Weddings are fun, but anyone who has ever planned a wedding might be happy to tell you about the horror stories of everything that went wrong. Unfortunately, this happens all too often no matter how well you plan or how experienced your resources might be. Planning the wedding doesn’t have to be like that, though.
Of course, trying to cram plans into a tiny timeframe just doesn’t work well. Arranging a reception for 200 people in two weeks is all but impossible if you expect all the bells and whistles to be perfectly in place. One of the most important factors, therefore, in planning any wedding is to make sure the timeframe matches the type of wedding.
Any formal affair that entails hundreds of guests, designer gowns, destination travel plans, a celebrity style caterer, and additional custom touches, will take at least a year of virtual full time planning. For a smaller wedding of perhaps ‘family and friends’ ‘ under 50 people ‘ you’re still looking at two months, although a month (with lots of help) might be reasonable.
No one can make all the necessary wedding plans all alone. You need help. You need to have at least a few people to rely on. Delegate! If you’re into micromanaging everything, technology can help. Smart phones can show you pictures of flowers, videos of churches and halls, and even photos of wedding cakes. Let someone else do the legwork and you can still make the final decision.
For invitations, save time and money by doing your own. These aren’t cheap home made reproductions; these are beautiful high end pieces. Kits can be found online and in local stores. Do yourself a favor and forget those little RSVP cards that no one uses anyway. Give people an email address they can respond to. What may have raised eyebrows a few years ago is considered industry standard and acceptable today. The same goes for wedding photos. Hire a professional wedding photographer to fulfill your needs.
Even if you don’t have an artistic bone in your body, you can still print your own invitations. Specialty kits that include everything from paper stock to envelopes to ribbons and more can be ordered online or found in office supply stores. To save even more time, add an email address instead of having people mail those pesky little RSVP cards back. What was gauche even 10 years ago is now considered de rigueur. The same goes for wedding photos. Hire a professional wedding photographer to fulfill your needs.
Formal sit down dinners are cumbersome, error prone, and rarely appreciated. With photos, dancing, talking, and catching up with family and friends, many dinners remain untouched. Opt for something just as elegant but easier on the budget and probably more enjoyable. Wine and cheese receptions are quite popular, as are desserts only with a coffee bar set up instead of a full bar.
Don’t forget to check on your transportation a few days ahead. Whether you are using limos or depending on friends, double check addresses, times, routes and even talk about parking availability in larger cities for friends driving in.
Finally, ask everyone to send gifts rather than bringing them to the reception. This way you won’t need to rely on people to gather them and cart them to your home later on.
Professional wedding planners strive to make all weddings momentous and unforgettable. Their extensive services include hiring a Toronto wedding photographer, booking the banquet hall Toronto, and ordering the Toronto wedding cakes. Let your wedding mark the start of a long and blissful married life!
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