Congratulations! You're
about to be married.
And now you have a thousand questions and many
decisions to make before the big day comes. On the following pages you will
find a crash course on wedding preparation, as well as a brief look at
wedding traditions around the world.
One of the
first couple of people
you likely wish to tell is both the bride and groom's parents.
Next you'll want to inform
you friends of the wedding. Most likely you'll want to tell everyone you
know – you're about to be married!
Often you'll want to make
an announcement of the wedding in a local paper. The bride's parents often
do this at least two and usually a few more months in advance.
Most weddings occur in
August June and September, but the busy season is April to October. Here are
the most popular wedding months, in order of most popular to least popular:
1) June -
Traditionally the most popular month for marriage.
2) September
3) August
4) May
5) October
6) July
7) April
8) November
9) December
10) March
11) February
12) January - Dead last.
Note that this varies
depending on the source. Another source lists wedding month popularity as
follows:
January 4.7%
February 7.0%
March 6.1%
April 7.4%
May 9.8%
June 10.8%
July 9.7%
August 10.2%
September 9.6%
October 9.4%
November 7.4%
December 7.8%
Next you need to decide
what type of wedding to have. It can be fancy, in an elaborate wedding,
or simple such as a back yard wedding. It just depends on your taste, and
of course your budget.
Whatever you decide,
you'll have to settle on a budget for your wedding. Some statistics show
that the average wedding costs about $22,000.
You can approach this
independently, tallying up how much money the two of you can afford now. Or,
you can ask for help from one or both sets of parents. You can also get
advise from friends on how much their wedding cost.
Customarily, the bride's
family pays for many wedding expenses.
The can include:
-
Music and entertainment
-
The wedding ring for the
groom.
-
All the invitations and
associated stationary.
-
Photography
-
The bride's wedding
gown.
-
The cost of the wedding
hall or rented location.
-
Flowers
-
Food, decorations.
The groom's side of the
family usually pays for
-
The bride's gift
-
The bride's rings
-
Flowers
-
Rehearsal costs
-
The Honeymoon
-
Marriage license
Here is a list of planning
ideas to help with your upcoming wedding:
You may wish to consider
hiring a wedding consultant to assist you in planning. Or, you may wish to
direct all the details yourself. Another option is calling on the advise and
help of relatives.
If you decide on a
professional wedding consultant, make sure that she has good references, is
willing to listen to you ideas, and that your generally compatible.
Planning your wedding - a list of steps:
-
Announce your engagement
to your family and friends.
-
Choose and engagement
ring.
-
Pick a wedding date.
-
Decide on a budget.
-
Create a rough draft of your wedding - formal or
casual, ethnic or western, etc.
-
You'll need to work
together to pick your wedding color scheme.
-
You'll also want to
decide on the music and songs you want played.
-
Schedule the wedding
portraits, as well as the engagement photos.
-
You may also consider
premarital counseling.
-
Reserve the ceremony and
reception places.
-
You'll need to make
wedding day hair and make-up appointments.
-
Have your
wedding final gown fitting.
-
Prior to the wedding,
you may need to have a blood test, if required by your state.
-
Check with
your wedding party - bridesmaids and best men to make sure they've gotten
their outfits, confirm the arrival times, and answer any last minute
questions
-
Contact
your bakery and set up the wedding cake date.
-
Notify the
Post Office of your upcoming change of address.
-
Pick your
wedding party (ushers, bridal attendants, best man, etc).
-
Plan he
reception. Pick and work with a caterer on this.
-
Select
your florist, discuss flower arrangements.
-
Select
your wedding outfits.
-
Compile a
guest list.
-
Create a
wedding gift registry with a favorite store if desired.
-
Select and
order your wedding invitations.
-
Send out
your wedding invitations.
-
Get a
marriage license.
-
Set up
accommodations for out of town guests and relatives
-
Put your
wedding announcement in the local paper.
-
Just prior to the wedding,
have your bridesmaid contact any invited guests that have not responded to
their invitations.
-
You'll need to arrange
for parking and possibly bellboys at the reception.
-
You'll want to buy a
guest book for your guests to sign, and you'll need to plan out the
seating at the reception.
-
Go to your make-up and
hair appointments.
-
Make honeymoon plans.
-
Shortly before the
wedding, you'll want to pack for the honeymoon.
-
Don't forget to have thank
you cards ready to send to you guests for the presents they gave you.
-
You'll want to arrange
for
wedding favors for each seated guest. This is where our Personalized Wedding Favor Chopsticks come in!
Personalized
Wedding Favor Chopsticks
Many people have wedding
programs printed - work with your local printer on this. The printer can
help with place cards if you need a lot, or you can buy pre-made ones.
Prepare a seating chart for you guests.
Wedding custom trivia
-
The ring finger is thought
to be connected to the heart through a vein.
-
Wedding cakes were 1st
a loaf of bread, broken over the bride's head to herald in a fertile and
happy life.
-
"Something old" is a
reminder of the brides past.
-
Something new represents
her hope for the future.
-
Something borrowed is
related to good luck. And something blue…?
-
The veil is a symbol of
the bride's innocence
-
Throwing rice is a wedding
tradition that started in Asia and was thought to portend many children in
the couple's future. This custom has been know to be deadly to some birds
however J
-
Bride's were carried over
the threshold because they were shy about entering the marriage chamber.
See also:
|
