Planning Your Wedding

So congratulations, you’re ready to start planning that very special day in your life that the memories will last a life time!

Not only can this be the most memorable day in your life, but possibly the most expensive one! Did you know that the average cost of a single wedding is around $27,000 for first time marriages? Average cost of second marriages runs around $12,000!! What does that tell you? Quite possibly that those second timers learned a lot the first time around!!

Regardless of what amount your wedding budget is going to be, the more you can get what you want for your dream wedding for less, the more you’ll have for other things like the honeymoon, or more importantly, purchasing your first home. Sure you can pay $2000 for your wedding gown, or if you’re a shrewd shopper and know where to look, you may be able to get it for $200!!

There’s tons of planning to do, which can be a real challenge! Now, you can go out and hire a wedding planner and probably pay some hefty dollars for their services so you don’t have to stress about every detail (I’ll bet you a dollar to a donut that you will anyway :D), or you can do your own planning. There’s tons of resources out there on the Internet from free checklists to in-depth videos. Of course, as you and I know, nothing is free! Most, if not all, of the free checklists sites will try and sell you a full blown version of the abbreviated one they will give you free.

There’s as much planning and precision that goes into planning a wedding as there is in planning a detailed military operation! What has to be done, when does it have to be done, who is responsible for doing it, who is checking to make sure things are getting done, where is it going to happen, who is going to be there, who is going to be where, what are the costs, what is left in the budgeted account, what is going to be “plan B” if some part falls in the crack, etc……..

Don’t despair – insure you have the best wedding planning tools or best wedding planner, and follow-up on things! If some one in your family or best friend, is experienced in planning and delivery time sensitive projects, ask them to be your quality control person. As I said above, if at all possible, have a Plan B just in case something beyond your control occurs! Say for example, you’re planning to have wedding outdoors, have a back-up location/plan in case in rains that day.

Of course, you’re going to be planning for your shower and reception after the wedding. Your shower will probably be the easiest and less worry for you as I’m sure your family/friends will be taking care of that – but make sure folks are aware of your overall plans/schedule so nothing conflicts! Your reception – again we have the who, what, when, where and how. If you’re on a tight budget, some if not all of the reception can be provided by family and friends. For example, your aunt Mary makes a super cake; your sister Sally loves doing arts and crafts for decorations; or, your cousin Bill is a volunteer fireman and can get the banquet hall at the fire station for a 50 percent discount. If you really want to save money, call “in any and all favors”!

In closing, if you’re on a tight budget or large budget, I’d like to wish you the happiest day of your life on that very special day!!!