where to start, costofawedding.com has a great cost estimator to help you out. Once you have your final number, turn to a wedding calculator (like this one from The Knot!) to help you figure out your budget.
Wedding Date
Decide when you want to get married. Think about if you want a long engagement or a short one, and what time of year you’d like the ceremony to be. If you’re leaning toward having an outdoor wedding, plan for one of the warmer months of the year.
Location & Venue
Talk with your fiancé and families to decide where you want to have your wedding and reception. See if you want to have a destination wedding or one close to home.
Who’s in the Party?
Take time to decide who will be in your wedding party. As much as you’d love to have all of your friends as bridesmaids, it’s not possible. Take time to really think about who you’ll always want to remember having stand by your side on your wedding day. Ask your fiancé to do the same, and then run your final choices by each other before you officially ask.
When picking your maid of honor, choose one of your closest friends that is responsible, supportive and fun.Color Scheme & Theme
The theme of your wedding will dictate everything from the invitations to the wedding party outfits to the flowers. Consider the venue you’ve chosen, time of year and your personalities. Then, choose a color palette to incorporate into everything. If you’re completely unsure of what style you want your wedding to be, magnetstreet.com has a great wedding style quiz to help you out.
Food
Are you planning to serve food at your reception? Do you want a buffet or a sit down meal? Will you just serve cocktails and appetizers or a full dinner with an open bar? Consider your guests and the time of day your reception will be when deciding.
Photographer
Your photographer will capture all of the important moments you have on your wedding day: getting ready, the ceremony, the reception and more. Choose a photographer that you feel comfortable around, and look at portfolios to see what style of photos you want to be taken. Consider making your guests additional “photographers” by creating a hashtag or wedding photo Dropbox for them to share all of their wedding photos.
Guest List
Decide who you want to invite to your wedding. Do you want to keep it small and intimate, or is your mom dying to invite your grandma’s cousin’s step-nephew twice removed?
Music
DJ or band? Pop songs or only classic rock? Music can bring the party to life or kill it, so be careful when deciding on the soundtrack to your reception. Listen to bands and DJs to see if you like them, and come up with a playlist of “must play” songs, which will also help them decide what other songs to play.
First Look & Photo Times
Traditionally, the bride and groom don’t see each other until the ceremony has already started. Lately though, there has been a trend of doing the first look in private, all captured by your photographer. Doing the first look and photos before the ceremony can help make you more relaxed and also keep the time between the ceremony and the reception from being too busy, but it is up to you. Decide on when you want to do your wedding photos so you can map out your wedding timeline.
Feature Photo via We Heart It