Planning a Wedding - Start with a budget.

It takes a lot of work to plan an event as big as a wedding, but if you take the time to organize and come up with a game plan and reasonable budget before the planning begins, you can save yourself ridiculous amounts of stress, time, and a possible headache on the day of the wedding. It takes months to plan, organize, purchase, and book everything you need for a wedding so start your planning with a timeline and checklist. Also, create a wedding file. This will hold your receipts, contracts, vendor brochures, and any other wedding related material. With the timeline and the file you will be far more likely to plan a flawless wedding.

The first steps to take in planning your wedding are to come up with a budget and decide on a wedding style. The written budget will keep you from spending more than you can, and knowing the wedding style will make a lot of your future decisions easier. After organizing and budgeting you'll need to book a reception site. If at all possible, do this at least twelve months in advance. This will give you time to visit a few locations and really give the decision some thought.

The Triangle is home to many great venues from The Cotton Room in Durham, an awesome open space to create whatever you can envision your day to include. To Sisters Garden in Raleigh which capitalizes on the Southern Plantation style with all the up to date details that ensure gracious hospitality to spaces such as The Angus Barn Steakhouse which incorporates such great rustic history with flawless service. Reception sites often book months in advance so by giving yourself a year you're increasing your chances of getting the center you want. You'll also want to decide where you're having the ceremony and book that location or put down a deposit to reserve it for your wedding. Eight to ten months before your wedding, choose your wedding party, start looking into caterers, photographers, and a band or DJ (if you're going to have live music), begin making up a guest list, and start shopping for your wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses. You'll need plenty of time to meet with caterers, photographers, and wedding bands so the sooner you start the better.

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Your attire and your photographer are a couple of the most important decisions you'll make for your wedding. Your gown and his tuxedos set the stage for the formality of the event, the style of the event and a great insight into who you are as a couple. Your photographer knows the lighting required, will create fun, interesting and innovative styles to capture you and will make your day an effortless, easily documented event of a lifetime. After you’ve booked your photographer, he can help you decide when to do engagement photos and bridal shots. The eight to ten month mark is the time to look at bands and caterers because, like photographers, they are often booked in advance and, in the case of the caterer, once you've decided who you are going with you'll have a lot more decisions to make.

Shopping for your wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses should be a fun outing for you and a trusted friend. If you look through some magazines in advance feel free to tear out styles you are most interested in or print out favorites online. Photos can relay details you like much more accurately than sweeping hand motions. Some women plan out their weddings long in advance of finding the perfect soul mate. Others fall in love and consider a wedding “the next logical step”. Either way, consider your gown purchase as a part of your overall wedding budget & be realistic about how much you are willing to spend. Most gown websites do not list prices on their site, feel free to call & inquire. Regardless if you consider yourself to be a “shopper” or not, your gown is one of the most fun things to pick out and you will know when you found the “one” whether that be at your first stop or your fourth.

Most wedding gowns are ordered specifically for you, your size, your height, in your requested color and can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 4 months to be made. You also have the opportunity to purchase gowns directly from the store rack and if you like the style, color and size you can take it home that day. After you've found the dress, you'll need to get fittings and alterations done. If your plan is to have wedding portraits done be sure to allow sufficient time to have your alterations completed by your scheduled portrait date. Bridesmaids gowns often reflect the style of your girls’ tastes in your choice of color. Feel free to let them choose a style or ask if they would like to provide suggestions or ideas.

Five to seven months before your wedding you'll need to finalize your guest list, start looking at different florists, find a baker to make your wedding cake, or cupcake cake and begin looking at and deciding on invitation designs. The best florists and bakers are extremely busy so the sooner you book with them, the better. Once you've decided on a florist you'll need to meet with them to decide on the flowers you'll use and the styles you want. A good florist can help you make these decisions. They can also help you decide what flower creations you'll need such as a bouquet, corsages, boutonnieres, centerpieces, etc. You shouldn't have to meet with your baker more than once or twice. Once you decide who is going to make your cake, you simply have to decide on the flavors, the style of the cake and advise delivery date, location & time.

Three to four months before your wedding, do the research and find out what your state requires for you to obtain a marriage license. You may need to book an appointment with a judge or public official to marry you. Some states require that blood tests be done. If your state requires this, get them done now. If you haven't already booked a suite for your wedding night, do that during these months as well. During the third and fourth months you'll also need to decide on and rent or purchase the tuxedos for the male members of the wedding party, finalize your food decisions with the caterer, arrange for the rental of any items you need for the wedding (decorations, backdrops, crystal, china, etc.), and, if you're going to and from the wedding in a limousine, you'll need to rent that as well.

Two months before the wedding, mail out your invitations and set up your gift registries. Choose the music you'll have at your wedding and give the information to your DJ. You'll also want to confirm your order with your florist, set up a final gown fitting for you and your bridesmaids, if they need it, and contact the formal wear shop to confirm the tuxedo rentals and fittings. Any pre-wedding celebrations you are going to have, such as bridesmaid’s luncheons and rehearsal dinners, should be planned now, including any reservations necessary for the events.

One month before the wedding attend a final gown fitting. If there are any adjustments that need to be made, they need to be done now. Find a hair stylist and makeup artist and decide on the hair style that you want for your wedding. Buy all of your wedding accessories such as shoes, jewelry, or hair clips. If you haven't done your bridal shots with your photographer, do them this month; you'll want the photos to display at your wedding. Last but not least, finalize all of your decisions with those vendors you have hired to help with your wedding and apply for a marriage license.

Two weeks before the wedding pick up your marriage license, and give your caterer a final headcount. If you need to contact invited guests that haven't responded yet, do so before giving the list to your caterer. Confirm your music selection with your DJ, confirm any rentals, and confirm the delivery times of your flowers and cake, as well as the arrival time of your photographer. A week before the wedding pick up your formal wear and confirm the information for your rehearsal dinner, parking arrangements, and seating arrangements for the reception. This week get everything you need to have ready for your honeymoon taken care of.

After a year of planning, everything is ready and in place for your wedding. You've booked the vendors, established confirmation times, invited your guests, and have all of the decorations in place. Your job on the day of your wedding is to relax, get a manicure, spend some time with the girls, and get yourself ready. Don't stress anything. This is your day to have fun and celebrate the upcoming changes in your life. After all the work you've put done for the wedding, you deserve it.