How to start planning a wedding

Set Your Budget & Choose A Month

 

Before you start on anything, have an open and honest conversation with each other about your finances. How much can you realistically afford to save over the coming months? If you think members of your family may want to contribute to your wedding then it’s best to have these conversations early on so you know what you’re working with.
Pick a timeframe that works for you. Be realistic! Always allow yourself more time than what you think you will need. The average couple plan their wedding in 18 months.

Choose Your Theme & Style 

You may already have an idea of what you’d like your wedding day to be like but if you’re struggling, Pinterest is a great place for inspiration! Also, it’s time to think about the type of celebration you’d like – whether that’s an intimate ceremony followed by a meal with your close family, an evening reception or the full day with all of the extras! This will really help you later on when you choose your venue and your suppliers. 

Mercure Tunbridge Wells has a great range of themed packages for your special day. Click here to view the wedding packages. 

Choose Your Bridal Party & Guest List 

 

You probably already know who will be in your groomsmen or bridal party, but you must also make a provisional guest list. If you’re having a full-day celebration, then you need to consider both day & evening guest numbers. Don’t worry about being too accurate at this stage, this is to give you an idea of the venue size you need to search for. 

Find Your Perfect Venue 

Now you’ve set your budget, decided on a theme, and approximate guest numbers, you can start your venue search. It’s vital at this stage to talk about what is most important to you both about your wedding day and what type of venue will fit those requirements.
For example, you can narrow down your venue search on location, accommodation, and a license for ceremonies. There are a lot of venues out there to choose from which can be very overwhelming, so pick your top 3 things that are most important to you and filter your venue searches by these. 

Top tip:
Could you shortlist the top 3 venues and arrange site visits? The venue will play the most significant part in your wedding day, so you must meet with the team at the venue and trust them. A venue can look magnificent, but if you don’t feel like you can trust the team at hand, this will cause you a lot of unnecessary stress later on. 

Click here to book a call or meet with the Mercure Tunbridge Wells wedding planner. 

Buy wedding insurance 

We cannot stress the importance of this enough! Once you have booked your venue, purchase wedding insurance. There is a variety of insurance providers and you can choose a level of cover that suits you. In comparison to the cost of a wedding, insurance is really good value for money and so worth your peace of mind! Your wedding day is going to be one of the most important days of your life, so why wouldn’t you insure it? 

Make It Legal 

Again, this may not be a very exciting wedding planning step, but a very necessary one! Make sure the legal part of your ceremony is booked – whether that’s in a church or at the same venue as the reception. At Mercure Tunbridge Wells, we do this step for you! Once your wedding is confirmed, we contact the registrars to provisionally book in the date & time of your ceremony. 

Get support if you need it! 

Planning a wedding is a big task and can be incredibly overwhelming if you have not planned anything like it. Could you call on your family and the key people from your bridesmaids and groomsmen to help? 

 

Remember, your wedding day is about you and your fiancé saying your vows and celebrating with your loved ones. 

 

Found this useful? These are just the first steps you must take in your wedding planning journey. We have a complete guide on wedding planning, and our wedding coordinator will be on hand to help you. 

Click here for the complete guide on how to plan a wedding.