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.