He finally asked! Oh, did he ask! It was the most beautiful moment ever.
I was tenderly gazing into his rich, chocolate mousse brown eyes as his velvet voice came drifting towards me on a cloud of candyfloss. I softly whispered “yes..yes” while tears of joy streamed down my delicate face…

Well, maybe your moment didn’t quite happen like this, but I bet it was pretty close. We would appreciate it if you could step down to earth for a moment so that we can congratulate you! Now that you officially are a bride-to-be, your head may remain in the clouds, but your feet need to be planted firmly on mother earth – you have a wedding to plan!

Minister and church
It seems that the majority of couples prefer to say their “I-do’s” the in the serenity of a chapel or church. If this doesn’t make you jump for joy, you will probably prefer a more casual set-up, perhaps something outdoors or in the comfort of your own home. Booking the minister or marriage officer is one of your first priorities, as this will set and confirm your wedding date. Choose someone that you’ll be comfortable with, someone that reflects your own personality and style.

Venue & Décor Hire
With your wedding date confirmed, you need to move on to step two: Finding a wedding venue. Before you hit the road, do your homework by choosing a few places that suit your budget, number of guests and specific wedding needs, this way you won’t drive out all the way, just to find out that the venue doesn’t cater for what you have in mind. Some venues cater for both the reception and the ceremony while others offer a reception service only. When viewing a venue, have a checklist at hand – questions to consider would be whether they have sufficient parking space, does the décor fit in with your theme, does this include table décor and draping, do they have a liquor licence, what are their overtime charges, and so forth.

Guest list
Your wedding is something you’ve been dreaming about forever and a day. When it comes to the guest list, couples usually start off with a manageable list, just to realise that it has somehow grown out of control and so did your temper! The most important thing to remember is that this is your day, don’t allow friends and family to pressurize you into inviting people who weren’t on your list in the first place – this being said - be nice. Both of you need to be satisfied and at peace with the end result - be flexible and compromise. When compiling your list, you might want to keep your numbers down by only inviting friends that you’ve been in contact with during the past year or two as these are the people that are currently active in your life.

Wedding Planner
Why choose a wedding planner to coordinate your wedding? Surely this is just an added cost that you can do without? Wedding Planners are gifts from above – we love them and will die for them. Not only do they take over and plan your wedding according to your specifications and preferences, they are excellent at problem solving – which means those inevitable little things that might go wrong won’t stress you out. If you are trying to cut costs, discuss your budget with your co-ordinator as most of them are quite flexible and will work out an individual plan to suit your pocket.

Theme
Choose a theme that is timeless and elegant, something you will look back on with a feeling of nostalgia (opposed to a feeling of nausea!). Your theme would include objects of your choice (like a feather, a leaf or a sea shell, for example), your preferred colour combination and perhaps textures like ribbon, satin, wood, raffia or corrugated cardboard, to name a few. It’s important to use these elements throughout your wedding to bring it all together.

Wedding invites
When designing your invitations, think quantity. If you’re having a small, cosy wedding consider hand-made invitations – this is very time consuming and might not be a good choice for a bigger wedding. With hand-made invites you can bring in all your theme elements and get swept away on a cloud of creativity. Another option for a small wedding is e-cards (designed on a computer and sent out via e-mail - this can be printed and used in your scrapbook at a later stage). To be on the save side, send your invites out no later than six weeks prior to your wedding.

Wedding stationery
When planning your stationery it’s important to first decide on a theme (to be carried through from your wedding invitations to your thank-you notes), the key being consistency. Wedding stationery usually consists of the following: Save-the-date magnets, wedding invitations, order of service pamphlets, seating plans, seat placement cards, favours and thank-you notes. You don’t necessarily need all of the above - choose the items that best suit your wedding needs.

Gift registry
If you are honest with yourself, you’ll admit that you love shopping and prefer buying your own gifts – nothing wrong with that! I do it all the time, and trust me, I don’t feel bad. There is a wrong way of getting this across though. Be sensitive and mention this in your invitation – the choice will still be up to your guests. A loving aunt or close friend might feel they know you well enough to get you something personal and that’s ok. As for the rest, well, they need to get with the program. A gift registry is such a handy service, especially for couples that are getting married later on in life or have been living together for a while. Nobody wants 4 toasters – it’s just not natural.

Guest accommodation
Besides the fact that considering guests that come from far will make your mother proud (what a good job she did raising you!), it’s a great way to see to it that the people you care about can make this special occasion. If your venue is out of town or you have guests travelling from afar, add a list of nearby accommodation venues to your invitation. It’s not a good idea to let guests sleep over at your or your parents’ house – besides the fact that it will cause unnecessary stress you should keep in mind that all of you worked very hard to plan this special day, it’s just natural that you will all prefer (and deserve!) a break the next morning.

Ante-nuptial contract
We realise that you would much rather snuggle up with your husband-to-be and count the sleeps, but planning a wedding is unfortunately not all about romance and feeling warm and fuzzy, there’s a time to dream and a time to get down to business. If you do not have an
ante-nuptial contract in place, it simply means that you will be married in community of property, which, according to the experts may not always be the right choice. Partnership or marriage is all about compromise, trust and respect – you need to both be happy with the outcome. Your anti-nuptial agreement is basically a contract that holds the terms if ever there would be disputes over assets and finances, something that might seem highly unlikely at this time – nevertheless, something to consider.

Dress/suit hire and accessories for the bride
It is your wedding day and you obviously want to look absolutely gorgeous. Although this is (mainly) all about you, you’ll have to share your spotlight with the person on your side AKA your husband-to-be. Start planning your wedding gown at least six months in advance, especially if you are having your wedding dress designed. The fitting of both your own and the bridesmaids dresses will start taking place about three months prior to the big day. Select a wedding gown that will flatter your body type and make you feel like the princess you are! Your accessories are merely there to compliment who you are and what you wear – don’t go overboard, you can’t go wrong by keeping it simple. Oh, and by the way, rent your man a suit.

Hair and make-up
Up or down? This is mostly the question and unfortunately something you’ll have to decide for yourself. This is not an everyday event - on the contrary - so you have full permission to splash out and get your hair and make-up done professionally. Discuss your likes and dislikes with your hairdresser and be clear on the dislikes. Choose a hairstyle you’ll feel comfortable with and at the same time be true to your personality. Have the trial any morning prior to your wedding and wear the style throughout the day, this should give you an idea what to expect. The same with your make-up - have a trial and see if you feel comfortable with what you’ve been given. Keep it natural.

Photographer \ videographer
If things go according to plan, you will look and feel fabulous - you definitely want all of you captured! Using a professional wedding photographer / videographer is the best investment you can make, as this is a tangible way of reliving the emotions shared on your special day. Your cousin’s digital camera will just not compare – sorry! You’re investing way too much love, emotions and money into this wedding to have all this beauty be presented in low quality photos.

Well done - you are about halfway with your wedding arrangements! In this article we covered some of the topics that you’ll have to get out of the way first, the rest will be discussed in Planning your Wedding - Part 2. For now you are allowed to give yourself a well deserved break – call up a friend to join you for a chick flick and a cappuccino!