How long does it really take to plan a Wedding?

The question that everybody asks, how long does it really take to plan a wedding?

Every couple's requirements are individual to so many aspects of the wedding itself. So this can be hard trying to estimate how long exactly it will take you to plan your wedding. With our couples we estimate it roughly takes anywhere between 150-250 hours of wedding planning. By hiring a wedding planner this of course will mean it will take hardly any time at all!

Guests

Your guest numbers have a large impact on how many hours you will spend planning your wedding. Anything around the 50 guest mark will be a far lot easier than having over 150 guests at your wedding. The time spent on ensuring each individual guests has dietary requirements for example, can be very time consuming indeed. Are there family politics within the guests your inviting? Trying to sort out where they are all going to be placed on your seating plan. Just some of the many hurdles you will face when it comes to planning your wedding day.

Coordination

If you haven't already hired an on-the-day wedding coordinator, then our recommendation would be to do that. If you choose to go without you need to think about creating your timeline, putting all your suppliers information together, retrieving public liability certificates and anything else required by that venue. It is all down to you, if a supplier doesn't turn up on your wedding day, that is also down to you too. It doesn't stop until your wedding day has ended, do you really want to be thinking about that on the best day of your life?

Stationery

All of your stationery will need to be hand-written by you when it comes to addressing all your envelopes and sending these off. That's after you have spent hours back and forth with the stationer discussing your designs, ensuring the content is correct and packaging these up to be sent off. You won't think about these little details until the time comes to starting these tasks. A lot of people get lots of enjoyment getting really involved with the creative side of their wedding, so it's good to be aware of what is to come.

Wedding Dress

Did you know that most bridal boutiques require you to order your wedding dress as much as 12 months in advance? If you haven't got a 12 month time frame to plan your wedding, you will have added stress by looking at wedding dress options that suit you. Perhaps you may have to find sample dresses that are in the sale and ready-made. You can get some absolutely wonderful deals, but if you have your heart set on a certain dress, you really need that 12 month time frame. That way you can incorporate it into your yearly planning timeline and keep ahead of schedule.

These are just a few of the areas you need to consider when taking the time to plan your own wedding. It is becoming more and more popular to hire a wedding planner, especially when it really isn't the biggest cost of your wedding when it comes to budget. You can still have as much control over the planning details, whilst allowing you to not take on the boring admin duties and schduling meetings, contacts and all other information. If you would like to enquire with us and have a free no obligation consultation, simply email hello@illyelizabethweddings.com. Your Sussex Wedding Planning experts.