While it can be great fun to organise your wedding, many couples find it a daunting process. There are so many details to consider! Use our handy checklist to get you started.
- Type of wedding ceremony. Traditional, religious, formal, informal, civil celebrant, registry office, other?
- Location/venue? Indoor – church, wedding venue, hotel etc. Outdoor – park, beach, farm etc
- Vows – traditional, non-traditional?
- Budget
- Type of reception? Sit down meal, hor d’oeuvres, high tea, light lunch, catered etc.
- Date/season of wedding (summer, autumn, winter, spring)
- Time of day for wedding
- Bridal party (who is in it?)
- Colour scheme, including stationery, flowers etc.
- Bridal gown, shoes, lingerie, veil or headpiece etc.
- Groom’s clothes
- Clothes for bridesmaids and groomsmen
- Hair and makeup
- Photographer
- Videographer
- Flowers for bouquets, buttonholes, and decorations
- Wedding cake
- Rings
- Wedding transport – cars, limousines, vintage, horse-drawn carriage etc.
- Number of guests and guest list
- Wedding decorations – from bunting to ceramic doves
- Wedding favours
- Music for wedding & reception
- Honeymoon location & length
When discussing wedding plans, it’s common for couples to disagree over some of the details. You may have your heart set on a formal, traditional wedding, whereas he prefers an informal wedding at the beach, or vice versa. This is a rich opportunity to share your thoughts, listen to one another and get to know each other better. Together, you are creating a sound basis for communication in your marriage that will hold you in good stead in the years ahead.
New topics of dialogue open up as you both share what marriage means to you, including what values are most important, what roles you will each fulfil, whether you want children or not, where you will live and what your married life will look like.
Another common area of dispute is your attitude towards money. Commonly, a saver will be in a relationship with a spender. Will you pool your resources together in joint bank accounts or keep finances totally separate? Or will you have a joint bank account for some things and individual ones for others? Some couples prefer to keep things separate until after the wedding. There are no right or wrong answers here – it depends on what works for the two of you.
As you spend time together planning the wedding of your dreams, you will get to know your partner better. There may be some things that are essential to you, and other things that matter more to your partner. Keeping the lines of communication open often requires honesty, integrity and vulnerability. A willingness to consider things from each other’s point of view is the foundation stone in creating a solid marriage relationship.
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