If you are newly engaged, first of all a huge congratulations... second, when it comes to planning, the very first thing you and your partner need to decide on is a budget that you are both comfortable with. The budget dictates EVERYTHING and if you start with something else it could cause some problems down the line. Say you book your venue before really looking at the budget then you come to realize that you can't afford to feed all the guests you want to invite based on the menus available to you. You might have to skimp where you didn't want to or be forced to cut the guest list more than you wanted to.
So, budget first, then guest list and then venue. Of course your guest count can (and will) change from the first version of it but you also don't want to have a list with 120 guests if you end up booking a venue first that only holds 100. Trust me, you can't squeeze that many more people in... legally, the venue or fire department could shut you down which would really ruin the night, but also, your guests will be miserable if they are shoved in like sardines!
A little more about the budget... while the spreadsheets you can find online are awesome to help figure out approximately how much you should spend on each item please remember that these are generic sheets and not every category will fit your specific needs or wants. I always suggest to clients to choose the top three things that are important to them for their wedding and work from there. Maybe the food, and open bar and the DJ are the big things to you. Work your budget so that you can get what you want in those areas and then fill in the rest. If your dream look or theme is a ton of candles rather than flowers then what it says on the spreadsheet in regards to flowers will probably be too much. You can then move that money to the decor portion to fit in the extra candles you will need. Basically, don't let a spreadsheet dictate your wedding! I always want my clients to stay on budget (it's one of the best ways to stay stress free) but play around with where the money will go until it suits you best.
For more planning advice, send me an email at sara@createweddingsandevents.com to set up your complimentary consultation.
Happy planning, everyone!
Sara
So, budget first, then guest list and then venue. Of course your guest count can (and will) change from the first version of it but you also don't want to have a list with 120 guests if you end up booking a venue first that only holds 100. Trust me, you can't squeeze that many more people in... legally, the venue or fire department could shut you down which would really ruin the night, but also, your guests will be miserable if they are shoved in like sardines!
A little more about the budget... while the spreadsheets you can find online are awesome to help figure out approximately how much you should spend on each item please remember that these are generic sheets and not every category will fit your specific needs or wants. I always suggest to clients to choose the top three things that are important to them for their wedding and work from there. Maybe the food, and open bar and the DJ are the big things to you. Work your budget so that you can get what you want in those areas and then fill in the rest. If your dream look or theme is a ton of candles rather than flowers then what it says on the spreadsheet in regards to flowers will probably be too much. You can then move that money to the decor portion to fit in the extra candles you will need. Basically, don't let a spreadsheet dictate your wedding! I always want my clients to stay on budget (it's one of the best ways to stay stress free) but play around with where the money will go until it suits you best.
For more planning advice, send me an email at sara@createweddingsandevents.com to set up your complimentary consultation.
Happy planning, everyone!
Sara
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