The Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist
Bride and Groom have said yes, rings are on, families are ready, so what are you waiting for? With so many tasks in hand, planning a wedding can surely get hectic, but if you give yourself enough time to plan, sort things properly and by creating a checklist then the job becomes easy and smooth. Not only that but your family won’t have to move around for work on the D-Day, instead, they can enjoy the beautiful ceremony. Here’s a checklist that one should keep in mind while planning the wedding.
Source- https://weddingz.in/blog/the-ultimate-wedding-checklist-for-indian-brides/
1. Plan a Budget
Before anything else, the main step for wedding planning is deciding on a set budget for the same. This should include firstly who is paying for what (the bride side and groom side respectively). Once this is decided, you have the number in your hand which would help in avoiding excess spending, if any, and accordingly deciding the further ceremonies and lists.
2. Prepare a Guest List
It is completely on to you for deciding who shall be a part on your special day, be it close family, relatives, friends, neighbors and so on. It could be a small list of just 20 people or a huge list of 200 people. Once this is decided, it becomes easier to book for the accommodations of the guests.
3. Deciding the date and ceremonies
Firstly, the date will be decided for the wedding and accordingly the various functions or ceremonies to be included in the wedding. This also depends upon the budget and the interest of the couple. Ceremonies could include Roka, Sangeet, Mehendi, Haldi, Cocktail, Reception, etc. It could be a simple two-day wedding or a long five-day wedding.
4. Venue and Catering
After deciding on the number of functions and date for the wedding, it’s time for selecting the venue for the same. Now, venues are decided according to the location of the wedding. It can be the same place as the bride/groom or both stay or altogether a new destination, commonly referred to as the “Destination Wedding”. While the venue is being selected, the catering is the next which comes into consideration. For this choose the ones that you trust or go ahead and select the caterers after trying out their menu. Also, try and be a little experimental with the menu for being memorable in the minds of your guests.
5. Entertainment helpers
This includes the hiring of those helpers needed for all the entertainment purposes be it a choreographer for sangeet ceremony, photographer and videographer, DJ, musicians, Mehendi artists and others. All these depend upon the budget that has been decided. Apart from these, a list of family members or friends could also be made to whom you can hand over these tasks if you are working on a small budget.
6. Guest Favors
Another major part of this list is ideas on gifts for guests. Wedding favors remain the last memory of your wedding brought home by your guests and thus it should be memorable. It is a way of thanking your guests for their presence and blessings on your special day. There is a wide range of options available for gifting in today’s time by being creative and thoughtful.
7. Selecting the wedding invites
A wedding invite is a guest’s first impression for your big day and so you should look forward to creating the best first impression. Deciding on the design for your invites, to make it personalized, to make it simple, the number of invites to be printed, including the RSVP all of it should be planned. One could also consider sending e-invites for the same. Another trendsetter since last year is also sending the “Save The Date” invites to remind the guests on saving that date and not keeping them occupied for some other work.
Source-https://zola.com/blog/wedding-planning/save-the-date-wording-examples/
8. Finalizing the outfit and accessories
Having a clear idea about how one wants to look for their wedding is important. This step involves selecting the wedding attire for the bride and groom for all the ceremonies which can be of a particular theme or color-coordinated. Another step is trying and finalizing the hair and makeup artists for the couple. Selecting what kind of jewelry you want to wear, whether ancestral or new is also to be decided.
9. Booking your bachelorette and/or honeymoon
Traditionally, it’s the groom’s side that decides well in advance where the couple will go after their wedding. However, nowadays it’s the couple that plans and decides a destination for their honeymoon according to their interests, budgets, to-do lists, places to visit together. There is also a bachelorette trip or party according to one’s budget where you chill and relax completely with your friends before you start that monotonous married life of yours! For planning both of these trips, you must book places well in advance to not spoil your mood in case of last-minute cancellations and to travel hassle-free.
10. Sit back, relax and spend time with your family
All this wedding rush is not easy and definitely, it creates havoc and tension for you and your family. Just before a week for your wedding, it is important to just calm down and relax. Try doing some fitness activity and pamper yourself with some spa. Don’t forget to spend some quality time with your loved ones and enjoy the last days of being a bachelorette.
So you have the list, just get a printout of this and start checking out each point as you finish them making it easier. What are you waiting for?
Have a wonderful wedding!
-Durva Nimbalkar