Wedding planning questions?
Ask Jennie!

What an exciting moment! You are lucky enough to have found the guy or gal of your dreams. You’ve set the date. Now you’re right at the beginning of the planning process that will lead up to the great event itself - your wedding day.

Wedding planning is both exhilarating and daunting at the same time. Creating your own idea of a perfect wedding day while keeping family and friends happy and remaining within budget can be an uphill task. Wedding Planning Questions? Ask Jennie! is here to help you through the minefield. Here are some basic pointers on how to begin:-

• Think through your own ideal wedding scenario.

Before friends and family become involved in the melee, it’s important to have a clear idea of how you and your partner would like the day to be. After all, when all is said and done, it is your special day! Before you embark on family-wide discussions, sit down together and think the event right through.

Do be realistic in your expections. However, if you know you would like a small intimate celebration, whereas overbearing mother-in-law has her heart set on a huge society wedding, make sure that you are clear in your own mind with regard to your desires and have the diplomatic excuses and arguments ready if you feel that you are likely to be pushed in unwelcome directions.

• Be aware of the cost of your wedding from the outset.

It’s wonderful to dream; however, a sensible couple make wedding plans that belong in the real world. Don’t make plans that will over-extend the available finances. Even before you talk to Mum and Dad, you will have a pretty clear idea of the amount of money that is likely to be at your disposal from both sides of the family. Once you have a rough outline of your ideal day, take a quick look at the likely costings and if necessary revise your plans accordingly.

• Be prepared to listen and adapt your wedding plan when necessary.

Flexibilty is the key to success when there are a great many disparate people to keep happy. Have a clear idea of the central aspects of the day that are most important to you and aim to keep these inviolable, but be prepared to compromise on the details.

Even if others wish to involve you in ideas that are a complete anathema to you, always be prepared to listen attentively to their schemes. There is nothing worse than having your ideas dismissed out of hand! If it is Granny’s dearest wish that the bride-to-be wears an heirloom dress that is a million miles from her own idea of suitable dressware, find a way of including something from the dress - perhaps a petticoat underneath the chosen bridal gown - that will please Granny without imposing intrusively on your own desires.

• Use live music to make your wedding really special.

Involving live music in your wedding is a brilliant way of making your particular celebration stand out from the crowd. Take a look at Hop Till You Drop Wedding Planning Information to find out how to do it.

• A successful wedding is carefully organised.

Start your wedding planning early, so that there is plenty of time to enjoy every aspect of the process, whether it is choosing the wedding dress, or deciding the wedding breakfast menu. First agree the desired game-plan between yourselves, then involve both sides of the family. Listen carefully, make some compromises but aim to bring everyone onside. Be prepared to delegate some of the ensuing organisation so that both sides of the family feel that they are a necessary part of the process as the plans unfold.

With sensitive management, your special day will live up to your dreams. It will be the happiest day of your life, fondly remembered by all who attend.