Step #1: Dont Use A Dj For The Music
Ive about how a DJ is indeed VALUABLE and worth the money BUT not if youre trying to keep things simple!
If you dont plan on having a wedding that requires a lot of elements with coordinated music , then you dont really need a DJ.
You can simply create a playlist and plug in your device to some rented speakers, and youre good to go! Check out my article on wedding DJs for more details on this particular issue.
Daydream About Your Honeymoon
Here’s a bright spot in your wedding planning journey: It’s time to start thinking about your honeymoon! Where do you want to go? Do you want to depart right after your wedding, or would you rather give yourself time to unwind and soak up that just-married bliss before extending the celebration? Regardless of what you choose, we’re big proponents of taking a honeymoonyou deserve it after all this planning.
The Knot Editor Tip: “You’ll only be newlyweds once, making the honeymoon a trip to savor as you embark on marriage,” says Esther Lee, Senior Editor. “If you’re crunched for time, book a minimoon to an easily accessible destination after the wedding. This can be an extended weekend getaway with the eventual plan to enjoy a full latermoon at your dream, far-flung honeymoon destination. Plus, a trip for yourselves is the perfect way to decompress after the weddingespecially when it involves a luxury resort and a delicious Piña colada.”
To stay on top of travel deadlines, start looking into potential locations to see how they match up to your wedding timeline now. While you can definitely start planning this on your own, we also recommend using a honeymoon travel agent if you’d rather have someone else take on the majority of the planning for you.
Create A Wedding Website And Social Media Hashtags
Like everything else, weddings have gone digital. Online options and social media are great ways to keep guests up to date on the wedding details. It also helps out-of-town guests stay oriented and connected to the big day.
Today, there are scores of easy-to-build wedding website templates. The wedding website builder With Joy lets you track guest RSVPs, share pictures of the wedding , and offer transportation and hotel information for guests. Zola is another super popular option.
While youre in the process of creating your website, consider creating a wedding hashtag for social media shares, too! Its often a combination of your names, the year, and perhaps the location. A wedding hashtag generator makes it easy.
Pro tip: Plan out what content youll share on your wedding website and social media ahead of time. If you dont, youll run the risk of letting it sit untouched. Updates such as your finished wedding registry, engagement photos, and accommodations are all great things to share.
Read Also: Outdoor Wedding Venues In Michigan
To Hire Bartenders Or Not
This will depend on your event. Ive been to a backyard wedding where the bar was stocked with just wine and beer and it was self-serve. So guests just grabbed whatever they wanted out of ice-filled buckets. This has the advantage of being nice and easy, but youre still going to need to appoint someone to keep an eye on supplies and replenish as needed.
And know that there will be some guests who get a little crazy when they see a bar like this and who might go way beyond their limit! Something about needing to ask a bartender for a drink makes people somehow act a bit more appropriately .
Bartenders will obviously also be an extra cost. At another outdoor wedding we went to, there were a couple of bartenders hired to work earlier in the evening. They were very busy making 4-5 signature cocktails and then after that, they left. The bar stayed open as a self-serve of whatever was left and the party got crazy! This is a good option to contain the madness early in the night and then let the hardcore partiers go crazy later on.
So Why Get Married In Thailand
Well, for a start, Jaa is Thai. And I live in Thailand. So to get married in Thailand was always on the cards for us. And besides those obvious reasons, its also an amazing destination to get married in any way. Why? Its perhaps half the price than a wedding in Europe. More on that later. The weather is good, especially in Thai winter. The food is great and the atmosphere felt like it would be special.
So although we also considered getting married in Greece and Bali, we decided to proceed with Thailand. Although not a standard Thai beach wedding. Instead, our wedding would be in Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. In my opinion, the best place in the world!
Read Also: Can I Print Wedding Invitations At Staples
Know Your Ideal Clients Your Wedding Planning Business Will Serve
The #1 reason why businesses fail is they don’t know who their customers are. They don’t really, truly, and personally know their customers.
Their values.
Their problems.
However, this isn’t going to be you you’re here to learn how to start a wedding planning businessand a crucial step is knowing your ideal clients.
Instead, you’re going to create a business that fully understands who your ideal clients are so that you can solve their problems quicker, faster, and better than anyone else.
You have to get specific about who your ideal clients are and why they need you to solve their problems. Knowing more about what motivates them, what they value, what challenges they face, and yes, what problems they have means you can position yourself as the solution.
I want to make clear that knowing your ideal clients is more than knowing what kind of car they drive, what their favorite color is, and their age range. Moreover, those things are essential, but they only tell you part of the story.
Step #1: Limit Your Photography & Videography
This will be hard for some folks. But a wedding photographer and videographer that cost you a total of 3, 4, sometimes 5 thousand dollars just isnt going to cut it for a simple and inexpensive wedding.
So I suggest one of two options: Either you hire a photographer and/or videographer for just an hour or two of your big day, which should only run you a few hundred dollars depending on the quality and experience of the person you hire or you ask an amateur to capture your event, such as a friend or relative, which will either be very cheap or free .
Recommended Reading: Things To Do Before Wedding
Get The Necessary Training
For starters, if you dont have prior experience in wedding planning, you should take the time to learn the necessary skills of a wedding planner.
There are many platforms to help you out. Search for online courses or enroll in educational programs hosted by professionals in the field. Consider joining organizations that offer certifications, e.g. the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners.
Pro tip Look for internships to gain some experience in event coordination. Contact your local wedding planners and let them know you want to assist with upcoming events and bridal shows .
Since youll be running an event planning business, consider learning about marketing, finance management, customer service, and other relevant topics as well.
Consider joining networking events for wedding professionals and event planners to meet with other business owners and learn from them first-hand. This might require you to travel to big nearby cities , but if you plan ahead, you can save on travel costs.
Pick Your Wedding Party
Now that you’ve got your guest list, it’s time to choose the people who will stand beside you on your big dayyour wedding party. So go ahead and select your bridesmaids, groomsmen, groomsladies or bridesmen and ask them to take on this important role. Check out our favorite bridesmaid proposal ideas to get started.
Don’t Miss: Where To Buy Wedding Suits
Step : Open A Business Bank Account & Credit Card
Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.
When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.
Additionally, learning how to build business credit can help you get and other financing in your business’s name , better interest rates, higher lines of credit, and more.
Open a business bank account
Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:
- Makes accounting and tax filing easier.
Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.
Open net 30 accounts
Net 30 accounts are used to establish and build business credit as well as increase business cash flow. With a net 30 account, businesses buy goods and repay the full balance within a 30-day term.
NetMany net 30 credit vendors report to the major business credit bureaus . This is how businesses build business credit so they can qualify for credit cards and other lines of credit.
Recommended: Read our best net 30 vendors, guide and start building business credit.
Get a business credit card
Getting a business credit card helps you:
- Build your company’s credit history, which can be useful to raise money later on.
Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from Divvy and build your business credit quickly.
Considerations For A Wedding Planning Business Plan
Like any other business, your wedding planning business is going to require a business plan. But, youll need to write it in light of particular factors unique to the wedding industry.
Firstly, consider the fact that the majority of your work will be seasonal. Summer is the most popular time of year to get married, whereas significantly fewer couples choose to tie the knot in winter.
Youll need to consider the fact that you wont be relying on repeat business hopefully! But that said, second and even third marriages are becoming more commonplace, but generally not for many years down the line: so you will have to write your business plan knowing that youll be scouring for new clients constantly.
As a result, word-of-mouth recommendations are going to be particularly important for your business, so it could be worth considering devising a referral programme of some sort to bring in new clients.
Youll also need to consider whether or not youll be charging an hourly rate or a fixed fee. Some wedding planners charge a percentage cost of the overall wedding at 10 or 20%.
Finally, work out a few packages to offer your clients. Some will want a full wedding planning service , whereas others will require assistance for day-of coordination .
Don’t Miss: Cheap Wedding Ring For Men
Plan Your Favors & Welcome Bags
If you’re going to surprise your guests with special gifts like wedding favors or welcome bags, we recommend purchasing them now. While these extra add-ons aren’t necessary, they are a nice touch if they fit in your budget. All of your gifts should be packed and ready to go about two months before the date. “Favors are a nice touch, but they are an added expense,” says wedding planner Alyssa Pettinato, founder of Alinato Events. “I tell my couples to put them on the end of their budgeting list and explore it if leftover funds allow. Plan to purchase them roughly two months out to give time for shipping.”
For Including Guests Who Couldn’t Make It: Webwed
WebWed
If you didn’t stream your wedding online, did it really happen? For those of your loved ones who can’t make the ceremony, consider a cross-platform mobile app like WebWed to provide guests with a 360-degree view of your big day from the convenience of their mobile device. In fact, WebWed promises to handle the entire wedding processfrom obtaining the marriage license and scheduling a wedding officiant to posting a video of your ceremony through its app or website. You can even send out invites to all your guests. Once the wedding video is finished, it’s archived for 30 days for download.
Read Also: How To Sell Used Wedding Rings
Confirm Wedding Details With Vendors
In all likelihood, youve been in close contact with all of your wedding vendors in the days and weeks leading up to your big day. Make sure that youve tied up any loose ends and all of your vendors have all the information they need . Wedding planners are super-helpful in this regard, and will assist you in making sure your vendors know where and when to be present for your wedding ceremony and reception.
For Tracking Your Wedding Budget: Mint
mint.com
While not explicitly made with weddings in mind, Mint is a popular free money management site for a reason: It’s easy to use, syncing with your bank account and credit cards so you can monitor your spending and move funds around as needed. Create a wedding budget and stay on track, thanks to weekly email summaries and text reminders when payments are due.
Recommended Reading: Zola Vs The Knot Wedding Website
For Finding Hidden Gems: Facebook Recommendations
Facebook Recommendations
Yes, Facebook has been around for what seems like forever, but now, with its new Recommendations tool, guests can tap their network of friends to find cool stuff to do in your wedding location. When you write a Facebook post looking for advice on local places or services, you’ll have the option to turn on “Recommendations.” Your friends can comment with suggestions, and you’ll see all of them mapped out for easy access and saved in one place. Best of all, you’re getting recommendations you trust. For example, if you’re looking for things to do while in Napasimply ask your friends! It’s likely your friends will recommend places like the Model Bakery for the best English muffins or the Carneros Resort for a place to stay.
Is Wedding Planning Hard
Were not going to liedifferent aspects of planning a wedding can be hard for different people. Maybe you love decor but find creating a guest list nearly impossible. Or perhaps you love charts and numbers but find Pinterest completely bewildering. Fortunately, once youve hired your vendors, youll have a team of people to assist youand you can also delegate tasks to your partner, family members, or friends. If youre feeling completely overwhelmed and finding all of wedding planning too much, it may be time to hire a wedding planner, if you havent already.
Recommended Reading: What Is The Best Wedding Dress For Short Brides
Our Wedding Day Schedule
The schedule of the day was simple. Our wedding planner helped but its pretty standard to be honest, and looking back, it worked pretty well:
- Before 3pm: We had our closest friends and family staying at the various villas at the venue from the night before. So we had all morning together. It was fun. We did a work-out to help calm the nerves, group breakfast, couple of glasses of champagne to get warmed up, and began to get ready. The girls in one section of the big house, and the boys in the other.
- 3pm-4pm: People begin to arrive, drinks, snacks etc are handed to everyone to mingle.
- 4pm-5pm: People are seated, the actual wedding ceremony + photos
- 6pm-8pm: Dinner + speeches
- 8pm to 11pm: First dance, DJ, drinks, dinner, late night drinks for the ruffians.
Set The Tone Of Your Event
This is the time to decide if you’re having a formal wedding, a casual affair, or a theme wedding. It’s also the time to decide if you’re having a religious or secular ceremony. In short, you need to decide what you want your wedding to feel like. A good way to begin is to sit down with your partner and do some free writing about your ideal wedding. Look at the adjectives that each of you wrote and use those as a starting point. A wedding planning questionnaire can help you get started.
You May Like: When To Send Invitations For Wedding
Pretty Jane Planners The Complete Wedding Planner For Brides To Be: A Rustic Organizer Budget Planning And Checklist Notebook
Amazon
Sure, your planner doesnt have to match the theme of your wedding, but why not go for one that does? If youre into the idea of doing a rustic vibe for your special day, this planner will be a perfect fit. The cover is designed with beautiful wood and lace, and inside, there are sections for planning seating charts, menus, guest lists, and so on. Unlike other options, this book only comes in paperback and measures 8 x 11 inches, so it’s not the most travel-friendly option. However, we love that it can act as a keepsake item for years afterward.
Price at time of publish: $9
Create Your Budget Beforehand
This ones pretty obvious and VERY important. Your wedding budget will determine almost every other aspect of our big day, so getting this sorted early on is important. Create a budget sheet beforehand and decide how much you are willing to spend on each item. It is a good idea to budget in a little bit extra because there might be some costs you dont think of when you get started.
Creating a budget might not be so easy, because you dont always know what the average cost of everything will be! If you havent planned events before, it stands to reason that you wouldnt know the price of things like décor hire and flowers. If you need a guideline, check out our blog filled with amazing tips and advice. We have teamed up with SAs top wedding planners to create an awesome budget guideline based on the average cost of all the different elements of a wedding in South Africa. This should give you a good idea of how much to set aside for things like photographers, flowers, etc.
- How to budget for your wedding with R50 000
- Budgeting for your wedding with R100 000
- How to budget for your wedding with R350 000
- 9 Helpful Wedding Budget Tips with Trunk Events
GET QUOTES!
And check out our blog on who pays for what, for a guideline on wedding traditions and what you can expect family to contribute towards.
Read Also: How Much To Insure A Wedding Ring
