Planning a wedding takes time and patience. This is especially true if you’re planning a large affair, but is equally applicable if you’re only planning on inviting a handful of people. It’s often the case that as you get deeper into your wedding preparations you’ll uncover more things which need to be attended to, and more problems which need to be solved. But there’s an easy way to make sure that you’ve covered every little thing, and that’s to create a comprehensive wedding checklist.
Creating a wedding checklist doesn’t necessarily mean sitting down for hours to record absolutely every task and item you’ll need for your big day. Instead, think of your checklist as a way to make sure that you remember the essentials. Keeping your checklist manageable is a great way to make sure your wedding is too, and there’s no better way to do this than to divide your list into three separate parts.
The Primary List
The essentials are those things that no wedding could do without. Your shortlist should include:
- Rings
- Invitations
- Venues for both the ceremony and reception
- Outfits for both partners
- Your vows, if you’ve decided to write your own
The Secondary List
Your secondary checklist should include items that, whilst not ‘essential’, would certainly make your wedding day more enjoyable. Some of these may be dependent upon the choices you’ve made for your primary list.
- Outfits for the wedding party: bridesmaids, groomsmen etc.
- Music. People often like to have a DJ or band, but a sound system will do equally well if you’re on a budget
- Decorations, for the reception venue and dinner tables
- Food and drink, if your reception venue is not catered
- Furniture, if your venues are sparsely or un-furnished. Fortune Woods is a great place to get dining sets if you need to kit out your reception venue.
The Tertiary List
Finally, you may wish to include some of these optional extras just to give your wedding a bit more sparkle. But remember, these things are not essential. Attend to your primary list first, and only spend time on these items if everything else is organised.
- Wedding favours. You will need to order these early, get them on your list.
- Seating arrangements. If you don’t allocate seating, sensible people will still manage to sit down.
- The cake. You may want one, but your wedding will still be marvellous if you don’t have one.
- The photographer. Everyday cameras are of such a high quality these days that shelling out for a professional photographer isn’t as important as it once was.