Save The Date Card

How To Start Planning A Wedding To Remember

From setting a budget to picking your theme, read our guide to find out the first steps for planning your dream day.

Congrats and welcome to your wedding planning era. If you’re reading this, we’re guessing you just got engaged and we couldn’t be more excited. While we’re sure you can’t wait for the big day, it can be hard working out what the first things to do are. But don’t worry – we’re here to help you make sense of everything.

5 first steps

While it might be tempting to think about every aspect of your wedding straight away, this could make you feel overwhelmed. So we’ve written a checklist to help you work out where to begin.

1. Establish your timeline

You don’t need to set the exact date immediately, but it’s important to get a rough idea of when your special day will be. The first thing to do is decide what season you want to get married in, whether it’s a sunny spring wedding or a cosy autumn one. From there, you’ll be able to narrow down a more specific timeframe and get a sense of how long you have to plan. Just make sure you leave enough time to send out your save-the-date cards so all your favourite people can be there.

2. Work out your guest list

The headcount of your wedding is something you’ll want to decide in the early stages as it will affect almost all your costs. Write down a list of everyone you’d like to invite. A good tip is to put everyone into different groups, from closer family and friends to the people you’re not so sure about. Then you can start to whittle down the numbers and choose who will make the cut.

3. Pick your theme

Maybe you’ve always known what your dream wedding will look like – in that case, you can skip this section. However, if you’re not sure, here are some ways you can think about a theme. Start by chatting to your partner about what you both like, whether it’s formal vibes or a more happy-go-lucky approach. You could also have a look at Pinterest and start building a mood board of all the things you love. By doing that, you’ll start to get a good sense of your theme. Exciting.

4. Set your budget

It might not be the most glamorous part but setting a budget is (sadly) essential. Start by working out the maximum amount of money you’re willing to spend. Once you’ve got this figure in your head, you can roughly allocate it to different areas of your wedding. Write out a list of all the things you’ll need to factor in – think wedding invitations, outfits, flowers… This is where wedding planners can be particularly helpful as they’ll make sure you’re not forgetting anything.

5. Find a venue

Once you’ve decided what vibe you’re going for, you’ll need to choose a venue. Think first about where you want to be on your big day. Will you be jetting off? Or maybe you’ve always wanted to tie the knot closer to home? You’ll also want to factor in how easy it will be for everyone to travel there. When you’ve got that sorted you can start selecting wedding invites to match the feel of your venue.

We hope you’ve picked up some helpful tips and tricks for your big day. Remember, our marketplace is filled with small brand finds for every step of your wedding, from the planning to the ceremony. Ready for some more inspiration?