Be Your Own Wedding Consultant by Shirley Copeland

Every successful wedding requires countless hours of detailed planning and organization. To avoid stress and disappointment, start you’re planning as early as possible, allowing yourself sufficient time to explore every option available to you. Don’t become overwhelmed with details, take one step at a time. Hire your wedding services first, with that major task accomplished; then turn your attention to the smaller details.

As family and friends hear of your up-coming wedding, suddenly they all become expert wedding planners and bombard you with information. Thank them for the advice, smile sweetly, and continue on with your own plans and ideas. THIS IS YOUR SPECIAL DAY.

Try not to copy other weddings, it’s fine to incorporate some of their ideas but strive to make your wedding unique and truly your own. Allow YOUR own personal style and individuality to shine through. Incidentally, style has nothing to do with cost, often the only difference between good taste and bad, is restraint. Be unpretentious, gracious, and sincere and you will be a beautiful, radiant Bride. Most important of all, you will enjoy this very special, once in a lifetime occasion.

With a definite date in mind, contact the church to arrange a meeting with the minister. At this time you will be informed of the rules and regulations of the church, quite often there are strict rules pertaining to the use of flowers, position of the photographer and videographer, music selections etc, etc. It’s your duty to convey this information to your wedding vendors, so it’s unwise to hire any wedding related service until after this meeting. Some vendors contracts are non retractable, changes may not be permitted and you could loose your deposit.

A realistic budget is important; carry it with you at all times. Become a smart shopper; stretch your budget by looking for sales, compare prices. Ask for cash discounts, you may be pleasantly surprised at what you accomplish.

Wedding services are like no other, they usually only accommodate one or two weddings each week. Popular services are often booked 18 to 24 months in advance. If your wedding is scheduled for any day other than a Saturday, discounts maybe available. Be sure to ask!

Do your homework well, failure to do so, could spell disaster. The wedding services you select can make the difference in a dream wedding or one that’s filled with unexpected mishaps and disappointment.

Meet with at least three representatives for each service you require. Inform them of your budget limitations, then, compare price, style and the services they offer. Ask for a list of previous brides then, give them a call to see if they encountered any problems. Inquire about future weddings, get names, dates and times and make it your business to go watch them in action. It is imperative to have a good rapport with each of your wedding vendors; you’re going to spend a great deal of time together, it should be enjoyable. As you select your vendors, before signing on the dotted line, be sure to read and understand every paragraph. If there is anything you don’t understand ASK QUESTIONS. Never, ever, rely upon a verbal contract. For the protection of all parties involved, everything must be in writing.

Your first priority should be to secure the vendors who accommodate only one wedding a day. For example, a photographer and videographer will usually only shoot one wedding, therefore their services take precedence over say the florist, who can quite easily assemble several bouquets.

ORDER OF SELECTION

A good rule of thumb for the selection of services is as follows:

1. Church and Minister

2. Reception Location

3. Photographer and Videographer

4. Music for the reception

5. Music for the Church, if other than the church organist

6. Wedding Cake

7. Limousine

8. Florist

9. Brides gown and Bridesmaids dresses

10. Groom and groomsmen attire