Wedding plans and your relationship
Everybody knows that your wedding is supposed to be one of the most important and special days of your life. Its supposed to be the ultimate celebration of love and mark the beginning of a long and happy future. What no one tells you is that planning any kind of wedding, let alone the perfect one, takes a lot of hard work and can, if youre not careful, take a toll on your relationship.

Before setting out on the wedding path, its a good idea to invest in a few matrimonial magazines and books. These will give you a clear understanding of everything that is required, and should, if you have any sense at all, scare the hell out of you.

When you see all that lies before you, its natural to feel daunted, but hopefully somewhere in your pile of resources youll find a planning guide. Its there to help you, so use it. A good guide will help plot the steps that you need to take, from the very first to the very last. If its very good, itll also help you with your budget, showing you which aspects need the largest financial allocations, and which aspects you can skimp on.

After picking a date, common consensus is that finding and booking your venue should be your first concern. In fact, its recommended that you have a preferred date and a back up date, just in case your dream venue has already been taken. There are a lot of things that will determine your choice of venue, not least of which is cost. Your location will take up the largest portion of your budget, but shouldnt exceed 35-40% of the total cost.

You may dream of getting married next to the ocean, or surrounded by mountains, and the problem is, so do countless others. Booking your venue early is essential, as some places are fully booked up to a year in advance. This is especially true for summer weddings. Scout as many destinations as possible and come armed with a host of questions. You will need to find out if your venue covers things like cutlery and linen, and what their rules are regarding decor. How many people can the venue hold? What is its capacity? Is it too big or small for your guest list? You dont want to have to cull granny just so that you can get married in a vineyard, do you? Do you?

Your menu is also important. Does the venue have in-house caterers or will you have to hire someone else? Do they offer set menus or can you adapt them to suit your needs? This is of particular importance to vegetarians, who may not want any meat or animal products on the menu at all.

Be prepared to spend hours driving from venue to venue, being disappointed and exhilarated by turns. Be especially prepared to get lost. Most wedding venue brochures and websites provide directions, but these can be inaccurate and misleading. Bickering about who was responsible for taking the wrong turn, or missing the right one, can really put a damper on the day and ruin the venue hunting experience.

Guest lists are another minefield to be negotiated. You might want a small cosy wedding while your partner may want to invite every single casual acquaintance, including his or her favourite primary school teacher. Ideally you only want to surround yourself with the people you love, but guest lists usually end up including some people youre not that fond of, that classless uncle, for instance, or your cousins alcoholic boyfriend. Accept it, and hope that your partner is as understanding of your black sheep, as you are of his or hers. Remember also that the more people you invite, the more your wedding will cost and the further your budget will have to spread.

Planning your wedding can be daunting indeed, but it shouldnt be unpleasant. Many grooms-in-waiting leave all of the planning to their prospective brides, and that may be just the way she wants it. But the process can be greatly enhanced if both parties contribute. On the other hand, marked apathy, coupled with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, will be a constant source of friction and your relationship could suffer for it. If youre serious about spending your lives together, however, youll be able to weather the storm. Your wedding will serve to mark your happiness together, not herald its start.

Recommended sites:

http://www.celebration.co.za/wedding-articles/articles/32/1/Where-To-Start-Planning-Your-Wedding/Page1.html

http://www.theweddingdirectory.co.za/

About Author

Sandra wrote this article for the online marketers Wedding News wedding news one of the most informative sites regarding wedding news and all related subjects.

Source: ArticleTrader.com
Read more at: http://www.articletrader.com/society/weddings/wedding-plans-and-your-relationship.html.
 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]