All right, you just got engaged! From all of us in the Camp Hosea family, we extend our most heartfelt congratulations! As exciting as being engaged can be, it is ultimately one step on the path to marriage. With this in mind, we must set our sights on the end goal of your wedding. In this post, we will be discussing the key steps in putting together your wedding checklist so that you can rest assured that your big day will go off without a hitch.
Key Steps in a Wedding Checklist
To begin creating a wedding checklist, you could divide your tasks into two categories to help streamline what is often a chaotic process. The first set of tasks fall into the setting category and could be understood as the who, what, when, and where details. In plain terms, these would be details like your guest list, theme, wedding date, and venue booking. These details are the pillars of your wedding; if you don't have one of them, you simply won't have a wedding at all.
The second category in your wedding checklist could be understood as the styling category and will consist of all of the how details. This category is for the things that will give your wedding its unique character and make it truly yours. These will consist of details like catering, alcohol, DJs, and other vendors. It will also involve things that are more personal, like attire and rings. The final things to think about in this category are the knickknacks that can easily fall through the cracks like save the dates, invitations, and RSVPs.
Organizing a Wedding Planning Timeline
As you think about all of the little details that go into planning a wedding, it will be helpful to simplify the process into bite-sized chunks that you can tackle one at a time. The best way to do this is by creating a wedding planning timeline. The name of the game with wedding planning is prioritization. For some brides, their dress is the most important thing about their wedding day while others place more emphasis on their floral arrangements. When planning your wedding, there are a few staples (E.G. Venue, catering, etc.) that you will need to get out of the way first, but then you can choose which of the remaining details are most important to you.
Once you have a good idea of the things you need and want to prioritize for your wedding day, you can begin putting those things in place on your wedding timeline. You will put the things that are highest on your priority list to be done soonest. These things will generally consist of booking your venue/ wedding date, photographers, and florists. As you get closer to the wedding, you will want to think about dresses and tuxedos as well as their alterations, guest list, gift registry, and save the dates.
Essential Wedding Preparations to Consider
Among these various details, there are some that stick out as essential wedding preparations. These are the things that will always have to stay in the back of your mind as you go through your planning process. The first one is perhaps the most obvious, as it drives all of the decisions you make throughout the planning process– your budget. Your budget consists not only of the money you have available to spend, but it's also the way that you will go about allocating those funds. Having a good idea of how you want to allocate your budget from the get-go will save you a lot of headaches down the road.
The next essential wedding preparation to consider is your venue and date. Just like your budget, your venue and wedding date will be another thing to hold in the back of your mind throughout the planning process. This will be something that you have to consider as you hire other vendors to ensure that they are able to deliver their services where that venue is. Also, it is important to keep the date in the back of your mind as you are sending out save the dates and invitations as well as considering what you will wear and potential alterations.
Managing Wedding Day Details
Managing wedding day details could possibly be the most daunting part of this process. Somehow, you have to manage the various moving parts of your wedding while being the most significant part of it yourself. The best way to manage these details is by having a plan on how you will address those details on the day of. The first step of having everything planned ahead of time is having a wedding day itinerary. As a good rule of thumb, you should write down what you want to do, naming what you will be doing every five or ten minutes. This itinerary should include details that you yourself may not be involved in like vendor arrival times.
Armed with this master schedule, you can then designate a trusted friend, family member, or wedding coordinator to handle any complications that may arise. If a vendor gets caught in a traffic jam or needs an extra extension chord, you will not be in a position to handle that problem yourself. This trusted individual will be the one who takes the reins and handles these inevitabilities for you. It is extraordinarily important to be sure that you have detailed instructions for them along with your wedding day itinerary so that the decisions they make best align with what you want.
At Camp Hosea, we are all about fun, flashy, exuberant weddings, but we also know that the details oftentimes get a bit hard to manage. We love being able to help our couples through their planning process. Our in-house coordinator, Kenna, is always ready and willing to help! If you would like to hear more about our wedding coordinating services or would like to tour our venue, please reach out to us at our Contact Us page. we look forward to getting to know you!
Photos:
Chloe + Pedro
Photographer: Whitney Hope Co.
