THE 5 P’s OF PLANNING

A big part of planning your own wedding is knowing how to get organised, because this is the only way you will be on top of everything. There are a few wedding websites that provide you with all the information and ideas you could possibly need, for free!

I used www.theknot.com, where not only do they have an unlimited amount of inspiration but when you create an account they give you a month by month to do list, so that you can know what you should be doing at each stage of your preparation. I suggest you use that as a guide and create your own list based on your priorities and the time frames to get things done in your chosen country.

Another essential in the planning process is a wedding book. It doesn’t have to be one of those expensive wedding planners, you can just make your own! In my case mine was a gift from one of my Maids of Honour, a very pretty and colourful book from Paperchase, which she divided into sections and labelled accordingly.

Once I started my planning I added more sections and labels as I went along. The benefit of having a wedding planning book is having everything in one place, whatever information you get, be it over the phone or email, write it down there straight away so that when you need the information you know where it is!

So let’s assume you have your planner at the ready, complete with your ‘to do’ list. Now it’s time to go digital. Don’t underestimate the power of a spreadsheet. Get one started early and it will be a great ally. Create different tabs for what you need, in my case I created the following: Groom’s guest list, Bride’s guest list, Yes RSVPs, Gifts and Budget.

Within those tabs you have the power to organise yourself, here’s an idea of the criteria I used (names, numbers and addresses have been made up):

Finally, if you’re the kind of girl that will rely on your Filofax or phone calendar to get you everywhere and anywhere, then use what you’ve got girl! Set yourself reminders of when you have to do things so that you never miss a beat.

And remember, proper planning prevents poor performance!

• Proper: If you put all your effort on things from the start you won’t have to be revisiting things that should have been sorted, closer to your date, when you’re out of time.
• Planning:  Organisation is the key. Use it and you can open any door.
• Prevents: You don’t want to be dealing with last minute issues, thinking ahead and preventing instead of fixing, means that when the time to worry comes, you won’t have to.
• Poor: The quality of wedding you DON’T want to have. Aim for greatness and dreams that come true.
• Performance: This will be a day to remember, one where you are the star and your planning will make sure you get to enjoy it. 

Until next time... Smooches to all xXx