Start Planning your Wedding
Make sure you and your partner have actually talked about the wedding
and agreed to the following:
- how much you're going to spend
- whom you want to invite
- how much each of your families will contribute.
As soon as you decide to get married set a provisional date for
the wedding. Inform all the important people in your life about it -
this is the exciting part. Make basic decisions about what sort of
ceremony you want:
- Will you have a religious ceremony or a civil one?
- If it's a civil wedding, do you want to have it in a
register office or a licensed venue?
- If its a licensed venue, which one do you want it to be?
Get in touch with the appropriate people about your ceremony:
- provisionally book the register office
- find out how much notice the celebrant will need to
attend a licensed venue; or
- contact your chosen religious organisation.
Check the legal requirements for your type of wedding
ceremony, including:
- residency if applicable.
- you will require identity documents such as birth
certificate, decree absolute certificate, etc.
Start talking to family members (or anyone) who might
want to help pay for the wedding - your parents, for
example. Make a tentative guest list - this has a
bearing on the kind of venue you choose and it will
affect your budget. Agree on the budget. Check out the
reception venue you want (unless it's the same as the
venue for the ceremony). Some reception venues are
booked years in advance, especially for Saturdays in
summer. Think about whether you want to arrange it all
yourself or whether you'd like a wedding planner (this
is an expensive option).
Plan your honeymoon - if you're going abroad you
can often get much cheaper deals by booking well in
advance.
Provisionally book your first-night hotel room or
bridal suite - Take out wedding insurance
before you pay any deposits. Suppliers and even venues
sometimes let you down, and finding last-minute
replacements can be expensive. Book your wedding
car - these can be booked out so you must make sure
you have a booking once the date has been set.
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