Planning Your Wedding: First Things First

When a bride and groom embark on their search for the perfect wedding venue and caterer many things need to be considered. Too often, couples make quick judgments without taking the time to ensure their decisions are really practical for their needs. For that reason, it is a good idea to have a grasp on your budget and wedding size before approaching wedding vendors. That is, unless you are willing to alter your budget and size based on falling in love with a particular venue or caterer.

First things first:

1. Getting a game-plan together first is always a smart decision. Determine what is most important to you.  Is it the food, the venue, the music, the décor, or your guest count?
2. Once you have a grasp on your needs, rank these items in terms of their importance to you. This will help solidify a sound budget.
3. Determine what kind of feeling would you like to convey to your guests. Are you going for elegant, chic, crazy off the hook, green, casual, picnic fun, or formal? Knowing your style will immensely help with the decision-making process.
4. What kind of food service are you looking for? A seated, served dinner, brunch, a heavy hors d’oeuvre cocktail reception, action stations (We love the blow torch salmon one!), tapas stations or a buffet?
5. Once your game plan in place, the vendors you approach will be much more equipped to better serve you and help meet your needs.

There are many free online resources that will provide worksheets to assist with your budget planning. Try this one from weddingdetails.com.

If you have any questions about getting started with your wedding planning, please feel free to ask!

Tags: choosing a caterer, choosing a venue, wedding budget, wedding planning, wedding tips