This might sound like a no brainer but you don’t want to take any risks! We’re talking all your close family and friends but also those who will play a role on the day; your bridesmaids, your groomsmen etc. Get that date in their diary and let them know how you’d like them to be involved in your celebrations.
Great suppliers get booked up quick and that’s true now more than ever with so many weddings having been postponed in the last 12 months. Some suppliers can only accept one wedding a day so you don’t want to miss the opportunity to have that photographer/venue dresser/florist/cake maker you’ve been stalking on Instagram for so long involved in your wedding day.
Whether you’re marrying in a church, having a civil ceremony, or a celebrant-led ceremony perhaps, it’s vital to get this confirmed as soon as possible for your wedding date. Your venue can share details of the local Register Office or Celebrants and there will be costs to cover in addition to the venue costs.
You’ll now know the maximum your confirmed venue can hold so it’s time to decide who makes the list. Things to consider include; are you inviting extra evening guests, are you inviting children, plus 1’s etc. You’ll probably write this list out a few times!
Once you’ve got your list it’s time to send out your save the dates and it’s never really too early to do this. With recent lockdown restrictions beginning to ease people will be keen to fill up their diaries with lovely life events, holidays, weekend breaks, family visits, the list is endless. There is absolutely no harm in giving people plenty of notice to make sure you’re surrounded by all your favourite people on your wedding day. This is also gives them plenty of time to consider travel plans, accommodation etc.
Start to think about what you’d really like to eat and drink on the day. Our advice is to be a bit selfish and choose your food and drink based on what you really like, not what you think guests will want you to have. Will you go for a served meal for your wedding breakfast or do you want something a little more informal like a barbecue or sharing platters. You’ll also need to speak to your venue/caterers about whether you’d like canapes, evening food, drinks packages to cover off those significant moments in the day. This is the fun part and hopefully your venue/caterer will also be able to offer you a tasting! For more inspiration, check out our blog post on what style of food to serve at your wedding.
Start building playlists for various parts of the day. Spotify, Apple music, whatever your platform create clear lists for ceremony (guests arriving, arrival of the bride/groom, signing of the register), wedding breakfast/evening reception background music. Here at The Sun Pavilion we have a plug and play system so you simply bring the device and we’ll take care of the rest.
Insurance. Dull, we know, but very important to protect you against being out of pocket if anything goes wrong. This one is a big consideration and worth shopping around to see what’s on the market. If you do take out insurance, be clear on what you are and are not covered for so that there are no nasty surprises further down the line.
Make a time based plan working backwards from your date. This one can be complex (all singing, all dancing spreadsheet anyone?) or really simple with just a few dates marked in your calendar. Whichever option you choose it’s about having key milestones clearly marked so that you don’t miss anything; key payment dates for your venue and your suppliers, final cut off points for orders being placed. Set up automatic reminders if possible so that you can take pressure off yourself and really enjoy the fun parts of the planning.
Work out which is your best side! This one’s just for fun. You are going to spend a lot of time smiling for photographs on the day, many will be lovely natural moments and you won’t even realise you’ve been snapped. Others will make your cheeks hurt with smiling at the camera! Lots of photographers offer pre-wedding shoots as part of their packages and it’s a lovely way to get comfortable in front of a lens before the day itself.
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