Putting together a wedding?

Question

my sister's wedding is on jan 10th 2009 ; shes been engaged for awhile now, but her and her fiance have not started working on planning it. and today she came to me crying because she doesnt know how to plan a wedding and shes so scared.

so i told her i'd look up some stuff on the web and talk to her about it all tomorrow.

so anyone who is married ; or is planning on wedding please help.

Answer 1

First let me say that your a very good sister for helping your sibling plan one of the most special days in her life.

First and foremost is BUDGET, and Guest List. That is a key and crucial part of planning any event. You defintely want to tell your sister to find a comfortable budget (one she doesn't have to go into debt for), and stick with it.

Second alot of these ladies are right. www.theknot.com is a great place to start looking.

Good luck. :)

Answer 2

theknot.com is great... planning a wedding isn't horribly difficult. Just make a guest list, get a dress and the party's clothing, and reserve the venue as soon as possible. Everything else will come into place later.

Answer 3

The Knot.com has great checklists for weddings.  Don't worry about the time lines they have listed; you might have to speed things up a bit but it is doable.

I love those lists - they don't leave anything out.  Just mark off the items that you don't want, and work on the others.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

now that is close!!! you will find alot of people need to be booked a year in advance but if its going to be a simple wedding she should be fine, first things first organise a guest list, as soon as you have the numbers everything can sort of go from there, you will find that the place, food ect will all revolve around that. does she know where it will be? does she have a bugdet? these are the three main things she has to start with, from there you can go to websites like www.brideandgroom.co.nz and www.weddingdetails.com where you can print of to do sheets and a planning calendar which will point out the things you need to cover and when. theknot.com is a helpfull website (i have a new copy of the knot's ultimate wedding planner for sale if need be) i have one myself...very helpfull.

Hope i was some help,

Good luck

Answer 5

You can find just about everything you'd need on theknot.com.  It's free, but you do have to register.  It has access to tons of resources including local vendors and reception sites.  It also gives a lot of tips and has a Q&A section.

Answer 6

I'd hire a wedding planner for a few weeks/months to help in the planning process.  Most people think you have to hire a planner for the entire time leading up to the wedding, but you don't.  Just a thought...

Answer 7

Try http://www.weddingdetails.com/  Scroll down the page to the list of Wedding Planner Checklists, Worksheets, and Articles.  There is a lot of good information there.

Also, try remembering what you liked and didn't like at weddings (or events) you've attended.  Try to do or not do those things.

Good luck and have fun planning.

Answer 8

Go to Barnes and Noble or Borders and buy a planning book. They give you the timeframe you should get things done by as well as advice.

Answer 9

my first advice is to go to a bookstore and grab her a wedding planning book, they run from about $15 and up. They have everything you could possibly want/need to know about wedding in there and it gives you a time line of how long each thing should take, my wedding was very easy, b/c I found a place that everything was included in my package price, my flowers, the officiant, the dj, the photography, the food, the cake, the limo, linens...EVERYTHING, so I didnt have to run around from place to place, the only thing I really had to do was find my dress, my girls dresses, the guys tuxes, wedding favors and things like party favors, cake topper etc, just that was a pain in the butt, of course I had to do my invites, and we planned it all in 10 months actually less, we got married exactly 10 months from the date we were engaged. She has 6 months, most venues can be booked up to a year in advance, I am unsure of where you are from, but find all of the things I needed in one place saved me lots of time and lots of money, maybe she can find a place like that in your area....good luck to you...(of course her) if you need any help feel free to email me, I loved planning my wedding and love to offer you guys some help

Answer 10

I would consult a wedding planner.  They can give you some good advice.  I don't think you should use one for the planning though.  Its good to get ideas, but when a 3rd party plans it, it begins to become impersonal.  You know what your sister wants and likes, so all you really need is some direction.

Answer 11

i wouldn't waste your money on a book when theknot.com is available to you for free.  just sign up for it and there you go!  instant access to everything you need to help plan the wedding!  when you sit her down tomorrow, have the checklist from theknot.com handy and go through it with her.  make sure she has a number in mind for the amount of guests, what kind of ceremony she wants (church? no church?), what kind of wedding reception she would want, or ideas for where she would want it, etc., etc., just get the major things out of the way and start calling places and making appointments to visit them if you're interested in booking there.  

it is probably going to be overwhelming at first, but once you get the major things out of the way (venues, gown) then it should fall in to place.  august to january is enough time to plan a wedding, as long as you guys are diligent!

best of luck and congrats to your sis!

Answer 12

Check out theknot.com and the Martha Stewart wedding website.  She can make accounts there and they have great check lists that take you through everything you need to do (and when - it's a month by month list that you put in the wedding date and it even sends you emails of what needs to be done that month at theknot.com)

You don't need to buy a book, everything that is in a book is on a website for free (I have had two planning books given to me that are blank because I have all the same budgets and checklists filled out online which is automated).

Also, I HIGHLY recommend finding a venue that offers wedding reception packages.  Places that include the linens, food, open bar package ($/per/hour), etc.  Some places even include centerpieces, wedding cake and DJs).  These places cost about the same as booking it all separately yourself, you can customize the packages and you DON'T HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF.  It's nice to be able to only write one deposit cheque and know your wedding is half planned.  Places like this also provide a wedding co-ordinator to meet with to discuss details, and refer you to vendors (photographers, cake places) if they are not included in the package.

My fiance and I are putting the deposit down for our dream venue on Tuesday!  Then we will have the ceremony and everything for the reception (except the favours) done!  Then we have over a year to get a photographer and have my dress made, it's nice to not have to worry about the little details (like renting flatware or napkins etc.).

I hope that helps!

Answer 13

theknot.com ... its this site that helps brides such as her self plan a wedding find vendors in her area etc gives her ideas for her wedding. dont worry about it tell her dont freak out. as long as she knows her own personal taste everything should be find. hopfully shes the type that can make up her mind