{"id":41002,"date":"2016-12-09T04:43:14","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T17:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/au\/articles\/wedding-planning-where-to-start\/"},"modified":"2021-11-10T05:25:11","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T18:25:11","slug":"wedding-planning-where-to-start","status":"publish","type":"au-article","link":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/articles\/wedding-planning-where-to-start\/","title":{"rendered":"Wedding planning: where to start"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"planning<\/a>
Image: Images by Kevin<\/a> | See the Real Wedding here<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Congratulations on your engagement!<\/p>\n

Be sure to soak in the excitement and the enjoyment of being a fianc\u00e9 for as long as you feel comfortable before you launch into wedding planning.<\/p>\n

When you are ready to start making a move, here are some helpful tips to help guide you through the initial steps.<\/p>\n

Talk to your partner<\/a><\/h2>\n

Have a conversation about what you and your partner consider to be important. Do you wish to have a huge, grand affair or something small and intimate \u2013 possibly even to elope?<\/p>\n

Do you want to be married in a church, at the beach, in the back yard or in an exotic destination?<\/p>\n

This conversation will be the foundation for everything else. It will be one of your first conquests as an engaged couple.<\/p>\n

Set your date<\/a><\/h2>\n

Have a few dates in mind in case you don\u2019t get your first choice. Remember it is often cheaper to have a wedding on a weekday and weekends can book up quickly in popular venues.<\/p>\n

Start a scrapbook or mood board<\/h2>\n

Whenever you see something you like, add it to the collection. It could be a hair style, a dream dress, centerpiece inspiration or simply a colour swatch.<\/p>\n

It will help you to visualise what you would like your day to look like and can also be an easy way to eliminate ideas along the way to refine your searches later on.<\/p>\n

You can look through our Real Weddings<\/a> section for some inspiration.<\/p>\n

Start scouting locations<\/a><\/h2>\n

Do you want the ceremony and reception to be at the same place or somewhere different? Refer to your mood board or scrapbook to see what sort of influences you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

A beachy wedding, somewhere in the forest or a modern and chic venue. The options are limitless, so choose what works for the both of you.<\/p>\n

Once you have found the perfect location<\/a>, you can lock in your wedding date and will often be required to pay an initial deposit to secure this date.<\/p>\n

Choose and book a celebrant<\/a><\/h2>\n

They may seem purely functionary, but the celebrant<\/a> is the person doing the majority of the talking and really sets the mood of your ceremony so it\u2019s important to choose someone you can connect with and not just the one offering the best price.<\/p>\n

Make time to meet with them face to face and you can almost treat it like a coffee date, to see if there\u2019s any \u2018spark\u2019 there. If there\u2019s not, move on to someone else.<\/p>\n

Once you find \u2018the one\u2019 snap them up by paying the deposit to lock them in.<\/p>\n

Set a budget<\/a><\/h2>\n

This one can get tricky, but it\u2019s important to set a limit that is within your means. It may mean you might not get the lavish, extravagant event you had dreamed of since you were a child, but it\u2019s better to make some cut-backs than to start your married life with a huge debt.<\/p>\n

You might find some relatives will be happy to pitch in to lighten the load. Make sure everyone fully understands what is being offered and if they have any expectations, then you can weigh it up.<\/p>\n

An example of this might be parents who may wish to pay for half of the wedding, but want a say in some of the guests who are invited.<\/p>\n

The free Easy Weddings Budget Calculator<\/a> can help you with this.<\/p>\n

Capturing the day<\/a><\/h2>\n

If you choose to have a photographer<\/a> or videographer<\/a>, start looking around for professionals with a portfolio that suits the style you like, as well as price range that fits within your budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can search for photographers and videographers in our wedding directory<\/a>, and you can make enquiries straight away.<\/p>\n

Like your celebrant<\/a>, it\u2019s a good idea to meet with them to see if you can spend an entire day together \u2013 because you will.<\/p>\n

Often photographers will be there long before the first guest arrives and won\u2019t leave your side until the last guest leaves, so it\u2019s essential that you get on with them.<\/p>\n

\"Once<\/a>
Once you select a theme that fits you, you can look at options for buying or hiring decorations. Image: The Event Styler<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Think about a bridal party<\/a><\/h2>\n

Bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girls and pages boys. Do you have the lot, just some, or none at all?<\/p>\n

If you have an unconventional family make-up, you might also like to start thinking early on about who you might like to walk you down the aisle, if anyone at all.<\/p>\n

Start a guest list<\/a><\/h2>\n

This will be an organic document that will change many times during your planning process, so don\u2019t be too quick to lock it in.<\/p>\n

Factors like venue capacity, ability to travel and simply even the strength of relationships will come into play. You might want to invite every aunty, uncle and cousin to join in your big day, but things like your budget could impact on that.<\/p>\n

Write everyone down at first using the free Easy Weddings Guest List <\/a>and then you can work with your partner to refine it closer to the time to send out invitations.<\/p>\n

Select a theme<\/a><\/h2>\n

A theme could be a colour, a style or an era \u2013 you are only limited by your imagination. Once you have a theme in mind, it will make it easier to decide between different options going forward.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t stress if it doesn\u2019t come to you right away, it might take seeing something while shopping around for a location or \u2018the\u2019 dress for inspiration to strike.<\/p>\n

Start thinking about your dress\u00a0<\/a><\/h2>\n

Go into wedding dress shopping with an open mind. You might absolutely love a photo of a dress in a magazine only to try it on and not feel comfortable in it. Give every style a try, you could be surprised which cut flatters and gives you that wow factor.<\/p>\n

It can be an exhausting process, so only shop for as long as you are enjoying it and if you have to, break it up over a few trips to make sure it doesn\u2019t become a chore.<\/p>\n

If you have your wedding party lined up, you can start shopping around for outfits that will match your colours and theme.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/a><\/h2>\n

To help you through more steps closer to your wedding day, sign up for the free Easy Weddings To Do list<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The comprehensive list will make sure you are on track and won\u2019t miss a thing. It also provides handy links to the Easy Weddings Supplier Planner, Guest List and Seating Planner, so you can keep all of your information in one handy spot and can access it any time of the day or night.<\/p>\n

This is just the very beginning, so it is important to remember the reasons why you are getting married.<\/p>\n

Try not to get too caught up in the small details. At the end of the day, this is simply a party to celebrate your love for one another and for people to join you as you dedicate yourselves to each other.<\/p>\n

Everything over and above that is a bonus!<\/p>\n

All the best with creating your dream wedding.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A seasoned photographer can make the best of any situation. Image: Red Sleeve Studio<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20933,"template":"","au_article_tag":[1524,1450],"class_list":["post-41002","au-article","type-au-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","au_article_category-general","au_article_category-weddingplanner","au_article_tag-how-to-start-wedding-planning","au_article_tag-wedding-planning-advice"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article\/41002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/au-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article\/41002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"au_article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_article_tag?post=41002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}