Organising the Wedding of Your Dreams all by Yourself – A Guide for an Independent Bride

The first thing you need to know when you decide to plan your wedding yourself is that you have to start early, because you have a lot to do and many things to try. You need to make decisions all the time and it can get pretty overwhelming, especially if you haven’t done anything like this before. You may have your reasons to do it, like a strict budget or you simply like to organise, but the most important thing is that you need to have fun while doing it and at the actual wedding, otherwise it will be an unpleasant chore. Even though you might find it hard having so much work to do on such a tight schedule, you have to know that it is possible to have the wedding of your dreams without having to collaborate with a professional planner for your special day.

In order to keep track of everything you need to be organised and that’s a fact. You will have many endless lists and short deadlines, but having a thick colourful folder might help you with all of it. If you feel like you can’t take it anymore, you can ask your friends, relatives and even your SO (yes, you might be surprised, but men like to organise their weddings just as much) to help you with everything.

Timing is very important, so make sure you take one step at a time and be aware that the sooner you do things, the better it is for your own mental health. Nobody likes a bridezilla, that’s why you have to try and keep calm, not overthink or overlook too much into things. Starting ahead is the best decision, because it will allow you to take your time and analyse every aspect.

Where to start?

You got engaged and enjoyed that special time with your fiancée, announced everybody and set a convenient date that works in your favour. The next thing you need to do now is to set a realistic budget and try to stick to it as much as possible. If you have someone from the family that wants to help with the financial issue, that’s even better, but try not to take advantage of that too much, because it can cause some serious fights and uncomfortable situations. You’ll have to save some money for unexpected costs as well, because they will eventually appear. If you come to realise that everything you want for your special day is a little bit out of your budget, think about what you really need, what you can give up on and make a list of priorities.

After you have the budget and priorities set, it’s time to do your research and glance at bridal websites and magazines. Get inspired by all the ideas you find and start getting notes because now you draw the sketch of your wedding. Other big events might have had some elements that you’d like on your special day and frankly the ones that you attended and experienced yourself are the best source of inspiration. Going to wedding fares might also help, because you might find some stands for exhibitions that can give you some answers and solutions. To be able to keep your ideas constrained in one place you might want to use the old-school notebook and some programmes that will help you organise, like spreadsheets and phone apps. Now the real fun part begins.

Get creative

First of all, think about what you really like and want at your wedding because with so many sources of ideas, you might find yourself in a big dilemma. First of all, try to keep just 2 or 3 of them standing, otherwise you will lose precious time on just surfing through them. Gather all the examples that you found and fit your preferred style and keep them in handy when you meet the suppliers and vendors, so they know how they can help you. Keep your attention focused on the things you like, and don’t get distracted by things that you are not very fond of.

A check list may help you with the important things as you’re approaching the big day. You can find some of those on the holy internet and adapt it to your needs and wishes. On the other hand, allow yourself to be undecided and grant some extra time for the issues you have to solve. With all the things that you have to analyse and fit, it’s understandable. Among the flowers, colours, ribbons, arrangements and dishes you have to choose, you might want to have a station for photo taking. You can use a pop-up stand for that and in order to find and personalise one search for UK Exhibition Stands. This way you will see what fits your style best.

Allow people to help

At some point you are going to get tired of all the things you have on your waiting list, but why get there? Allow the people near you to help you with whatever you need to be done and don’t wait to turn into a zombie to do so. You should especially involve your fiancée as it’s his wedding too. You might get surprised by his ideas and how efficient will things work. So, give them some tasks because you’re not in this alone and you can’t do it all by yourself. Maybe you have a friend who recently got married and who might have important information that you can use. Plus, they already have “the book” and maybe they will let you borrow it so you’ll get to see the big picture and maybe some price ranges. But pay attention, at some point some of the people from around you will try to convince you to do something just because they like it. Don’t accept anything you are not comfortable with, otherwise you won’t have fun at your wedding.