Start Planning Your Dream Wedding Today
Being engaged means preparing to spend the rest of your life with your best friend, and such a monumental decision and joyous occasion deserve the most heartfelt celebration!
Despite all of the love and excitement in the air, most brides and grooms find themselves scared at the prospect of such a big undertaking.
“How and where do I even start planning my wedding?”
This is a great question and luckily it has an answer! Knowing what to do and where to start will give you the confidence you need to enjoy your wedding planning process.
Let’s take it one step at a time!
Choose your vision
It’s your wedding day, you get to dream up the craziest, most beautiful event imaginable–the sky’s the limit. So, since you get to plan the wedding of your dreams, start by purchasing a journal and dedicate it solely to your dream wedding; as you begin dreaming up your perfect day like the color scheme, the theme–fairytale, beach, spring, rustic, etc. write it down so that you have a quick reference and don’t forget any of the wonderful ideas you have!
The most important thing to remember during this step is to dream BIG! Even if you’re planning a smaller wedding with just a few family and friends, your vision of a perfect wedding doesn't need to be small.
What emotions do you want to capture? What do you, as the bride and groom, want to feel and experience on the biggest day of your life? These questions will guide you to your dream wedding.
Determine what’s most important to you
Now that you have the vision, figuring out what’s most important on your big day is an absolute must as this will help to narrow down your vendor and venue search. Determining a list of musts will help you to capture the vision you’ve just journaled or pinned to your Pinterest board. Is live music a must, or will a DJ do the job? What about really incredible food? Simple decor and flowers? A venue that provides the convenience and relaxation of everything in one place? Surrounding views?
Set a budget
Now that you have a vision, and narrowed down your must-haves, you’re already halfway there with your budget. Creating a budget will help you to keep track of all your expenses and help you to see the big picture. Budgeting will also help you to plan the rest of your wedding as you decide on what you want and what you are not so attached to.
Form your wedding party
This is the really fun part! You get to ask your closest friends and/or family to be a part of your big day! Sometimes it’s hard to decide on a number because you just love everyone, but once you do narrow down the girls and the guys, go ahead and ask them in a way that fits YOU.
Create your guest list
Here comes the tough part. Creating your guest list is something that is integral to the wedding planning process for many reasons, the most important being that vendors NEED to know your guest count and they will ask you that during your consultations and bookings, so don’t put this one-off. At Greystone, our boutique weddings can be 10-50 people. Larger size celebrations can accommodate up to 200 guests. Whatever the size of your wedding, we can accommodate your romantic celebration.
Pro Tip: When creating your guest list, start with names of friends and family who are closest to you, move down your mental list until you run out–then head to your Facebook friends list or other social media platforms. This is a really helpful way to make sure you don’t forget anyone!
Determine dates
Come up with a few different dates, pick the one that you want most, and then you’re ready to start looking into other key elements such as venue, vendors, your wedding dress, and honeymoon. Experts suggest planning a wedding about a year out from the desired date, however, with COVID putting a halt on celebrations in past years, wedding venues are in high demand so you may want to plan even further ahead just to be safe.
When searching for local venues, certain ones help in a major way with planning your wedding, they can make your wedding seamless and will offer you everything in one place, rather than you looking to 10 different places to get what you need.
If you’re looking for an idyllic mountain wedding venue, check out Greystone Castle. Our premier Colorado wedding venue is nestled behind the Boulder Flatirons. Driving up the spectacular Flagstaff Mountain, you will feel as if you have eloped to a destination wedding. Greystone also features 100 % inclusive packages to make it as easy on you as possible.
Find your dream dress
You can start by getting wedding dress inspiration on Pinterest, or other websites online, then take your vision to either an online store or go in person. You’ll want to get your wedding dress anywhere from 6-9 months in advance!
Wedding planning isn’t easy, but taking the process one step at a time can really help! Happy planning! And be sure to check out Greystone Castle in Boulder, Colorado if you’re ready to live out a real-life fairytale on your wedding day.