Many brides-to-be will have a moment of panic approximately three to six months before the Big Day. Prior to this point, she will have been floating on a cloud of tulle, dreaming of puffy wedding dresses and teensy vol-au-vents, of jazz bands and cute wedding favours. Fantastical ideas for wedding entries, such as being paraded down a river on a flowery barge like a medieval queen, will be bandied about with gay abandon at family get-togethers. Life, in general, is a dreamy peach.
Suddenly, the delicate bridal veil is lifted. Where once there were only the faint strains of Pachelbel’s Canon in D, now there is the distant rumble of invoices for the venue and caterers being pushed through the letterbox. The calendar is consulted and reality hits. The wedding is not so far away after all, and there’s a heck of a lot of work to do to make the dream a reality.
To add insult to injury, there’s a chance that at around this time, the bride-to-be will bump into an old friend who is simultaneously planning their wedding. Said friend will beam with an ethereal smile, twiddling their engagement ring and laughing softly as our bride complains of endless to-do lists and sleepless nights. She, on the other hand, has everything in hand. With just a hint of smugness, this Organized Bride will explain that she sorted everything out as soon as she got engaged.
‘Is it really possible to be this organized?’ I hear a thousand nervous brides cry. Yes, it is. If you are just starting out on your wedding journey, then read on for some simple tips on how to keep everything under control and stress-free wedding.
- Book the big things early: This includes the venue, band, caterer, florist, photographer and videographer. Use an online Wedding Fayre, which showcases providers of all of these services, to find reliable suppliers for everything you need for your wedding.
- Keep tabs on your finances: Make sure you know how much you have spent and how much you have left, in order to avoid any last minute panics.
- Have a rough idea of the little details: Things like invitations and transport can’t really be finalized until closer to the time, but you can have an idea of which suppliers you want to use.
- Make a spreadsheet: This helps you to see what has been done and what remains. It also allows you to create deadlines and you can use the spreadsheet to liaise with your fiancé.
- Have a contingency plan: We can guarantee that one thing will go wrong, so have a back-up plan in mind to avert disaster!
By following these tips, you should have everything in place for your wedding. If you want to be cool, calm and relaxed at your wedding, then you need to put in the legwork early on. Trust me, doing so is worth it, when everything goes smoothly on the day itself and you can truly enjoy what you have achieved!