When you get engaged, you will probably want to start the wedding planning process right away. Most brides do not realize how stressful and overwhelming planning a wedding can be, though! It is shocking how much needs to be covered in wedding planning, but not everything needs to be done right away and an experienced wedding planner can be a huge help.
Your wedding should be fun, not stressful! – Image courtesy of The Crystal Lenz
Brides may not initially realize that there are things in the wedding planning process that do not have to be thought about right away; those final wedding planning steps can be dealt with from around one month to a week or two before your wedding date.
Knowing that some tasks can be put on the back burner can really serve well in taking some stress off a busy bride’s beautiful shoulders.
- Marriage License About a month, or slightly earlier than a month, before the wedding the bride and groom should look into getting the paperwork completed to obtain a marriage license and certificate. The laws on what needs to be done to get those documents vary from state-to-state, so make sure that you check what your home state requires. For tips on getting a marriage license in Maryland, take a look at our post on that here!
- Wedding Announcement A great way to let everyone know about your upcoming wedding without having to invite the whole town is through a wedding announcement in the local newspaper. Most couples will arrange for a wedding announcement about a month prior to their wedding, but as this is optional, no specific time frame is crucial.
Image courtesy of Sowalsky.com
- Final Confirmations with Vendors:
A little less than a month before the wedding date, the couple should consult with their vendors to make sure the final plans are correct. The wedding venue should have the master wedding plan, at Morningside Inn a personal wedding planner is assigned to each bride. Having a personal wedding planner takes the guess work and stress out of wedding planning. Create a “must-play” song list for the DJ and choose your first dance song. Let the photographer know about any specific pictures you’d like. Arrange fittings and pick-up dates for the bridal gown, bridesmaids dresses and tuxedos. Confirm appointment times with hairstylists and makeup artists. Nail down times, locations and directions for transportation services.At Morningside Inn, your event planner will be in touch to go through the final wedding planning steps involving the venue. A great thing about Morningside Inn is that couples are allowed to give their final head count for guests as close as 2 weeks to the wedding date. This gives the couple a little more time to hear back from late responders.A plus side to booking with one or more of Morningside Inn’s preferred vendors is that they are extremely familiar with the venue and the time schedules for working at a Morningside Inn wedding. With a preferred vendor, you will never have to worry about one of them showing up late or getting lost. - Reception Plans/Decor: place cards and seating arrangements are recommended to be done about 3 weeks to a month before the wedding. Naturally, these tasks would have to wait in order to give guests time to respond.A word of caution, though: give yourself plenty of time to work out seating arrangements. Couples need to keep in mind who is sitting with whom at the wedding to give everyone as enjoyable an experience as possible.Also make sure to consider the amount of people that can comfortably fit at one table. Do not be afraid to break up large families or friends if it means you will have crowded tables.Another wedding planning aspect to keep in mind is allowing time for name cards to be printed. You never know what might happen, so make sure that, if you are getting name cards printed, you contact the company to ask about how much time to allow.
Image courtesy of The Crystal Lenz
- Day-Of Bag Preparing a small care bag is a small step that could end up making a big difference in a bride’s big day. Some recommended items include painkillers, lotion, mints or gum, safety pins and a mini sewing kit (accidents do happen), stain remover, extra makeup, and a spare set of pantyhose. These things will help to give some home comforts when a bride is wrapped up in the wedding planning process.
Image courtesy of Swatchbox Weddings
