Twende Harusini: IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO WHEN PLANNING YOUR WEDDING.......

1. Find and Book a Venue
This is very important to this step first because a lot of the good wedding venues are booked out years in advance. If you find somewhere that you both love then go ahead and book it. You may have to pay a small deposit, but it is a lot of peace of mind when you have a venue booked. This also goes for where the wedding ceremony is going to be held. If its in a church then you will have to meet with the church. If it is at the reception then you will have to organize a celebrant to legally marry you

2. The Guest List
This is another good one to get done early in the piece. It should not be final and you can always tweak it before you send invitations out. My advice is to have an A list and a B list. If people cant make it from the A list then you can promote people from the B list. Just because you were invited to a wedding it does not have to be reciprocal if you have not seen them for a few years.

3. The Wedding Party
Choose the wedding party early so the people involved can make plans to give you the full commitment to your wedding. Its no good find out one of your bridesmaids is going to Bali during the time of your wedding.

4. Photographer
Shop around and get quotes for different packages that suit you and your partners needs. Photographers can be very expensive so you can explore other options like just getting a professional for the official snaps then leaving a bunch of disposable cameras around for the reception. I have been to weddings where this have been a very cost effective way a preserving the special day.

5. Flowers
When choosing flowers for your wedding you have to keep in mind that flowers are not in seasons all of the time. So to make them not such an expense make sure you choose flowers that are in seasons. They will also last longer and look more vibrant on your special day.

6. The Dress
When i say the dress i am also referring to all the clothes of the wedding. Allow yourself lots of time to find the right dress and time for it to be adjusted. Remember if all goes well you will only get married once in your life and you want to have that special dress that you will always remember. Allow for weight gain/loss just before the wedding. You should have your last fitting about two weeks before your wedding.

7. The Music
This is one thing that can make or break a good wedding reception. A live band is good, but not everyone will like that kind of music. The safest bet is to go with a DJ. The have a massive selection of music for all ages and they can also act as an MC if you need one. A budget option is to go for a jukebox.

8. The Speeches
One way to really bore your wedding party is to bog it down with hours of speeches. Have a few short sharps speeches about one hour into the night. Do them early so not everyone is blind drunk.

9. The Exit
Be sure to have organised for someone or something to take you away on your wedding night for your first night as a married couple. You dont want to be waiting for a taxi to take you away.