1. Create a budget – A budget is the first step in the wedding planning process. It is important to know exactly how much money you’ll be spending designing your dream wedding. It will be important to know who’s contributing towards the wedding. Is the bride’s parents paying? Is the groom’s parents contributing? Is it a mixture of everybody? Nobody likes awkward conversations regarding money, but in reality weddings are costly and somebody has to pay for it.
2. Decide a time frame– Once you established a budget, it will be easier to figure out your wedding date. It will become clear if you need to wait and save money over an extended amount of time or you might be able to plan immediately.
3. Prioritize the guest list– By creating a guest list you will be able to figure out the next big steps in wedding planning, such as the caterer and venue. It is important to remember ”more people, more money.” If you’re on a tight budget, I suggest taking the list of attendees and ranking them into different categories For example, by creating an A-List of people who absolutely need to attend and a B-List of people who you want to come, but not essential to your wedding day (like your 3rd cousin Sally that you haven’t seen since you were 10). By having two lists, you will be able to add people from the B-list, if others cannot join from list A. If may sounds harsh to rank your guests by numbers, however, many individuals understand the cost of a wedding and understand that certain people’s attendance will be needed before themselves.