Know your Wedding Style
When you begin your wedding planning it can be helpful to establish exactly what style of wedding you want. This doesn’t just mean choosing between informal or formal, traditional or contemporary, but more about knowing what details you want and what is important to you.
Here is some advice and tips to help you plan the wedding of your dreams:
First things first…
 Set your budget and make sure it is realistic
 Meet with several vendors and suppliers and ask to see examples of their work
 Get detailed quotes before making any decisions
 Ensure your contracts with suppliers and vendors are detailed and specific
 Be prepared to pay a 50% deposit when making a booking
 Find suppliers and vendors who are local
 Make sure you call all suppliers and vendors to confirm final details around two weeks before the wedding day.
Venue Checklist
 Is it free on your chosen wedding date?
 Is it big enough to accommodate all your guests?
 How far away is it from your ceremony venue?
 Can you afford it?
 What is included in the package (catering, drinks etc)?
 Will there be any other weddings taking place on the same day?
 Can you negotiate a discount?
Cake
 Traditional wedding cake suit a formal and traditional wedding best
 Cupcakes and mini cakes suit informal weddings
 Fruit cake is not to everyone’s taste so try to have different flavors on each tier
 Consider serving your cake as dessert to save money on catering
Flowers
 Make sure your flowers reflect your wedding theme and colors
 Always take your florists advice
 Make sure you delegate someone to collect the flowers on the morning of the wedding if your florist doesn’t deliver
 Make sure you ascertain who will set up the flowers at each venue – will your florist do it or will you have to collect them and set them up yourself?
Catering
 Find out if your caterer can offer mix and match menus for greater flexibility in designing your wedding breakfast
 Find out what your catering service provides such as crockery, cutlery etc
 Will your caterers supply drinks packages as well or will it be cheaper to source your drinks elsewhere?
Entertainment
 The entertainment you choose will set the tone for your whole wedding day so give it careful consideration
 Make sure your choice of music is appropriate to the occasion
 Live music can include bands, DJ’s, singers and string quartets
 Consider using a sound system with CD’s or MP3 to save money or for a small informal wedding
Photography
 Make sure you see examples of your photographers work before making a final booking
 Familiarize yourself with the various styles of photography available such as reportage or traditional.
 Give your photographer a detailed list of shots you want taken on the day
 Remember that the fee they charge will depend on how long you hire them for on the day along with the number of photographs you want and any other extras such as albums, CD-Rom’s.
 The photographer will usually retain the copyrights to your photographs so you will need to pay for extra prints and reprints.
