Your wedding day will probably be one of the biggest events in your life. It is when you make a commitment to love someone for the rest of your life. Doesn’t that day deserve to be perfect? In order for your wedding day to be perfect, it takes a lot of planning. Luckily for you, we have your starting checklist right here!
1. Your budget
Establishing your wedding budget is a must! You can’t expect to pay as you go along your checklist (unless you have infinite money). Therefore, it is best to establish a basic outline for your budget. You want to consider your top wedding priorities:
- What features you can afford to spend a little more on
- What you can save on
- How many guests you can afford to invite
Keep in mind that you are not completely bound to your budget, but consider how going over your limit could hurt your other expenses. Once you have an idea of how much you want to spend on your wedding, you can move on to the next steps.
2. Your guest list
The guest list is the most important item in this checklist! All other aspects of your wedding will center around how many people are going to your wedding.Imagine inviting over 150 people to a venue that has a fire code limit of 90! However, you won’t usually have a final guest count until about a couple of days before your big day. So, to get a good idea of how many guests will arrive for your wedding consider the following.
If you’re inviting less than 50 guests: expect about 90% attendance
If you’re inviting more than 75 guests: expect about 70 % attendance
This is usually the case for most weddings since once it goes above 50 you’re more than likely inviting “good’ friends. However, you should always plan for the scenario where 90% of your invited guests arrive. Therefore, you should pick a venue that can hold everyone you invite.
3. Your wedding venue
Once you have your guest list complete, you can begin searching for venues based on potential attendance. A venue is more than just where you hold your wedding reception, it is also where the remainder of the celebration will be held. So, your venue has to have the right location.
4. Location
When picking the location of your venue, take in consideration its distance; especially if your wedding ceremony is being held in a different location. It doesn’t make sense to have a wedding venue outside the city limit if you know most of your guest won’t be able to make it.
5. The Music
What do you remember most about the last time you were at a Wedding? Was it the food? Was it the decorations? More than likely, it was the DJ and the music that was playing. Because popular DJ’s get booked up to a year in advance, it’s important to find a dependable and perfect DJ that you love early in your wedding planning endeavors.
It is very important to keep in mind that you don’t have to completely love your venue. If there are just some features you don’t like, such as the view or landscaping, you can easily overlook them. The only features that matter when picking venue are if it can accommodate all your guests, their catering, musical features, and its aesthetic.