If you are wondering how much time you will need to spend on your wedding planning, there is no set number. HOWEVER they say the average is over 500 hours but every couple and wedding are completely different.
Whilst the amount of time will vary all of them will have one thing in common, it does take time to plan any event. Perhaps you have planned a party or even hosted a bridal shower or baby shower then you will start to understand how much energy and time will go into your wedding but consider your wedding as 2 or 3 events with the ceremony, wedding breakfast and evening party this is a lot of planning and thats before you consider the days before and after your wedding and maybe evening a parents meals if they haven't actually meet much before your wedding.
If you are newly engaged, congratulations, it is an exciting time. Now there are so many decisions to make, what style of wedding you would love, the location, how many people will you invite and the lists start before you have started looking at suppliers, outfits, food, drinks, music and fun ideas to make your wedding unique to you. These are all fun tasks but they are going to take up precious time during your
days and weekends. Trying to contact suppliers, getting quotes, not really knowing who to choose, working out how many of your guests have dietary requirements, organising your stationery and the list goes on.
But don't fret, here are some top tips for helping you save time planning your wedding.
1
If it is within your budget or you are planning a wedding not local to you, hire a wedding planner. A planner deals with so much WEDMIN for your so you just have one email to deal with not loads and you also have one person to deal with instead of up-to 20-30 suppliers and contact people.
A planner can also get in touch with suppliers and venues far quicker than you can as they already have their details, and if its their preferred venue they will already have a great relationship with the owners to get your a visit last minute. They will also know exactly what questions to ask on your behalf and already have inside knowledge which will help you narrow down venues. Don't forget venues and all suppliers get a lot of enquiries during engagement season and during the summer season they are all busy with other weddings, by having a planner working for you means they are able to get responses faster or maybe even see them at weddings and get the latest prices and availability for you.
2
If a planner isn't for you then get organised as soon as you start your wedding planning. It will make it much easier when you are working on so many details later on. You need to be realistic about your wedding budget and do some research before you make it fixed as couples are often surprised by the cost of different items or extra they need which catch up with them later down the planning journey. Concentrate on the main things first, this will be your ceremony, food and drinks, outfits, rings and music. Flowers and decorations can be done when you know what you have already spent on everything else.
3
The internet is useful to find out what you will need to plan your wedding and if any friends or family have recently planned a wedding pick their brains too, ask for help.
4
Create a doable timeline to get things done, work out how much time you have to spend on your wedding planning. For example if you know you are going to be busy at work during certain weeks make sure your vendors know when you can and cannot be available to answer their questions.
5
Set aside time with your partner, often life gets in the way and it can become stressful if you find you seem to be demanding their time. Be sensible, work out a time you are both happy to sit down and plan together. This could be one evening each week or a weekend for a few hours. This is so key as it results in so much confusion if one person runs away with the planner the other person feels left out which can also result in couple arguing over who's done what. Establish from the start if you are both going to be involved and how much.
6
Delegate, planners agree that too often it is one person doing the majority of the planning with little help from their partner. This should not be the case, they should be helping even if you assign tasks for them to complete, this could be the music, keeping the guest list up to date and booking transport. Ask your bridesmaids to help you with choosing dresses, flowers, hair, make up styles and shoes. Speak to your parents about the food and drink, no doubt they are far more versed on entertaining than you are, make sure everyone knows they have to write a speech and if you know a good writer get them to help.
You don't have to do this alone, here were some great tips for you to save you time planning your wedding and get others involved. you can also always drop me an email with questions.