Deadline

A Timeline For Planning

As soon as you make the decision to get engaged, you start a subconscious countdown to your actual wedding day. Even if you won’t be walking down the aisle anytime soon, you still will feel a bit of pressure to get the ball rolling. There are countless tasks involved in the planning process, and waiting too long to start some of them can limit your options. Thankfully, there are a few easy things you can pursue to make the overall experience less taxing. 

Since organization is key to planning any event, you’ll find certain tools and resources invaluable. Look at these tips and see how you can bring about some order.

The Timeline

One of the earliest tasks that couples need to sort out after engagement is picking a date for the nuptials. Once you’ve gotten this out of the way, you have a clear idea of how much time you have to work with for the planning phase. Most people find that thinking about large chunks of time in an abstract way can make the date more of a looming deadline than an event to anticipate with excitement. To give the timeline a concrete feeling, you want to bring it into the tangible world.

Whether you mark a calendar, download a timekeeping app, or design a poster that you can use to monitor progress, there are plenty of ways to make your timeline feel ordered. Think about the pros and cons of each approach, and it will do wonders to offer insight into which path will help best.  

The Budget

Outside of the date itself, the budget is the other major thing that couples need to figure out early. Knowing how much you can afford to spend on your wedding will dictate a large chunk of other details. Naturally, not everyone is an expert when it comes to balancing a budget. If you and your partner both struggle with financial matters, you might need some extra help. Apps meant for managing personal funds can be a great place to begin. 

Budgeting applications come in handy in a multitude of scenarios. While you might find one is useful for planning your nuptials, you can use what you learned and apply it toward bigger financial decisions you will need to make later.

The Contracts and Documents 

As you get into the process, you’ll start to deal with more vendors. The more interviews and consultations you attend, the more paperwork you are likely going to find in your possession. From documents detailing services to contracts that you have created, losing even one paper can lead to some major setbacks. In this scenario, you don’t need any complicated applications or programs on your phone. Though digital solutions are available, a classic binder or folder is the safest bet. 

Learn how to code your binder in a way that makes accessing documents a quick and effortless experience. If you can pull open a folder and spot the exact item you need, it can make you feel more on top of the process overall.

The Messaging Timeline 

Coordinating with family members and friends is a big part of planning a wedding. However, you can’t always rely on a mass text message or email blast to get important details across. When you’re trying to keep all members of the wedding party in the loop, a phone app like WhatsApp or Signal can be a great solution. Regardless of service provider or location, all people on the chain can come together and receive updates in a straightforward and efficient way. 

Though it might seem like planning a wedding is a process that has too many moving parts to keep track of, there are some easy steps you can take to make sense of the madness. Look at all of your options and see which works best for your planning style.

Responsibilities of a Wedding Guest

A great wedding guest can make or break your wedding experience.

To be a great wedding guest, make sure that you are polite and courteous.

April showers bring May flowers, but for brides, April showers bring June flowers. Summer is a popular time for weddings, so you might start getting invitations from your friends who are getting married. To survive wedding season, be the best wedding guest you can. Here are a few tips to help you:

  • RSVP by the date requested. Do not put the invitation aside for a few days, because you’ll forget. Don’t make the couple track you down for an answer.
  • Look at the invitation to see who was invited. Do not invite anyone yourself. If your children aren’t mentioned on the envelope, they are not invited to the wedding. It is customary to invite partners, but if you aren’t married or in a long-term relationship, you may have to go single.
  • Show up if you RSVP “yes.” Barring an emergency, don’t change plans at the last minute. The caterer will charge the couple for your plate, whether you show up or not.
  • Do not talk about the wedding with friends who may not have been invited. This means on social media too. You don’t want to come off as boasting or make others feel bad because they were not invited.
  • Be on time for the ceremony. Better yet, be there 10 to 15 minutes early to get the lay of the land. When you arrive late, you disrupt the flow of the ceremony. If you do arrive late, wait for a break in the action to sneak in.
  • Dress appropriately. If the invitation says “semi-formal,” don’t wear jeans. For a beach wedding, dress more casually. Don’t wear white.
  • Put your phone on silent during the ceremony. Let your babysitter know your phone will be off for a half-hour to forty-five minutes and promise to check immediately after.
  • Don’t take pictures during the ceremony. Respect the wedding photographer.
  • Ask the couple if you can share pictures on social media before you do.
  • Send the gift, if you do, to the home of the bride or groom. Don’t make them deal with more stuff at the reception.
  • During the reception, sit where the bride and groom have placed you. Make conversation with those around you. It’s only for a couple of hours. Your phone will wait.

What About the Rights of a Wedding Guest?

Wedding guests also have rights that come with their invitation:

  • You can expect to receive an invitation if you received a save-the-date card.
  • You have the right to decline the invitation if you cannot attend. No explanation needed, just say, “Thank you, I’d love to be there, but I can’t.”
  • You can ask the couple if you need clarification about your invitation. Maybe you want to make sure you understand the dress code or are confused about the plus one.
  • You have a right to not send a gift at all. You also have up to a year to send a wedding gift.
  • If you do send a gift, you have a right to expect a timely thank-you note. You might want to give the couple a few weeks after the wedding to wrap up all their duties, but if you don’t receive a thank-you note within three months, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask if they received your gift.
  • You should take advantage of the open bar, but don’t overdo it.

Have a Good Time

A wedding is a celebration, and you should have a good time. Thank the host and hostess, typically the bride’s parents, before you leave. Don’t be offended if you don’t get a few minutes with the bride and groom. One of the best things you can do as a wedding guest is to be flexible and gracious, no matter what happens at the ceremony or reception.