Planning your wedding should be fun, exciting and stress-free! The key to planning your wedding is organisation. The better prepared you are, the easier and more enjoyable you’ll find the whole experience.
I can’t do it for you, but I hope I can help along the way, showing you some fun stuff to include on your day, and sharing genuine advice from wedding experts to reassure and inspire you!
The wedding budget
As the initial excitement of getting engaged wears off, you will need to sit down and think about your wedding budget. A good place to start is with a breakdown of the average UK wedding budget, which you can tweak so it’s more realistic for your situation.
You’ll need to keep an eye on your finances and learn about managing your money in the run up to your wedding. We’ve got tips on saving for your wedding, and advice on who pays for what.
An absolute essential is wedding insurance. It’s cheaper than you think, and really important. If something goes wrong – and you never know – wedding insurance can be a godsend.
Are you a bride on a strict wedding budget? If you’re looking for cheap wedding ideas we have advice written especially for you! And whether you’re spending hundreds or thousands of pounds on your wedding, if your wedding budget is getting the better of you we can help: wedding planner extraordinaire Bernadette Chapman shares her advice for keeping your priorities right and your wedding budget realistic.
Choosing your wedding venue
Finding the perfect wedding venue isn’t as simple as picking a pretty stately home and putting your name down. Think about the best wedding location for your families and guests – how far will everyone have to travel? Consider your wedding’s carbon footprint as well as how many guests will make it to the day. Read wedding venue location.
Wedding venues can cost the earth (exclusive use stately homes and castles) or you can get one free (rich auntie’s back garden) – but what’s best for you and what are your options? Find out more about the price of wedding venues.
Perhaps the most important factor in your choice of wedding venue will be capacity. How many guests will you invite to your wedding? Does a small wedding mean you can only choose a small venue? No! Here’s a quick guide to wedding venue capacity.
If you need a lot of space, or if you’d love an outdoor wedding reception but don’t trust the English weather, you need a marquee. Opt for tradition and a classic white tent, or investigate world inspired tents and tipis. Find out more with our guide to wedding marquees and tents.
Catering is a massive cost associated with wedding venue hire. There are ways to save money on your wedding catering, and I have a few tips about wedding catering which might help you get started.
Venue recommended suppliers are usually excellent – but very occasionally there’s a catch. As a wedding supplier myself, I’d like to share my advice about suppliers your wedding venue recommends.
