Right from the moment he (or she) popped the question, there is a never-ending cavalcade of things to do, details to plan, and a constant feeling of “have I forgotten something?” Your list of “things not to forget when wedding planning” may seem to constantly grow.
With an almost never-ending amount of things to have to remember while planning your perfect day, it can seem like this feeling never goes away. While you can draw up lists and plans and make sure that everything you have prepared is thoroughly in your control, there may be things that escape your thoughts, especially if you are blindsided by bigger issues at the time.
Here are some things that you may want to think about that can have a major impact leading up to your big day itself, and afterwards.
7 Things Not To Forget On Your Wedding Day:
1) Include The Helpers
In other words, your vendors, from the people in the band, your photographer and videographer, as well as your wedding planner. These people need to be taken into account during the big day, and while you may have thought purely in terms of feeding your guests, these people who have worked so tirelessly to make your day so special need feeding too! A lot of caterers will consider your vendor meals at a price concession (couldn’t hurt to ask), so while it is a little bit extra on your budget, you want them to be working at full capacity, so make sure they are fed!
2) A Guestbook
You may want to make a trip to a local bookstore for a type of book that is characteristic of where you’re getting married. But there are also plenty of great guest book suppliers. Pure Invitation provides various designs, depending on your individual style. Also, you don’t want to forget the pens! Having a guest book for your guests to give you their well wishes when they arrive at the reception adds a lovely little touch and gives you a fantastic memento of your perfect day.
3) The Seating
If you are not doing assigned seating, you’ll need to think about the fact that people don’t sit next to each other naturally. So make sure that you get an extra few chairs than the amount on your guest list. In addition to this, it’s beneficial to get an extra set of chairs for the ceremony as well as the reception.
If you are getting married in the same venue as you are having the reception, it may be practical to reuse the same set of chairs for the ceremony and the reception.
You’ll also need to think about providing canapés (also called hors d’oeuvres or appetizers) for your guests, as well as the room layout/flow so there isn’t going to be caterers and helpers coming through destroying the ambience.
4) Your Marriage License
It depends on where you are in the world, but you will need to take your marriage license with you to the venue. Be sure to check for deadlines in applying for this license, and if there are any special documents needed so that your application is completed.
Also, make sure you have somewhere safe to keep your documents. Make sure they are in a secure folder, in a place that is out of the way of any pets or children, because without this piece of paper, you will not be able to get married! There are plenty of folders you can purchase that are nice and secure, but there are ones you can purchase from places like Abbey Stationery that do the job just fine. This folder is also a great place for you to put all your other relevant documentation, such as your ID and your passport, so when you are ready to jet off on honeymoon, it is all in one secure place.
If you’ll need to renew your driver’s license or passport before heading off, try and do this at least 8 weeks before the wedding.
5) Get Someone To Corral People
It is always helpful to have someone who is able to wrangle people together for photos. Remember, the photographer doesn’t know who the important members of the family are, (and neither does your wedding planner), so it may be worth assigning a member of the family this duty so they can get the desired people quickly. That way, you are able to get through all of the photos you need, without the photographer running over time, and therefore you running over budget.
6) Check For Food Allergies
While you may love barbecue chicken sticky ribs, your gluten-free vegan guest may not take so kindly to it! So, it’s important to make a note early on in the proceedings of who has food allergies, intolerances, or are vegetarian or vegan. A handy little tip, if you can get a list to your caterer that states where these people are sitting, it is going to be a godsend for them, and makes your day that much smoother.
7) Thank You Notes
You are obviously grateful that people have come to spend your big day with you, but it’s a thoughtful little touch to send everybody a thank you note, especially for those that bought you gifts. Make sure these notes don’t go out any later than two months after your wedding day.
It can be overwhelming to write personalized and heartfelt thank you notes, especially if you have more than 200 guests in attendance, but be sure to allocate a little bit of time each day to writing these notes, maybe 30 minutes. And, not just your guests, be sure to thank your bridal party, your family, and your parents.
We can get so overwhelmed by the whole process that we will inevitably forget about something, but the important thing in this respect is to plan and to allow sufficient time to think about what you really want for your big day. Little details mean a lot in your wedding, and you want your guests to feel like they have been looked after, so take a few of these ideas into account, and use them in your planning to make their day, as well as yours, extra special.
* This is a contributed post
I hope you found this information on things not to forget when wedding planning useful!
Hearts, Joy, Love!
Jean
For planning help and unique ideas for your wedding contact me at [email protected] or at 937-235-2586 or 937-581-3647!
