Trouble

Congrats and welcome!

Both WW and the Knot have planning tools (we even have a tab, above, labeled just that). These include checklists, budgeters, cost estimates for your region, and search tools for vendors!

Personally, I used the checklist on the Knot, the forums here, cross-referenced my searches on both and Google, created a spreadsheet, and kept a physical book for papers and notes.

Your biggest challenges are guest list and budget.

And *don't do this alone*. It takes TWO to be in a marriage, so it takes TWO to plan!

I absolutely agree that budget and guest list are the hardest. I like Wedding Wire But it wasn’t a perfect fit for my DIY wedding. I’m using it a little bit also got myself a planning binder from Banes & Noble. I like being able to manipulate it.
Make sure you and the SO communicate a lot during the process and stay on the same page about what’s important to the two of you! Starting with the budget since that needs to drive just about everything else.

I have done wedding planning kind of different. I didn't start with setting a budget, but I absolutely should have. I went straight into booking vendors. I had a specific date I wanted, so I toured the venues I liked and the first one that had my date available, I grabbed! I should have done way more research on the venue and read more fine prints in the contract to see what I was getting into before booking - so I would definitely take your time and really read your contracts!

The very first thing I wanted to do was set our date and venue so we could start booking other vendors. One thing I've found is that a lot of brides are having to postpone, so vendors and venues have gotten booked quick! My venue didn't have a single Saturday available this year!

I knocked out the big details first thing, and then tried to have fun planning the smaller things!

Congrats, and welcome to WW!!

I'd suggest starting off by figuring out what your budget is, and a rough draft of your guest list. That way you have a number to look at when talking to vendors about guest count, and budget.

WW is great for the forums, but I wouldn't suggest it for anything else really. The Knot and Zola are great sites to use for searching for vendors, they have great wedding planners and budget checklists, and if you're wanting to make a wedding website, I highly suggest one of the two!

Having an actual wedding planner or folder to keep vendor information in is also very useful for when you're on the go and when you meet your coordinator/planner. I would also suggest creating an excel spreadsheet for your budget! You can list all of your vendors, how much you owe them, how much you've paid, your total budget, and can calculate your total so far.

Like others mentioned above, keep your SO in the loop! This is a team effort, and you both need to equally be involved with planning.

Have fun!

I agree to start with two things: budget and guest list.


For budget:

- Decide how much you are willing to pay.

- Find out how much your fiancé is willing to contribute.

- Schedule calls with your parents, in-laws, and anyone else who may want to contribute financially (grandparents or whoever). Find out how much each of them is willing to help out. Of course they are not obligated to, but getting this info is important.

For guest list:

- Sit down with your fiancé and make a list of all the people you really want at your wedding: friends, relatives, whoever.

- Add on all those people's significant others if they're in a relationship. That means married, engaged, living together, together for years, etc. Anyone who's exclusive. If you don't know if they're in a relationship, look at their social media and check the tags to find out their SO's name.

- Decide if you want kids there, and whose kids? Some people decide their nieces and nephews can come (especially if they're your flower girl/ring bearer) but no other kids.

- Leave off your co-workers for now, unless you're BFFs outside of work.

- If your parents are helping pay, ask them if there are any people they'd like to invite. This should be proportional to how much they're paying; if they only want to contribute $100 they don't get to invite 50 people.

Once you've done these steps, you know how big of a venue you need. You can use The Knot or other planning tools that people mentioned above to put all this info in there.
Hope this helps!

Start with setting a budget and coming up with a rough guest list. Next, start researching and touring venues. Once you book your venue, you will have your official wedding date and be able to start booking other vendors. Photographers and videographers, as well as caterers, tend to book up pretty quick. So I would book those sooner than later once you get your venue.

There are several vendor options on WW and The Knot under the vendor tab that can help you. There is also a wedding checklist on both sites that can help you stay on track and organized. Happy planning.

Start with budget, guest list, and general wedding vision. Some things can be decided without a budget such as wedding colors/theme, season/date, bridal party, etc. Figuring out who will be there to help with decissions/planning and who you want to surround yourself with on the day is a good metric for figuring out your bridal party. Getting a list of vendors to reach out to is also a good step to take early on. Hold off on reaching out to them until you know timing and budget so you can give them accurate and specific information for them to work with. I started with those since I was waiting out the pandemic before setting a firm date.


If you do best with pen and paper planning then embrace it! Get a book or a binder to work with. If not, WW's planning checklist and the Knot are also good starting points. My Pinterest board has also helped me amass tips, tricks, do's & don'ts, and other advice I want to remember all in one place as well as assembling a complete and specific wedding vision.

Congrats!!!
Just like what some of the girls said, utilize this website, The Knot, and other wedding websites to familiarize yourself on what goes into a wedding. You can then cater around it on what you do and don't want. When you know what type of wedding you do want you then you can start budgeting. So, sure to work out your expenses in each category (catering, venue, photography, etc.). Make sure to also discuss this with your FH! Communication is VERY important. Do not assume! Good luck hun! The forums on wedding wire helps me so much in planning my own wedding as well.

Congrats! Like so many other's have said, budget and guest list!

Start with the budget, how much can you and your FH afford without going into debt? How realistically can you make up for any shortages in your budget without asking for help from parents/family? Don't count on the money that family offers until it is in your hands/control. Otherwise it's not guaranteed, and if you can afford it on your own and don't have to compromise on what you want all the better.

Build your guest list from the ground up. Start with you and your spouse. The family you cannot have your day without, your friends you can't imagine not having, and then your obligatory family/friends that you feel like you should invite.

Your average cost per person will vary widely by the region you're getting married in.

Once you've done the above the first vendor you should really look for is your venue, all other vendors will want to know where you're getting married at, and a venue may have restrictions on who they'll work with.

Sit down with fiance and go over your budget, priorities, guest list in that order.

For budget, decide how much you are willing and able to spend without loans or gifts from parents. When you get financial help from others, there are strings attached.

For priorities, decide which aspects to focus on and which to cut. Think about weddings you have attended. What did you remember? Most guests remember the food, whether they had to pay to drink, and if the dj was good. Couples tend to focus on good photos because that's all you have beyond memories. Stuff like favors/programs/welcome bags, etc no one keeps and they get expensive.

For the guest list, start with those you cannot imagine the day without who are your closest bestest friends/family. Scratch off the obligatory invites (relatives you have no relationship with, friends you haven't seen since 10th grade). Keep in mind that significant others are mandatory invites but plus one strangers for unattached singles are unnecessary since they know guests at your wedding and be able to enjoy themselves.

Armed with your budget and guest list, you look for a venue. Go on eventective.com in your area. Blank slate venues that allow you to bring your own catering (including the local parks dept) will be best for a budget because they don't have the hidden 5 figure food/drink minimums you must meet. Most have tables and chairs available.

Never book a caterer without a tasting first, which is another huge red flag of all inclusive venues.