As you deal with the high of being engaged, you must plan your upcoming nuptials. A wedding is an amazing time for two people in love as they plan to share their lives together and exchange vows in front of loved ones. An upcoming wedding means you have a lot of planning to do if you want the ultimate wedding experience. From selecting venues to food choices to the honeymoon and guest list, there’s a lot to get started on, and here’s a list for good reference.
1. Saving Enough Money
When planning the ultimate wedding experience, it’s no secret that it will not be a cheap venture. Your tally for your wedding can quickly add up, especially as you add to your guest list. After all, you have to feed people, find a venue to exchange vows, and host your reception. Plus, the bride’s wedding dress itself can be a significant penny, depending on whether it’s custom-made or from a particular designer. As you and your partner look at your funds, you may realize you have to start saving money to have the ideal experience you’ve always dreamed of
Luckily, there are several ways you can start saving money for your ideal wedding experience. Maybe you have some jewelry items that you no longer wear. You can begin looking for places to sell jewelry and one place that stands out is your local pawn shop. See if you can place them on online auction sites like eBay or ones specifically for used jewelry.
Start going through your closets to see if you have any vintage clothes, purses, or other items to sell at an estate sale. If you don’t feel like setting up an estate sale on your property, you can also sell those items online on eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and various other sites. Search for consignment shops that will look for vintage items and give you a fair amount of money.
If your wedding is far enough ahead, you can also benefit from high-interest saving accounts. Some online savings accounts like those through Paypal and Wise have APYs as high as over 4 to 5%. You can take a chunk of your existing savings to convert over to one of these high-yield accounts and watch your interest grow every month. Then by the time you have your wedding, you can have increased savings just from the interest rates alone.
2. Selecting a Venue
Selecting a venue is part of creating the theme for the ultimate wedding experience. Maybe you want something very elegant or prefer something more down-to-earth and rustic. You may want a wedding that’s more seasonal and incorporates the colors of fall or a budding spring. You may have a wedding theme based on your cultural heritage or an activity that you like. Keep these things in mind so you find the right wedding venue to suit your needs.
People are choosing a rustic wedding venue so they can experience nature and coziness for such an intimate exchange of vows. A rustic wedding venue can be someplace in the mountains or farmlands. You may want to host things at a log cabin or a ski resort. The choice is yours on your special day.
If you want to go more glam you may want a destination wedding somewhere tropical like Hawaii. You can opt for a luxury resort. Don’t forget many hotels have huge banquet halls and ballrooms to host high-end weddings for those who have the budget. Some hotels can also have inclusive luxury packages that may include spa service, gourmet catering, and entertainment.
3. Catering Options
The ultimate wedding experience must include a delicious menu for all to enjoy. Luckily, there are many food options to consider to ensure everyone’s belly is full, and there are plenty of drinks to go around before and after the main toast. You may want to do business with a local restaurant that has good ratings. After all, many local restaurants supply catering services for events of various sizes.
Of course, you can also hire a catering company that specializes in corporate or wedding catering. Doing so will ensure you have a caterer who is used to dealing with the demands of a wedding. The caterer can also possibly handle your wedding cake and allow you to do a tasting.
As you choose catering options, think about your favorite type of food. Do you love Mexican food, soul food, Italian food, or Asian food? You can always incorporate these foods or dishes inspired by the overall cuisine into your wedding menu. Dietary restrictions should also be on your list of considerations. If you or other people at your wedding need vegan or gluten-free items, you can have a wedding that’s completely based around that type of restriction, or at least have some options available for people to pick from.
Don’t forget your style of service. Depending on how many people are there, it may be easier to have a buffet where people go and make their plates. Are you planning a more elegant wedding? You may opt for table service, where waiters will bring people their choice after picking from two or three items on a menu.
4. Renting Transportation
Don’t forget about the importance of reliable transportation for your wedding party. Remember, the more people there or further away your wedding will be, the more you must consider reliable transportation. You can begin with a limousine rental service for the wedding party and your parents. With limousine rentals, you can ensure the major stakeholders on your special day can arrive and be transported in style.
Of course, a limousine isn’t the only type of transportation you can have for the ultimate wedding experience. You may prefer to have a black car service, SUVs, or even a party bus. If you’re having a destination wedding at a resort, you may even want to incorporate the use of boats or yachts. Speaking of destination weddings, if you expect people to fly long distances for your wedding, you may want to figure out a way to either pay for their tickets or give them advice on finding discounted ones.
5. Factoring In Other Expenses
While the ultimate wedding experience involves good food and a beautiful venue, the work isn’t over yet. Plan on having an outdoor wedding this upcoming summer. If so, you’ll be among many people, as June is the most popular time for weddings. But if your wedding is outdoors, you’ll need to set certain things up, such as bathroom trailer rentals. After all, people will need to relieve themselves throughout the reception, and luckily there are several bathroom trailer rentals to consider in various styles and sizes.
You can’t have a wedding without good music. After all, people will have to get on a dance floor, whether it’s an outdoor wedding or inside a fancy banquet hall. That means you need someone who knows what they’re doing when it comes to keeping the music pumping all night. Find a recommended wedding DJ who knows how to keep people on a dance floor regardless of how many drinks they’ve had. You may also want to rent audio-visual equipment so you can show a slideshow or other presentation such as a timeline of your love story.
What type of invitations do you plan to have? If you plan on using invitation software, then you can quickly send invites to people on your e-mail list. However, if you plan on staying traditional and sending hard-copy wedding invitations, then you’ll need some design and printing services.
Most weddings also have special little gifts for guests. Whether you decide to give people a cute jewelry box, candy box, or cup, you want something that goes with the overall theme of your wedding itself. The more guests that you have, the more gifts that you’ll also have to plan and buy.
6. Designing Custom Decor
For the ultimate wedding experience, you may want to start designing some custom decor to make your wedding venue feel more unique to your particular day. Look into local sign services so you can have custom signs that can direct people to your wedding venue. Such a feature will come in handy if you have an outdoor wedding and you want to ensure that people can navigate properly when they arrive at the general location.
You may also want a custom banner with the couple’s name and pictures on it. Use a banner in the reception hall. Why not have a custom banner for your vehicle that you’ll have as you pull away to start your honeymoon?
7. Planning Your Honeymoon
The ultimate wedding experience isn’t over after you exchange vows and end your reception. One of the best parts of getting married is going on the honeymoon. With so many cities, states, and countries available, you and your partner won’t be at a loss for choices when it comes to having a honeymoon you’ll always remember.
After months of saving and planning for your wedding, what better way to unwind than by treating yourself to the luxury of all-inclusive resorts? These resorts are often in warm tropical areas where you can enjoy sipping cocktails by the beach and swimming all day and night. You won’t have to worry about lifting a finger to cook a meal, as custom gourmet meals are also included. Don’t forget about all the entertainment you can enjoy as you dance the night away at resort clubs and neverending late-night gatherings. These resorts will also have access to various activities such as boat trips, snorkeling, and kayaking.
Instead of luxury, you and your new spouse may opt for something more adventurous. Maybe now is the time to go on a hiking tour in South America. You could always ride camels across the desert in Egypt or Morocco. Enjoy the sights and smells of tasty food in Thailand and Vietnam. You can also enjoy the vast landscape throughout various states in America. If you didn’t have a rustic wedding, you can have a rustic honeymoon by enjoying the mountains and streams of Montana or skiing in Utah. Plus, you can also leave the continental US, and enjoy the landscape of Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
8. Preparing For the Next Chapter
After your wedding bells have rung, and you return from your honeymoon, it’s back to regular life. Of course, you and your new spouse will need a home to return to you as you move on to your next chapter. Before you say I do, you can begin looking for a realtor to buy your first home. But maybe you haven’t found the ideal home that’s also in the perfect location. You can solve that problem by enlisting the services of custom home builders. With custom home builders, you can create a home from scratch to your specifications. Make a list of everything that you want, from hardwood floors to central heating to an inground pool, etc. Building your home ensures it’s in the right neighborhood for you. Then you don’t have to compromise on being in a great neighborhood while living in a home you’re not crazy about that requires a lot of work. You also don’t have to pick a beautiful home that’s in an area that’s not convenient for you.
As you can see, there’s a lot that can go into creating the ultimate wedding experience for you and your future spouse. Getting married may be the most important day of your life, so you want to ensure it’s memorable for everyone. Start preparing your caterers, entertainment, attire, and transportation. Of course, don’t forget about your post-married life, so sit down with your fiance now and begin making note of everything you have to do. The sooner you plan things, the better it will go. As 2024 goes on, whether you’re getting married this year or next, hopefully, this article will help assist you in making sure the ultimate wedding experience is yours for the taking.
