Planning your wedding day – first things first.

After you have had the chance to have that open, honest conversation about what is important for the both of you before planning your wedding and you have visualised what your perfect day looks like - it is time to “put first things first”.

Start with the essential decisions:

1. Where is the ideal place of your ceremony, venue for your reception?  Include here the ideal season, month, day, time and date you want to marry. 
2. What is your budget both your ideal budget and your absolute maximum as this will inform choices you will have to make and avoid incurring debt or causing increased stress.
3. Your guest list: Who will be invited including the ‘must have’, the ‘want to have’ and ‘it would be great if we can have’ people. You might also identify the ‘not necessary to invite’ people at this time too which is helpful in managing numbers attending.
4. Who do you want to perform your marriage ceremony? Is it a celebrant who can offer a contemporary ceremony, traditional ceremony, or a ceremony of your own design?  Or would you prefer a minister who can offer religious ceremony, whether modern or traditional.

These essentials are some of the biggest decisions you will need to make in planning your wedding. It is important to make these first as it will help in framing all the other important decisions needed over the planning period.

Often couples are surprised to find out the wedding venue they want is booked one or even two  years in advance - especially in the height of the wedding season (summer) and on Saturdays which is the most popular day requested.

Just today I phoned a highly sort after wedding venue, Gracehill Vineyard Estate, in Auckland to ask about availability.  For the 2015 summer wedding season they are almost fully booked with only one Saturday in March, one Saturday in April and about only four Fridays still available.

So “put first things first “and make those big decisions.