A wedding is a beautiful celebration of your love surrounded by family and friends. Ever since you were a child, you may have dreamed of having a perfect wedding with elegant lights and decorations. Because the best weddings often require a great deal of coordination and planning, there are a few aspects that you should expect to splurge on to have a beautiful event.
The Venue
Choosing a wedding venue is crucial to your special day. This is because the venue helps set the ambiance for your event. On average, couples can spend between $12k and $14k for a venue. Of course, that average factors in very pricey venues that may be out of your budget. Make sure you know what you can afford and what you want to spend on your venue. Once that is determined, start searching for a venue as soon as possible. Booking a venue early helps ensure that venues within your budget range aren’t overbooked or unavailable by the time you start looking.
Catering
If you are having a more traditional wedding reception, you will probably be feeding your guests a full meal. Food is a great way to bring people together and help them enjoy your special day with you and with each other. You should avoid messy foods at your wedding in favor of simple yet elegant foods, especially since your guests are likely to be dressed up in more expensive clothing. While you certainly can prepare the food yourself, most choose to spend the money for a catering service so they can focus on other aspects of the occasion. For high-quality, delicious, and elegant food, expect to pay a fair amount for catering.
Attire
One of the more obvious wedding expenses is a wedding dress. The average price for a wedding dress is a few thousand dollars. However, as with all other expenses, this number is subject to change based on your preferences. You can find a quality dress for a fraction of that price if you have adequate time to search. The price of a wedding dress will increase with the intricacy of the dress if it is being specially designed, and alterations. While a bride’s wedding dress is often the most expensive attire of the event, it is not the only clothing that needs to be purchased. Make sure to factor in tuxedos, secondary outfits to change into, bridesmaid dresses, and any other attire costs when budgeting your wedding.
Before spending any money on a wedding, you first need to figure out how much you have and want to spend. Once you have a budget, shop around to browse different venues, catering, and attire options. Taking time to make quality purchases for your wedding can help you and your guests thoroughly enjoy the special day.
While most people love their weddings, the months leading up to it can be incredibly stressful. There are dozens of decisions to be made when planning a wedding, and it’s hard to enjoy being engaged when you’re so busy trying to plan a wedding. When planning your wedding, try these tips to help the process be less stressful.
Delegate
When it comes to planning your wedding, the first thing you need to know is how to delegate. You want this day to be the happiest one of your life. To help this happen, you’re going to need a lot of help from loved ones and professionals alike. Instead of trying to do everything yourself, delegate some of the tasks to willing helpers. If you’re worried about things turning out poorly, you can even give them strict instructions. This is what bridesmaids and groomsmen are for. You can do this early on, as well. Give each bridesmaid and groomsman a task that they are in charge of. You can check-in with them regularly to ensure all goes well, but they will know from the beginning what they need to do. Don’t be afraid to ask your family for help as well.
Hire a Planner
Hiring a wedding planner can eliminate a lot of stress on your wedding day. A wedding planner ensures that every aspect of your wedding goes off without a hitch, while you get more flexibility to relax and enjoy being engaged. A planner can bring experience to the table to help you manage your wedding. Well-established wedding planners know exactly how to provide you with the highest quality on your wedding day. All you need to do is decide what you’d like, and your wedding planner will do everything in their power to provide it for you. If you have the time and budget to do so, a wedding planner is a surefire way to put your wedding over the edge.
Start Early
Many brides and grooms complain that the few months before the wedding are some of the most hectic. In the home stretch of wedding planning, everything needs to be finalized, and last-minute adjustments need to be made. However, if you begin planning your wedding in advance, some of this stress can be alleviated. It is much easier to find an opening at your perfect venue a year from now than it is a month from now. If you begin your planning early on in the engagement process, you can get some of the big decisions out of the way ahead of time. In fact, plan the wedding as much as possible and as early as you can. The fewer decisions you need to make in the weeks leading up to your wedding, the more you’ll be able to just enjoy yourself.
Planning a wedding can be hectic, but the payoff is well worth the extra stress. However, there are small steps you can make to make the process much less stressful as a whole. Try out these tips to take the stress out of planning your wedding.
Weddings can be wonderful experiences that you’ll forever want to live in your memory – and they can also sometimes be disasters. Beyond making sure that your wedding goes smoothly, you’re going to want to make it memorable. Here are a few small but meaningful ways to make that happen.
Great Food
This one is critical. Why? Odds are your guests are going to be hungry. Skimping on the cost of food means leaving everyone – not only your guests, but you and your future spouse as well – either dissatisfied or, at worse, cranky and hungry. Having high-quality food in abundance is the key to making sure that everyone is enjoying themselves. Look into your local options. Are there tasty places that cater? What about places that both you and your future spouse enjoy, that offer diverse options to accommodate different kinds of dietary needs? Choose carefully and well ahead of time.
Having Your Favorite People There
This one is really what’s important. No matter what small (or big) mishaps take place, or whatever elements don’t work out precisely to your liking… the fact of the matter is, having the people you want to be there will make your wedding memorable. You and your future spouse are sharing a wonderful moment with your friends and family. This is about both of you, and it is about all of them – celebrating life. Make sure that you have everyone there that you really want to have. Writing out your wedding list can ensure you won’t miss anyone. Plan ahead and make accommodations as necessary.
Care and Attention
Many people have attended weddings with meticulously planned choreography, live music, incredible decorations, world-class gourmet food, and every kind of spectacle you can imagine. While you might have a strong vision for the grandeur of your wedding, you don’t need one. What you do need is to make sure that the people can tell that you put attention and care into making them feel welcome and happy. That can manifest in a lot of different ways – it might be making sure the chairs are all comfortable and in good repair. It might mean providing lighting and music that makes people feel a certain way. Whatever it is, it will be unique to you and your spouse.
There really isn’t any such thing as the perfect wedding. You will stress yourself out wildly trying to achieve the impossible. What you instead need to do is focus on what is most important. Focus on the people, on yourselves, and what is important to them.
Your wedding day is going to be one of the most important days of your life. It will also be one of the busiest and most emotional days of your life. There will likely be so much going on that you won’t be able to remember every part of your special day. So, here are a few tips that will help you to make your wedding more memorable on the day of and for years to come.
Invite Your Favorite People
First of all, make sure that you’re inviting your favorite people to your wedding. You might feel some pressure to invite people that aren’t as important to you, like lots of your parents’ friends, acquaintances from college or work, or old high school buddies. However, your wedding should be all about you and the people that you love most. If you concentrate your guest list on the people that are most important to you, it will make your day so much more special and memorable.
Have Plenty of Photos Taken
An absolute must-have for making your wedding day memorable is to have plenty of photos taken. After all, you’ve spent so much time and money making sure that this day will be perfect. You want to make sure that you get many photos taken so you can remember every element of your big day. It is very important to have a professional photographer to document all of the different parts of your wedding day. Make a plan with your wedding photographer so they know which moments are most important to you, and they’ll be able to capture meaningful and romantic photos. Of course, your guests will inevitably take some candid shots of your day and those will also be fun and tender to have. Make sure that you print out your photos after your wedding day. Printing your photos on canvas is ideal as it reduces glare and can be done affordably.
Hire a Videographer
Another idea that will help make your wedding more memorable is paying for a wedding video. Professional wedding videography has become a lot more popular in the past few years. Having a wedding video can be the perfect companion to your wedding photos that you will have taken and printed. A wedding video will capture the movement and sounds of your wedding day in a very intimate and romantic way. It will help you to see moments that you might not have even noticed. You’ll be able to watch your wedding video for years to come and remember how meaningful your special day was.
So, if you’re trying to find a way to make your wedding day more meaningful and memorable, remember the tips in this article. Make sure that you invite all of your favorite people, have plenty of photos taken, and pay for a wedding video to document your day. This will help you remember the special details of your wedding day throughout your life.
There are few days that are as meaningful, celebrated, and stressful as your wedding day. For starters, you are committing yourself to love and hold one person till death do you part, which is a majorly beautiful and nerve-wracking commitment. But on top of that you have all of your friends and family celebrating your love with you, which can be both magical and a recipe for disaster. The success of your wedding all hinges on the proper planning to keep things smooth. Here are three critical decisions that you need to make when planning your wedding.
The Size of the Event
The first critical decision that you need to make when planning your wedding is choosing the size of your event. Weddings can range from elopements with just a few guests and witnesses to hundreds or even thousands of people in attendance. The size of your event impacts nearly every aspect of your wedding, from venue to catering to budget and location considerations. The typical wedding has somewhere between seventy five and one hundred and fifty guests, but large weddings can involve hundreds of guests. Know who you want to share your wedding with early in the planning process.
An Indoor v. Outdoor Venue
Another crucial decision that you will have to make when planning your wedding day is whether you want to have an indoor or outdoor venue. Both indoor and outdoor venues can be beautiful and host truly spectacular weddings, but there are definitely advantages and disadvantages to each. An indoor venue will be ideal if the weather is bad on your wedding day. If you choose to go with an outdoor venue, make sure you ask what backup plans they have in the event of inclement weather on your special day.
Wedding Location
The final critical decision that you need to make when planning your wedding is the wedding location. Not to be confused with venue, location is simply the area of the world or country that you are hosting your wedding. Some people really want to have a destination wedding somewhere unique, but no this is a large expense for guests and will mean a smaller wedding. If you want to make things easy for friends and family to attend, consider a location nearby to where your friends and family live.
Planning a wedding can be one of the most stressful things you do in your entire life. But if you know the right decisions to make early, you can make things easier for yourself. Make these three decisions and your wedding planning will start to fall into place.
Destination weddings can be an incredible way to kick off your marriage, and an international destination wedding is even more exciting. However, if you are planning on getting married in a different country, you should make sure that you are prepared for some of the complications that can bring. The earlier you start planning your international wedding, the better it will be and the more you will be able to enjoy the whole experience.
Work Out the Logistics
The first element of an international wedding that can be complicated is simply figuring out the logistics of the whole situation. You need to figure out how you and your guests will get there and how you will take care of elements like a photographer and catering. Some of those elements may be taken care of at your venue, but if there is a specific photographer you want, you should figure out how much you are willing to budget to get them to your wedding. Once the logistics are taken care of, you can focus on the more fun parts of wedding planning.
Legal Requirements
It’s also important that you understand the legal requirements that can be involved with international weddings. Some countries require you to reside there for a certain period of time before getting married. And sometimes your marriage won’t be legal back in the US unless you make proper arrangements for a marriage certificate back home. Take time to do your research so you know what requirements you need to meet for your marriage to be legal when you return to the US after your wedding.
Get a Wedding Planner
If you want to enjoy your wedding with as little stress as possible, it will help to have a wedding planner on hand. They can guide you through the process and take care of many of the more complicated details. If you choose a wedding planner who specializes in international destination weddings, it will be even easier. They will have the knowledge and experience to plan an amazing wedding in the location of your choice.
Your international destination wedding will be an event to remember. And if you take the time to plan it carefully, you can have an incredible time exploring a new country with the person you love. Get some help with the process so you don’t have to stress more than necessary and can focus on your beautiful day.
Whether you are having a large party or an intimate gathering for your wedding, your guests are incredibly important to you. Each guest should feel welcomed immediately at your wedding, which can be accomplished further through entrance decorations! The decorations at the entrance of your wedding should be inviting, personable, and elegant, so here are a few to help!
Lights
Lights are essential wedding entrance decorations, especially if part or all of your wedding is at night. Lights are immediately warm and welcoming. Also, lights can be used to spotlight or emphasize other important decorations. If you are feeling particularly adventurous, you could even directly correlate lights with other decorations by having them correspond with your wedding colors. There are many different lighting options for you to choose from like from twinkle lights to pathway lights, all of which set slightly different moods.
Canvas Photo Prints
At least one large photo of you and your spouse should be at the entrance of your wedding. The guests are, after all, there to celebrate the two of you! There is nothing they would like to see more than a joyful, loving picture of the happy couple. Instead of typical photo prints, consider opting for canvas photo prints. With a canvas print, you don’t need to deal with a frame. Also, canvas printing reduces glare that happens with a typical photo print. A canvas print will be stunning from all different angles, in all lighting, and at all hours of the day.
Flowers
Flowers are an integral part of any wedding. They are very beautiful and will definitely add an elegant touch to your entrance decorations. There are also many different decorations you can make with flowers from simple bouquet arrangements to extravagant floral arches or hanging garlands. Look for inspiration online, on social media, or in wedding magazines. If you are unsure about which flowers to use, try using ones that are in season when you get married. In-season flowers will be healthier, more suitable for the climate and natural color scheme, and often less expensive since they are in greater abundance than other flowers.
Every part of your wedding should reflect something about you and your spouse. This is especially true at its entrance. The decorations you use at the entrance of your wedding will make the first impression and set the mood for the rest of your wedding.
Your wedding invitations are an important part of your wedding planning. These are the pieces that ensure your guests know key information about the event. Before sending your invites out you need to include all the relevant information, photos, and an RSVP.
All the Relevant Information
Your invites need to have all the relevant information. It is easy to leave out information because you have many other things on your mind. Your invitation needs to include your names, and the names of the hosts. The hosts are typically who are paying for the event. You need to include the date of your wedding and the time. You should include the ceremony location as well as the reception location. Be specific when including locations to ensure that your guests don’t get lost. You should also indicate whether there will be a dress code for your event in the lower right corner.
Photos
What you include on your wedding invitations allows you to be creative. What you include can really personalize your invites, showcase who you are, and give a glimpse into your wedding day. You can utilize photos for an announcement card or invitations. You can make announcement cards if you get professional quality photos of your engagements. These are cards that are to only announce that the event is happening, not invite guests. You can also utilize professional engagements on your invitations.
RSVP
You should include an RSVP either on your invite or on a card included in the invite for your guests to reply. This is an important piece for your peace of mind because you have numbers to think about for a caterer and your venue. RSVP cards will allow you to get a final count of who will be present at your wedding. You should make a deadline for receiving a “yes” or “no” from your guests a few weeks in advance to make sure you have down final numbers and allow your guests some time to respond. If also including a plated dinner at your wedding, included in an RSVP card can also be a place for them to select which option they prefer.
Your wedding invitation is an important piece of the event. It needs to include key elements for the wedding to go smoothly. Make sure you include all the relevant information, photos, and an RSVP before sending out your invites.
Wedding Trends Every Young Couple Should Know About.
It is no secret that wedding trends are changing every year. Over the last 10 years, wedding traditions have seen a significant transformation from weddings 20 and 30 years ago. Following the pandemic, wedding trends have altered even more to accommodate individual and supply needs. Transitioning into this new era of weddings, this article will discuss a few of the hottest wedding trends every young couple should know about.
Changing Attire
Wedding attire is a major part of the wedding. Some brides-to-be spend years thinking about what they will wear walking down the aisle. Ultimately, what you wear should make you feel beautiful and one of a kind. Today, current wedding trends are focusing on simple cuts with more design elements to make the bride stand out. Adding tons of sparkle, beading and sequins are really bringing attention to the bride during the ceremony, while a get-away dress and even another outfit for a dance number or two is getting popular. As for the groom and bridal party, wedding attire is becoming much more casual. The groom can get away with a suit rather than a tux, and bridesmaids are usually in mix and match styles with contrasting elements these days, rather than uniform.
More DIY Planning
Because of supply chain breakdowns and thrifty trends, many individuals have switched to DIY projects. DIY decorations add a rustic and romantic element to every wedding, and have a unique charm that makes the wedding feel more personable. DIY planning is also more cost effective because you put in most of the work and cut supply and labor costs. With so much time to plan the wedding, and the overarching simplicity that weddings are adopting, DIY is the perfect choice for simple, personable, and chic weddings.
Less Formality
The number of couples choosing to celebrate in traditional weddings venues such as banquet halls, churches, and hotel reception rooms has dropped significantly. Meanwhile, unconventional venues like barns, outdoor gardens, and farms are growing in popularity. Couples are opting for less formality. Many couples are getting married later in life and can contribute more to their weddings financially. This means they have more control over the format of their wedding and can personalize it accordingly. Because of this, fewer weddings require black-tie attire and formal sit-down dinners. Instead, couples want their guests to be comfortable and socialize. Many couples describe their ideal celebration as more of a party than a formal event. It is important to remember that less formality should not make your wedding feel like a casual life event. You can still have a beautiful celebration with fewer traditional practices.
Sustainability
As society becomes more concerned with transitioning to eco-friendly living, weddings have been likewise impacted. Many wedding companies and venues are offering more sustainable wedding options than ever before. Choosing an environmentally friendly wedding means choosing products that can be reused, recycled, repurposed, or resold after the wedding.
For example, foregoing plastic dinnerware will make a big impact on your carbon footprint. Straws are the most common single-use plastic and can cause a lot of environmental harm. Consider using metal or recycled paper straws for guests that insist on having one. If you are looking for additional ways you can plan a more sustainable wedding, reach out to a venue that offers outdoor space to help cut down on energy costs and use the beauty of nature to be your backdrop.
Transitioning Online
The integration of technology into society has changed many of the traditional practices. People spend so much time on their phones and online that it is more effective to communicate with them through the same method. Younger generation couples are sold on using online resources to plan and execute their wedding. Approximately 80 percent of a couple’s wedding planning is spent online. Design a wedding website that gives guests more detailed wedding information and tells your story. You can also link a registry online to make purchasing and returns much simpler.
Early Wedding Planning
Today’s generation values planning their wedding ahead of time. Two out of three young couples take at least one wedding planning action before getting engaged. Most young couples start the process of planning their wedding by looking at wedding dresses, creating Pinterest boards, and hiring a wedding planner to help them out. Many couples plan their wedding a year or two in advance to make sure they don’t feel stressed about planning and timeline. Long engagements and early wedding planning makes it possible for you to arrange every detail with a lot less stress.
Tailored Decorations
Couples are becoming more creative and sophisticated with their requests. Many couples want a more tailored approach to their requests. Tailored requests usually entail fresh centerpieces and unique elements that represent the couple. The transition to personalized decorations has caused a shift away from two-color schemes that couples used to focus on. Now it is more about the atmosphere and vibe rather than uniform matching tablespaces. Do not hesitate to pick elements that express you as a couple. Focus less on color schemes and more on the overall aesthetic to achieve this wedding trend.
Providing an Experience
Many parties that are hosted today try to focus on providing an experience for their guests. This line of thinking has wound its way into wedding celebrations as well. Couples are much more focused on providing entertainment and looking after their guests. Bride and groom want to make their wedding as much of a memorable experience for their guests as it is for them. Some experiences couples are coming up with include unique cocktail service, interactive entertainment like comedians and DJs, street artists to sketch your guests, photo booths, and so much more.
A wedding is one of the biggest life events you will experience. Perhaps the biggest trend today is the freedom to do what you want. Plan your wedding to reflect who you are as a couple and make your day truly memorable!
Your wedding day is the most important day of your life. When everything is over, the cake will be eaten, the champagne bottles will be empty, and the guests will be gone. But one thing will remain forever, and that is the memories. The pictures taken that day are what will preserve those memories for generations to come. That is why your top priority for your wedding should be to find a professional photographer who is experienced with weddings. Don’t leave the chronicling of your day to a novice.
Get the Best Results
A professional photographer has the equipment to create sharp and flawless images, from every possible vantage point. A professional photographer with experience in weddings is also skilled at taking quality candid shots. Wedding photos are primarily composed of candid shots, catching the most important moments, such as the ring exchange, the cutting of the cake, and that special first dance in real time. Unskilled photographers tend to catch you in awkward and unflattering positions. You need a professional who knows exactly where to be and how to turn each precious moment into a timeless memoir of your love.
Preserve the Memories
Professional photographers can take care of preserving your memories with high quality prints. They have access to state-of-the-art printing services, and can recommend the best surfaces to print on, depending on the photograph. You can print your photos on many materials for different looks. Standard materials such as canvas and photo paper can be preserved and displayed in complementary frames. You can also create enduring art pieces on glass, metal, and even wood. Wedding photos are lasting and tangible reminders of your love and commitment to one another.
An Eye for Detail
Professional photographers are trained to notice every detail, from the bride’s misplaced hair to the unzipped fly on the best man’s tuxedo pants. Many wedding shots have been saved by an attentive photographer. While the wedding party and guests are focused on celebrating, the photographer is focused on making sure that each detail is perfect. A professional photographer understands artistic elements such as lighting, perspective, and framing. This means that every photograph from your wedding will be worthy of sharing.
This is your day. Be sure to capture each moment with photographs that you will be proud to share. Of all the critical aspects of your wedding, hiring a professional photographer should be among the top. Preserve your memories with the very best.
