Your wedding will be a memorable day for yourselves and your family and friends. Planning it can be exciting for both of you whether you are choosing the wedding ring, planning your present list with all the wonderful things you are going to need in that new home, picking the fairytale dress or booking your perfect honeymoon. But all these things take time and to get everything right on time, the process should start about eight months prior to the big day.

Decisions

There are some serious decisions to be made at the start of your wedding planning. The first must be cost. Discuss your hopes with your family, they will have plenty of experience in budgeting to get the best value for money. You want the best money can buy on this once-in-a-lifetime experience and you want a wedding you'll never forget. So plan carefully the wedding and reception best suited to your needs and budget.

The Church

Visit the clergyman in the church you have chosen. He will help to dispel the nerves you may have and will tell you about what will happen on the day. Quite often he will suggest a rehearsal with as many of the interested parties present as will be there on the day.

The Bridesmaids and the Best Man

When you have confirmed with the bridesmaids and best man that they are able and willing to take these roles, you should take them shopping for the clothes they will wear on the day. Especially exciting for the bride and bridesmaids with so many beautiful fabrics and designers to choose from. The groom and best man (ushers too in some cases) may wish to hire top hat and tails for the day or opt for new lounge suits.

Planning Ahead

• Photos:
  This service needs to be booked early, especially if your wedding is on a Saturday.
• Wedding Cake:
  Consult your baker about size, design and cost.
• Cars and Flowers:
  Traditionally, the groom pays for the wedding flowers and the bride’s father for the church and wedding decorations. The cost of the cars is shared between the two.
• Honeymoon:
  Book your honeymoon well in advance and make sure you organise passports and outfits, so you have the best choice of location.
• Invitations:
  As soon as you know the details of the church and reception, arrange the printing of the invitations.
• Wedding Present List:
  Go through your home together and decide what you would really like. Don’t forget you need the mundane items as much as the more exotic ones. You may decide to have a gift registry at a well known local store.
• Wedding Dress:
  Decide whether you ‘off the peg’ or from a dressmaker. Whatever you decide, choose carefully within your budget.

Nearer the Day

• Wedding Rings:
  Something you will want to do together – these rings will last you a lifetime.
• Dress:
  Three months before the big day, a fitting will be required for the bride and bridesmaids. This is also important if you have any children in the procession as their growth is less predictable.
• The Press:
  Relatives and friends love to see your wedding announced in the press. Many will cut this out and keep it as a keepsake.
• Hairdresser:
  Visit the stylist of your choice and take along a picture of the gown and a piece of fabric if possible. Ask if they have a bridal service. This means that you will have exclusive use of the stylist in your home before the service.
• Provisional Catering and Seating Plan:
  When you have an idea of who will be attending, seating at the reception must be considered. Final numbers and seating plan to be given at the final meeting about one week prior to the wedding.
• Cake, Table Cards and Decorations:
  A couple of days before the wedding, visit the hotel with the cake, table plan and place cards.

The Perfect Reception

To enable you to benefit from our experience, here are a few notes that you may find useful.

Greeting the Guests

As the traditional line-up often leaves guests queuing interminably, most weddings these days abandon it. Instead, the bride's mother greets guests and the bridal party circulates freely during the reception.

Toasts and Speeches

These normally take place after the wedding breakfast and accompany the cutting and serving of the cake.

• The toast to the bride and bridegroom, usually proposed by the person who gave the bride away.
• The bridegroom responds to the previous toast and proposes a toast to the bridesmaids.
• The best man then responds to the bridegrooms toast on behalf of the bridesmaids. He also reads the cards and teleletters.
• Photos of the bride and bridegroom cutting the wedding cake.

Table Seating Plan (facing the wedding party)