The Planner

Congratulations! You have decided to get married. Here are some steps (and tips) to help you organize the perfect wedding (or close to it).

Once the engagement is official, consult with both families, and decide on a tentative time and place for the wedding and reception. You should also draw up a guest list to have an idea of how large your reception hall should be.

Consult your priest / minister to choose a firm date and time for the ceremony (there may be restrictions).

If you wish to compose your own vows, inform your priest / minister. While some priests / ministers do not allow this, others may help you in writing them.

Budget for the wedding, reception, clothes, honeymoon, flowers, music, photographer, limousine, wedding cake, etc.

As soon as the wedding date is set, reserve a hotel banquet room, a restaurant, a hall, or a tent (in the event of an outdoor wedding) for the reception. For a group of two hundred people or more, reservations should be made at least a year in advance. For a smaller wedding the hall should be reserved eight months to a year in advance.

Should you be wanting a photographer, videographer, mobile discotheque or a band, you should book these services six months to a year in advance.

• 4 to 6 Months Before the Wedding

• 3 Months Before the Wedding

• 1 to 2 Months Before the Wedding

• 1 to 2 Weeks Before the Wedding

• The Night Before/Day of the Wedding

4 to 6 Months Before the Wedding

If you would like a catering service, contact one at least six months in advance, and decide on the budget, the style of service, and the menu.

Choose your wedding party. Traditionally there should be one bridesmaid and one usher for every thirty to forty guests, however today the number of bridesmaids and ushers does not have to be equal.

The bride should start shopping for her gown and headpiece. If you would like to have your gown made, you should book a dressmaker and arrange for a consultation and for fittings. Never give the exact date of your wedding to the seamstress; rather, tell them three to four weeks before, in case of any alteration problems.

The groom should make rental arrangements for formal wear for himself and the ushers. The best man may be of help here by arranging for a final fitting two or three days before the wedding to allow for last minute alterations.

Discuss the invitation list with both families and finalize it.

The bride should visit a hairdresser, a makeup artist and a manicurist, and make wedding day appointments for herself as well as for her bridesmaids. The appointments should be early in the morning. She may also consider finding a stylist who will come to her home on the day of the wedding.

Order invitations and acquire notepaper for thank-you letters. Other ideas of things to order: printed matchbooks, napkins, and place cards (for the reception), as well as an engraved cake knife, personalized champagne glasses and perhaps a "wishing well" box for your money- envelopes.

A simple hand-drawn map showing the location of your ceremony and reception sites can be very useful and appreciated by out-of-town guests.

Consult a travel agent and make the necessary reservations for your honeymoon. (Travel, hotel, car rental, theatre tickets, etc...)

If you would like any speakers at the reception, arrange this soon, as to give them ample preparation time.