Starting to plan a wedding?

so i have started to plan my wedding, but i don't know where to begin?! i have bride magazines, and such for ideas. i do know i want fake flowers for decor, and bouqets( the one i am tossing will be real though) but that is about it. i live in a small town so i don't have too many options. but where to start? planning the food menu, finding a reception place, wedding dress, bridesmaids dresses?

Starting to plan a wedding?
You need a wedding planner book. It will help guide you through your planning. The knot dot com has great resources and online planning tools that have really helped me stay on track. Its so confusing in the beginning. Talk to your fiance about what he pictures the day being like. What is important to you? The food, the music, the ceremony, the number of people.. Do you want to get married outside or in a church? The biggest factors that set the tone for your planning are location and date... everything else follows. Congrats and good luck!
Reply:I also live in a small town and I thought that I did not have a lot of options either ... until I started looking. I would suggest that you start looking in the phone book and calling around to places in your home town and if there's another town close. We visited a couple of different places until we decided on a place to hold the reception.





I suggest that you do not go with the first place that you visit. If you have the time, I highly recommend shopping around and comparing prices whenever you get a chance. My fiance and I have saved a lot of money. Our wedding could easily cost $20-30,000 but we are going to be only spending around $7,000 due to us taking time and comparing prices. Also, if you know of family or friends who are able to help out, that's not a bad place to start either.





We have either a family member or a friend doing our wedding cake, the groom's cake, our pictures, rehearsal dinner, flowers and the music at the reception. If not, then anything that you think you can do on your own, I would recommend. We are doing our own invitations and bows for the pews. Go to local craft stores to see what you can find. As far as the food for your reception, it depends on where you are holding the reception.





Checking out any of the wedding websites are not a bad idea either. I have gotten some information from them as well.





I hope these help. And Congratulations on your engagement.





~Kelly
Reply:Your chosen date, Budget,locations, colors, etc... This is generally where everyone starts.
Reply:go to www.theknot.com i loved it and it helped stop me from killing my now HUSBAND!!!








lOVE IT!!!
Reply:1st - wedding planner and set a budget and savings plan


2nd - find a location


3rd - food and drinks


4th - DJs, photographer, flowers


5th - dress accessories...etc





the 2nd and 3rd one usually give people the hardest time to decide.....





i suggest you just shop around - google , ask family members and friends....there should be a "brides" magazine strictly for your state (they atleast have one for NJ) and they have almost all the reception halls there and there range in price





good luck
Reply:Cover your "W"s


Who: Decide how many attendants you are having and who they will be. Create a guest list, this is a top priority, because it will determine how large a venue you need, how many invitations to order, how much food, etc.


When: Pick your date.


Where: Call local churches/reception halls and find one you like that is available on your date. Alternately, you can call places you know you want to have your wedding and see what dates they are available, then set your date based on that. As soon as you know when and where, order those invitations so you've got plenty of time to mail them and guests have time to RSVP.


What: All the extras: dresses, food, entertainment (DJ? Band?) flowers...all those lovely details. Also known as the fun part! Be sure to allow enough time for dresses to be shipped and for fittings.
Reply:Take your time with the dress because of weight fluctuations I would say the place and date and time are a good place to start that is where I started out and i just got married Sep. 15 2007 I got the dress too early and had to find a way to buy another dress and still pay for the other one so be careful BUT start thinking of the design and the dress you would like my wedding was ok but make sure you take a brake in between the wedding and reception for picks other wise you wont get a min to yourself and I know a GREAT and cheep photographer just E mail me I mad a lot of mistakes don’t leave your mom out of the planning I did and with I would not have she could have prevented a lot of my mistakes and your in-laws to be too if you ask your family well be there I asked too late the photographer is TOTALLY AWESOME IMAGES Alien he has a website cheek him out it well pay off at my wedding he was like part of the family and him and his wife both take cameras so you have to people taking picks.
Reply:get the banquet hall booked first and if it's a church wedding do that as well. the easiest way is to get a wedding planner. if you're on a budget then you could try someone who just started being a wedding planner, its cheaper that way.
Reply:you should have a gazebo in town rent it,


go to your court house and pay for a clergery to get you a minister. you could put strain of fake flowers around


or you could ask people to give you coffee cans and start growing your own flowers, would prob, cost less then fake.


even bowls of flowers and they could take them home and your town


may even leaned the chairs. Cold cuts and cheese bites


and wine fountain would be great.
Reply:It can be overwhelming....but like many other have said. You need to sit down with your Fiancee and talk about it. The most important thing that you have to look at before anything else is your budget. Budget is HUGE when it comes to planning a wedding. You may have million dollar ideas on a thousand dollar budget.





Next you need to look at the size. How many people do you are going to invite. This will help you determine the size of venue that you need. If you plan to have a small wedding (less than 50) there is no need to rent a large ballroom. Alot of Hotels oor Catering facilities require a minimum in food and beverage, so there is no need to rent a space that is too big and you get stuck having to meet minimums. Also decide if you are going to be serving alcohol. If so, go with a package bar. Not a bill on consumption.





When it comes to food, what are your favorite foods? There is nothing wrong with having things there that you like. Think out of the box, if you like fried chicken, mac n cheese, these can be done in an elegant presentation. And alot of times Chef's are able to take favorites and put an elegant spin on them. There is always the traditional chicken, beef, fish option. But, depending on the time of day...the food choices may be different. A mid afternoon wedding can have tea, biscuits, and small cakes. A mid morning, you can have a brunch. If you are planning on taking pictures after the ceremony, don't forget about your Guests. Have appetizers and beverages available. You don't want everyone getting rowdy while you are taking pictures. Most often, pre-receptions are the way to go here. Offer one or two hors' dourves and punch, water or tea.





Dresses, this is up to you. But start looking. The more dresses you try on the better idea you are going to have of what you want. You will know the dress when you put it on! Bridesmaid dresses, think about how many girls you are going to have....get their input. Ultamatly it is your desicion....but don't make them wear something they are going to hate you for. And make sure that they are appropriate for the time of year. Strapless summer dresses are not the best for a mid-winter wedding. Also, if it is going to be a religious ceremony, what are the rules of the church. Must women have their shoulders covered, etc. Also included in this is your make-up and hair. Start looking at pictures and start talking about it with your stylist. Do you need to grow your hair out, do you need to start getting haircuts or trims to achieve the look you want.





Try to decide on your date, colors, theme as soon as possible. This will give you direction in many areas such as favors, tablescapes, etc.





Start making appointments for photographers....they book up fast and you want to make sure that you are getting a photographer that fits your style.





Cakes, look at pictures. Take pictures of ideas with you when you go and see the bakery. Even if you have three different pictures of cakes you like, it may just be certain elments you like. You may like the shape of one cake, the color of another, and the designs on another. The better idea you give the Bakery, the better cake you are going to turn out with.





Last, if you are signing contracts. Make sure to read them carefully. You make get stuck paying a cake cutting fee of 2.50 per person, just for them to cut the cake for you. Be aware of what you are signing before you do so. Extra fees, attrition clauses, weather clauses, these are all things that you need to be aware of when signing.





Good Luck, Dont get too overwhelmed. Remember....this is just one day in the rest of your relationship!
Reply:I suggest you start at TheKnot.com. It's a wedding website that has lots of good information. It's well organized and even allows you to research wedding vendors in your area.





Sign up for an account (it's free). Once you do that, put your wedding date into the checklist. The checklist will break down, by month, what you should be doing for prepare for your event.





I believe the first steps are to book your date at your ceremony site (like a church or with a JP) and then book your reception site. Those are the two biggest elements to planning a wedding. Once you do that, it will tell you when to book your photographer and when to buy your dress.





The Knot has a category called, "in your area" Click on that tab and then onto your state. That will give you a list of vendors (venues, bridal shops, florists, etc) in your area.





That is a good starting out point for finding venues in your area. Also, look in the phone book for places. Don't call them right away. Look at their websites first and do research about them on line.





Then, if you like them; call them up for an information session.
Reply:Make lists of your ideas! Make a guest list. Make a list of songs you would like to be played by the DJ. Make a list of songs you would like to have played for certain dances like Bride/Groom, Bride/Father, Groom/Mother, etc, etc, etc. Choose what colors you want everyone in the party to wear, brainstorm ideas where you would like to have the wedding and reception, by the way: Have you set the date? I would definitely start there!!! Good Luck-hey attend a Bridal Expo-there are lots of ideas and willing to assist vendors there!