Copyright
© 2013 by Kaitlyn Landon
ISBN 9781456618148
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photographic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or in any information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission of the author or publisher, except where permitted by law.
Contents
Introduction
Wedding Responsibilities
The Parents of the Bride
The Parents of the Groom
Maid of Honor
The Best Man
The Bride & Groom
Choosing the Date
Pick Your Wedding Style
Pick Your Venues
Documenting Your Wedding
Honeymoon Planning
Dressing the Part
Cakes and Caterers
Taking Care of the Rest
The Ceremony and Reception
Conclusion
Introduction
He proposed and you said yes! Now, as the bride-to-be you are about to embark upon a flurry of activity in order to plan your wedding. This is often both a joy and a source of great anxiety for brides. However, it does not have to be stressful.
Weddings are big business, and rightfully so. This is your special day and you want everything to be just perfect. A big anxiety that brides feel is that because there is so much to do that something will get left out or be forgotten.
It might be a special day, but it can be stressful leading up to it but with some smart planning you can easily make your wedding plans and have a beautiful, memorable and stress free day.
Some brides try to reduce the anxiety by hiring a wedding planner. Wedding planners are great at putting together a polish, formal wedding but the cost is very high and quite frankly, unnecessary.
You can put together a wedding that is just as posh as a professionally planned wedding and help keep the costs under control.
Additionally, many brides like the hands-on approach. Being in control of your wedding can have stressful moments but it is very rewarding. This is your guide to being able to plan your own wedding without the stress.
The first chapter of this book will go over the basic responsibilities of everybody who will be part of the wedding and the rest of the book will go over the rest of the wedding details, in order of importance!
Things that need reservations or that need to be booked need to be done first, not last and so we will have the chapters laid out in order of planning importance.
Wedding Responsibilities
Perhaps one of the more confusing aspects of planning a wedding is knowing who is responsible for what!
There are the traditional wedding responsibilities but these roles are constantly evolving and are no longer set in stone. This section follows the traditional set of wedding responsibilities but we are intending this as a guide only, it does not have to be this way.
For example, many brides and grooms are now footing the cost of their wedding themselves rather than having the bride’s parents foot the bill.
Who pays for the wedding is probably the biggest role reversal in modern times and so we are including that here, in the beginning rather than assigning it to any one person or party.
Weddings are expensive and not every bride has a family with deep pockets. Yes, it is traditional for the bride’s parents to foot the bill but if money is an issue, then the bride and groom can take over or chip in. Sometimes the groom’s parents will help cover part of the cost.
It is not fair to expect to have a lavish wedding on a modest budget. However, if your parents wish to foot the bill and they can do so, let them. Otherwise, only allow them to help as much as they comfortably can afford.
Staying on budget can be tough with a wedding, so if there is a set limit, then you need to make sure that your planning does not go over that limit.
It might be your special occasion, but do not put anybody in financial debt over your wedding. This is why many engaged couples have longer engagements; they are giving themselves time to save up for the wedding of their dreams.
The Parents of the Bride
As we discussed, tradition dictates that they are responsible for the cost of the wedding, but this is becoming outdated as the costs are often spread around between several parties now.
The engagement party, to celebrate the engagement is usually planned by the bride’s parents.
Otherwise, the parents of the bride usually help out however, the bride needs them too, offering support, and opinions on wedding details. The father of the bride walks his daughter down the aisle and thanks guests for attending the wedding.
The Parents of the Groom
The rehearsal dinner is usually hosted by the parents of the groom and is usually planned for the night before the wedding. The rehearsal dinner is a hosted dinner for the entire wedding party, including the parents of the bride.
Maid of Honor
The maid of honor is the bride’s right hand helper and has several responsibilities with the wedding. The maid of honor helps the bride with all activities including the bridesmaids such as the bachelorette party, bridal shower, and dress fittings.
If you find that you need help with the smaller details of the wedding, delegate to you maid of honor!
The Bridal shower and bachelorette party are always handled by the maid of honor and never by the bride, so all details regarding those parties are handled by her and all the bride has to do is show up.
The maid of honor acts as the point of contact for the bridesmaids, especially when it comes to dress fittings, picking up the dresses, etc.
The maid of honor will help you prepare for the wedding by helping you get dressed, making sure that your train and veil are in place and holds your bridal bouquet for you during the ceremony.
After the ceremony, the maid of honor will sign the marriage license as the bride’s witness and will dance with the best man at the reception. The bride will
