GUIDE TO PLANNING A WEDDING PERFECTLY

Set your budget

This is where you need to get realistic and take a close look at the funding for your wedding. Budgeting can be stressful, but try to look at it as an exercise in making wise financial decisions as a team. Here’s what to do:

• Get clear on contributions from others. Are your parents helping with the wedding? A favorite aunt? Has a generous friend offered to pay for your photographer as their wedding gift? Get clear on how much everyone plans to contribute so you can factor that into your overall budget. We know this might not be the easiest topic to bring up with others, so prepare before having the talk
• Look at your savings. How much money do you each have in savings? What percentage of your savings are you willing to put towards the wedding? Make note of this early on and try to stick to it.
• Start saving now. How much you can set aside will vary depending on the date of your wedding. Some couples opt to reduce their monthly spending (fewer lunches out, canceling the streaming services you barely use, etc.) and put those savings into their wedding account.
• Add it all up. Put the above numbers together and you should have a rough estimate of your wedding budget.

Bring in backup.

When it comes to learning how to plan a wedding, the most important step realizing that you and your partner can’t do it alone. There are simply too many details and intricacies. So don’t be afraid to enlist support when and where you need it. Here are a few options to consider:

• Hire a wedding planner. A wedding planner will manage many of the tasks on your wedding checklist, as well as help you with decor, venue selection, , dress ideas that match your style, and much more. And they don’t have to be full-service. Some couples opt for partial-service planners.
• Ask for help from family and friends. If you don’t have the budget for a planner, it’s okay to seek help elsewhere. It’s more than likely that your friends and family will be glad to help, but don’t lean on a single person too heavily. Remember, they also have work and their day-to-day lives to manage.
• Utilize technology and resources. There are many excellent apps to help you stay organized and relaxed throughout the process. Download them! Also, consider checking out some top wedding planning books and following wedding experts on social media

Choose a wedding date.

Choose your wedding date as soon as you can. There may be some back and forth as you reach out to must-attend family and friends to hash out dates that work for everyone. But weekends for popular venues fill up fast, so decide as early as possible. If you’re planning a weekday wedding (a good option when your budget is tight), you’ll have more wiggle room.

Pro tip: Have your top-3 wedding dates in mind as you begin your wedding venue search so you can compare rates at the same venue or expand your options. If you’re planning 14+ months in advance, include two dates in one season and one date in another for variety. If you have less than 14 months and have a dream venue in mind, check what they even have available first before choosing the best dates.

Build your guest list.

First things first, commit to keeping this process as stress-free as possible. Pick a relaxed time on a weekend when you don’t have other demands and sit down with your partner. Keep your approximate wedding size in mind — building a guest list for a small wedding is going to be different than choosing who to invite to a large one. Here are some tips to keep the process smooth:

• Write down all of the names of people you’d like to attend — even if they live across the world or your partner doesn’t know them that well.
• Track your guest names in a wedding planning app or a spreadsheet.
• Manage guest requests from family. It’s okay to invite some people your parents would love to share your wedding day with, but try to keep the number reasonable.
• Create two categories (A and B) for your guest list. A is for the names of family and friends who you absolutely want and/or need to have at your wedding. B is for the extended family, friends, and work colleagues you’d like to share your day with, but it wouldn’t devastate you if they couldn’t attend. Take a break and come back to list B. Narrow it down together until the list fits wedding size.

With WEDDING SUTRA as your wedding planner, you will be a lot relaxed on your big day. Not only does wedding sutra provide all the essentials for your wedding but also act as you support and the best backup plan.