Most women have dreamed of having a fairytale wedding since they were young; the wedding day should be a culmination of all their thoughts and aspirations. In addition to having fairytale weddings, we want the day to run perfectly well and smoothly, without any hitches. However, to have a glitch-free wedding isn’t as easy as it sounds, there are a lot of things that go into planning a wedding and here are some tips to making your wedding day one of the best days of your life.

Have a budget and stick to it

The first thing to do is to have a realistic budget. I use the word ‘realistic’ because sometimes we have plans to incorporate a lot of stuff into our wedding and at the same time still want to spend a little amount of money. A budget is a guideline to how much you have to spend and how you want to spend it.

Hire a wedding planner

I know someone is reading this and thinking ‘why should I hire a planner? I can plan my wedding, thank you.’ I am not here to advertise wedding planners but let me highlight a few reasons why you should think about hiring one.

A wedding planner’s job is to ease your stress by taking care of everything from planning your budget to liaising with vendors to last minute ‘run-arounds’, so all you will have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy your wedding.
A wedding planner knows the best vendors in the industry and knows how to negotiate the right price and service for you, thereby helping to keep you within budget.

If you still feel you don’t need or want a wedding planner, please get help from your friends and family, and don’t try to be a superwoman!

Have your wedding checklist and budget spreadsheet

The wedding checklist or calendar is a list which includes a checklist of what you have to do starting from about 12 months to the big day. You could peruse the internet for a downloadable copy or just create one on your own. Here is a sample

 
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The budget spreadsheet helps you keep track of how much you are spending in comparison to the amount estimated. It has two columns; one for the estimated cost and another for the actual cost. Here is a sample

 
While filling this, also ensure you have a vendor list which will include the contact and payment information for all your vendors.

Get the big picture

 Make decisions concerning what type of wedding you want; is it a big wedding or a small wedding? Is it a day, a week or even a month event? Decide on your wedding theme and colours as well. Luckily there is a whole lot of information you can tap into on the internet, so go searching for latest trends and ideas.

Delegate duties and tasks to friends and family

As I mentioned earlier, even if you are planning your wedding yourself, ensure to delegate as much responsibility as possible. You don’t want people to bother you for every little thing on your day, so hand over vendor contacts and necessary information to a trusted friend or sibling.

Contact and verify your vendors

You need to keep on checking up on your vendors from time to time to ensure they have all the necessary information required to give you the best service. Make all your hair and beauty appointments and confirm their availability and times.

Don’t cut corners

We all have that family member(s) who provides some of the services we need but don’t necessarily go for them because they are cheap.  Ensure they can render the best of services before you decide to use them as you might not be able to complain if they don’t provide the proper services.