Plan Your Wedding

After birth, marriage conceivably is the most important & momentous affair in the family, which requires a lot of scheduling, planning, decision-making, nail biting & plenty of cheerfulness. As we all know there are some not so enjoyable weddings due to incompetence, wastefulness & no sense of timings. Certainly, it is really delight to be present at weddings, where everything goes just what the doctor ordered, right from the well-timed observance to the program schedule, down to receiving & bidding farewell to the last of the guests. First it is essential to decide on the kind of wedding that you want to have. It may be that you want to have the wedding ceremony with the traditional religious services and are opting for quiet civil ceremonies that have none of the pomp, but all the meaning and also holds all the essential elements of the process. On the other hand, there are some that would like to make their wedding day an occasion to remember and cherish. For them, expenses is not a limiting factor, they would like to make their wedding a memorable event. But here also a lot of planning is required. Then there are the middle-liners that go through traditional ceremonies on a medium scale.

The wedding is not a matter of a day or two's arrangement. It is a plan that is elaborate & has to be chalked up from quite a few months in fact from a day when marriage is fixed. The more planned you are, the more well the arrangements will be. If you plan well in advance, it will save you a lot of mess & headache later. Otherwise hasty & unplanned decisions always lead to overbearing with your budget & often result in the forgetting of a lot of essential things. Prior planning & designing definitely leads to better-quality arrangements. So, to make your wedding a grand triumph with practical, organized & well thought-out approach, just go through this Wedding Planner step by step & see the results……

Wedding Date

No doubt, in most of the families the marriage date is generally based on the auspicious time given by the family pandit, but makes it sure that it does not collide with any other occasion in the family. Start making arrangements at least 3-6 months before the D-day.

Guest List: Well-timed formulation of the Guest List is a sure shot way to make certain that none of your intended guests are left out. The number of Guests likely to attend will decide your planning of venue, accommodation, catering & finances.

• Traditionally, the guest list for a wedding is divided in four heads; Bride's Family, Groom's Family, Bride's List and Groom's List.
• Check your personal phone book, business cards & greeting cards and involve family members while compiling the guest list.
• Compile a consolidated list of invitees with their postal address & telephone numbers. Also against the name of each guest write down the occasions you want them to be present for.
• To avoid duplication of common friends, discuss the list with the other members of the family.
• Sort out the guest list on whether the cards are to be personally handed out or mailed or through courier.

Sweets

• While making your selection of sweets, it is a good idea to see that you choose has a fairly long shelf life, to be able to withstand delays that are bound to occur in distribution time.
• Must make it a point to taste the sweets in question before giving bulk orders.
• Once the order starts arriving, must try to open a box or two randomly of each new lot to ensure you are not being taken for a ride & are being supplied with just what you ordered in its very best quality.

Service Provider

The service providers include the Caterer, Photographer, Videographer, Florist, and Printer etc. Start negotiating for better service and rates as soon when the date is fixed.

• Get references and interview several Service ProvidersØ Do not make bulk Advance Payment in cash.
• Have all contracts formally signed on paper.
• You could hire an Event Manager for your entire Wedding Arrangements.
• If it’s the season for weddings, book the service providers in good time.
• Maintain a list of Service providers.

Transportation

Make an itinerary & note the arrival time of the guests and assign a person to receive them and also take care of all their requirements of transportation.

• Hire cars/ mini vans to transport guests.Ø Arrange and negotiate with rental companies for extra cars that you may need for your guests, or at home for your family members to meet up with the extra demands of travel.
• Make Arrangements for transportation for guests who would like to join the marriage procession. This would require chartering a bus or a van depending upon the numbers.
• Arrange for chauffeur driven limousines. The groom may also choose to arrive at the bride's house or the wedding venue in a buggy, or a horse carriage.
• Keep a handy list of the hired vehicles along with their numbers and names of the drivers.
• You never know when an emergency might occur. So always keep a first- aid kit and important telephone numbers handy. It might help.
• Always keep important tel. nos. like fire, ambulance with you. Also tell the guests to keep their things carefully.