Planning

Start with budget first. Figure out how much you can afford total. That will determine the venue and amount of guests you can host comfortably.

There are a number of wedding budget calculators online.

View Quoted Comment Thank you, are there any you would recommend?

Thank you so much Jane, I will do that and I will also look into the dresses as well.

The first thing to do is sit down with fiancé and discuss your budget and vision. You can’t do anything until you get that figured out. Decide what you want to focus your money and attention on and cut out the rest. Decide how much money you are willing and able to spend without asking for help. When someone else pays even a dime, they get final say in decisions. Decide who are your must have guests that you can’t imagine the day without, including their significant others regardless of how long they have been together if they consider themselves a couple. Don’t invite anyone out of obligation because parents can host family any other time as well as arranging a family reunion picnic at another time.


When you have that finalized, then you can look at venues. A blank slate venue from peerspace.com or eventective.com ( or even the parks department website) that allows outside catering will be less expensive than an all inclusive venue.

View Quoted Comment Omg thank you so much ! I will keep this in mind

Hi Kay!
We decided on a destination wedding so first we asked our closest most important family members if they would be open to the idea, once they confirmed we got started on looking for a venue to meet our needs with pricing, wedding date availability etc. We're currently in the process for locking down the date then after that the dress, wedding favors, cake decisions will be made. It's a little easier at an all inclusive resort to make decisions because there are less options to choose from. Are you thinking of a destination wedding or hometown?

View Quoted Comment That sounds like an amazing plan, we haven’t set a location but maybe still within the state of Texas as of now

View Quoted Comment Like Michelle said, budget is important to figure out first then people of importance as far as date and location. What swayed us as far as venue is the destination wedding packages seem to be cheaper and you're in a beautiful location BUT don't forget to factor in flights and stay plus you can really get sucked into the extra costs too!! Definitely set a budget first and try to stick to it, it is tough but keep track of everything you're spending money on!

Money, money, money! Budget, make your core guest list, and decide on your general wedding vision first (it could be a backyard BBQ, plated black-tie dinner, or anything in between). Once you and your partner are on the same page with those things, start looking at venues and also some of the more general planning (such as wedding colors).



Keep in mind: If you are tied to a specific wedding date, that will limit the venues that are available. Also, you need to know a solid estimate of your guest count before you look at venues so you have enough room for all your loved ones (and can figure out if catering estimates, etc. will fall within your budget since some places may be all-inclusive).

As others have said, vision/budget/guest list decisions first -- and SOON, then find your venue -- you don't have a date (so you can't really book any other vendors) until you have a signed contract with the venue. Because of the covid-backlog, venues are still booking up well in advance, so for a date next summer you probably need to nail down your venue ASAP. Good luck!

These first BIG decisions can be stressful, but once you have them taken care of, things fall into place pretty quickly. It's likely you'll have a few very busy months and then you'll have a few months with little wedding-related stuff to do, and then the last couple months will be busy with the final details.

Also, do plenty of research and be realistic about both your budget and your expectations -- it's really easy to rush into planning thinking you'll be able to do it all for one number only to quickly find out you didn't budget accurately for what you REALLY want. When we were planning daughter's wedding, even though all the "what a wedding costs" calculators for our geographic location predicted $30,000, we were sure we could do it for $20,000.... Guess what? Even being really careful and comparison shopping, once we started visiting venues and booking things it quickly became clear we were going to end up right around $30,000. Be sure you have reasonable costs estimates in your budget!

Budget
Guest list
VenueMake sure to shop around get tons of different quotes. 💜Congratulations and good luck.

Hi Kay
I’m in the middle of planning a Texas wedding and I’m in the same boat! We first figured out a budget, and have locked down a venue that has fit our needs. I’ve honestly been using the checklist planner on this app to help me as I go. It’s been a good way to keep me on track as sometimes my mind wanders in 10 different places at once. Good luck to you and congrats!!!

View Quoted Comment

I don't think I can post links here to that. A quick google search should give you a few!

As others have mentioned… BUDGET FIRST THEN GUEST COUNT. After that, start to look at venues and pick a few you like. See what dates they have available as they might not have what you want. Once you’ve secured a venue (with deposit down), you can start looking at things like food, florals, and dress. Dresses seem to be taking a bit longer than normal due to material demands. Overall, make sure you have a set guest count that you stay true to because it will affect cost per meal/person, and thus overall cost. Some vendors (venue and catering) will have restrictions or surcharges on head count if you have 15% (for example) less than or more than your original headcount you gave them and what’s in the contract. For example, my venue has a fairly steep surcharge for an attending guest count 20% more than the contract number we gave them of 100 guests. So if we have 120 guests show up, we have to pay added fees on top of the set meal per person cost. 🥴
You got this! Just read contract carefully and ask questions if you’re not sure!

You can start with your budget, figure out how many people you are inviting, then your venue because it helps you figure out how to plan your wedding and the type of wedding you want.