I started this article because I've been thinking about this for quite sometimes. I recently got married as well, and as a bride-to-be, I have a lot of dilemmas while preparing for my wedding day! Nobody told me what to do, or even what to prepare and anticipate.
So I was trying to track my own progress with a small agenda on my phone note to share with you.
and here it goes!
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I can finally hear the wedding bells in my ears. The love of my life finally asks me to marry him. And my kiasu character is on fire to do it.
I have many customers who asked me what they need to do before starting everything else! Where to start??
1st thing 1st!
Ask yourself "ARE YOU TRULY READY FOR THIS?" and I'll leave the rest of the questions list to you.
Marriage requires a lot of attention to preparing beforehand, picking the right vendors is very essential to make your dreams come true. You don't want to remember the rest of your life, regretting or comparing your wedding with others like "oh, how I wish I did more research... Oh I wish i picked that color instead of that one.. etc, etc, etc."
Here I am trying to share to you on what I find useful, and hopefully, it can help you guys through this dark path. *sobs* The timeline I am creating is based on my own experience and life lessons. So it might take approx at least 12 months preparations before the actual wedding date!
Since my wedding was on Saturday, May 25th, 2019. (The reason I chose that date is because 25.05.19 looks quite easy to remember, nothing more, nothing less.)
Ok, let's start on your agenda 12-14 Months before!
1. I
t's not only yours!
I myself have been dreaming about my own concept since a long time ago, and the concept keeps improving and changing. Is it okay? Obviously, it's FINE! But just remember, this is not only your wedding but also your soon to be spouse! Ask them on what they want on your big day then start writing things down! Try to communicate and be kind to them, ask the details, ask their opinions, and try to solve the problems together. A good marriage starts with good communication with one another, so this is a good opportunity to do that!
2. Decide the date and area (For Venue and Holy Matrimony)!
In my country, we have so many beautiful cultures here, and some of them require the couple to find the best wedding date for them.
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| Outdoor or Indoor wedding venue |
It takes time and process, so if you are into one of it, please estimate your timing and distance carefully. You don't want to end up rushing and bundling everything together all at once.
3. Create a Moodboard!
Trust me. This is one of my guidelines to keep my wedding in concept! Many websites have this feature to help you. As for me, I am using only Instagram and Pinterest to help me searching for inspirations and pinned them all together as a guideline.
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| Photo credits to www.macrumors.com |
You can categorize them as makeup, dress, suits, flowers, decorations, cake, etc. Anything to help you visualize faster and easier. This step will keep on improving in the future, so, no rush!
3. Start with Basic Budgeting!
If the budget is really all your concerns, start to make some reasonable budget estimation for both of you.
Here I put my table list for you to
DOWNLOAD or you can just make your own version! The currency are in Indonesian Rupiah (IDR), so feel free to change to your own. And in other tabs, you can find the order of the most important vendors, to the vendor that you can find least.
9-11 Months before!
4. List down the potential Vendors!
If you don't have any vendors in your head, it's okay too! start slow, but you really need to make time for it. Attend friends wedding, go to exhibitions, see the magazines and websites. It is a lie if you don't learn anything from it at the end of the day.
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| Photo by Pinterest |
Fill the form slowly and write down the potential candidate to help your day, you cant keep on searching forever. In the end, you will stop somewhere, and once you really feel like 8/10 about a certain vendor, STOP LOOKING at anything else and focus on your own.
5. Start your journey to book:
-Wedding organizer: see if they have the work ethic and crew to help you on your wedding day.
-Venue: as for the venue, it would be great if you already have the amount of guest in your head to invite on the wedding. outdoor/Indoor? Garden/beach wedding? Restaurant/Ballroom space?
-Makeup artist: Your Fairy God Mother! take time to go through their portfolios, understand your makeup style and their style. Make sure they listen to you and tell them if you have any skin conditions that require special attention. I believe there is so many talented makeup artist, but only some speak in your heart more. You need to look stunning on your "coronation" day, you are the queen of that day anyway.
-Photographers: Might be the same as makeup, go and take a look at their style, meet the photographer itself, make sure you guys have the "connections" and feel comfortable with them. Start to plan your Prewedding photo trip if you need it! Some place is very beautiful in certain month and season.
-Church: Some church, mosque or temple are closed on a certain date. Make sure you check if there are any occasional ceremonies on that date.
-Wedding attire: Gown and tuxedo need advance attention as well, some of them might not be available on your date anymore!
6. Share your vision!
You have to narrow down your vendor list, make time to meet up with them, tell your story, give them a piece of your mind since you are the game master here. Vendors are not magicians, and they can't make miracles. They can't read your mind, slight expectations will help them to work in your directions. Let them offer their piece of mind too for your wedding, and always communicate with them no matter what. In this part, your Moodboard will help them to understand better on the colors, details, and theme for the big day!
Some notes: Some vendors are not really crucial to find in short time, so if you still have a blank column on your table, it's very normal. Just try to fill them slowly.
6-8 Months before!
7. Guest list!
While at this term it might be your time to enjoy prewedding photoshoots, remember to book your officiant and honeymoon trip (if necessary).
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| www.bridebook.co.uk |
You may want to consider listing down your guest as early as you want. I myself felt guilty after skipping a lot of names to invite and you have a number of quota for invitations, so use it wisely.
3-5 Months before!
8. Officiant & Class
At this moment, it's time for you to complete side tasks that are as important as all the points above. Taking care of the paper need for marriage certificates to be given to civil registry officers, attend wedding preparation classes, and follow up all your vendor preparation progress. Use this moment to be as active as possible
9. Engagement or Proposal ceremony
You may need to start preparing the small task if you have a certain tradition in your family. As for me, both of our family only do "tingjing" ceremony (proposal), which already done a year before. So I am skipping this step :) For those who have an engagement ceremony, be sure to start hunting the items in advance.
10. Any other small extra details such as hampers, etc can also be searched from now on.
1-2 Months before!
11. Do a makeup test.
Don't forget to go for your makeup trial test, be sure to tell your makeup artist anything they need to know. And don't forget to make time to do a self-pampering time at least a face mask, your skin will thank you later. Any hair cut or hair coloring that you desire, do it now.
12. Moving out
If you need to prepare to move your stuff to your new home, do it now then rest and relax your mind for the big day.
13. Finishing
Don't forget to final fit your dress, shoes, or any attire that your family needs.
14. Send out the invitations! ASAP
THE BIG DAY!
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| Let's tie the knot! |
Take a deep breath and relax, sleep early!! Eat a healthy breakfast (you need it!). Enjoy every second of it, you deserve this after all the hard work :) It is time to let things go the way it should be.
I hope this post will help you even just one bit to make things easier to prepare your wedding day. Now, are you ready to plan yours? Please feel free to drop a comment below or keep in touch with me. I am very open to any positive suggestion to make the article even more complete!
Goodluck to all Bride & Groom-to-be out there! :))
Xoxo
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