Congratulations, you’re engaged and now the wedding planning commences! But where do you even begin? You’ve never done this before right? So let us give you the inside information on the top 5 things you need to know when planning a wedding.

1) You have set your budget, you’ve allocated money for food & drink. How much have you set aside for that? Did you know the average cost of feeding and watering your guests in the UK is around £3300? Now we know that will vary from wedding to wedding but most couples usually set a figure way under the actual cost. When you have booked your reception venue maybe take that opportunity to enquire about the catering costs. Of course every wedding venue will vary, some will only allow you to use their caterers, others will let you bring in your own. You may want to consider more non traditional options like a hog roast or buffet style food. And remember to ask about corkage fees if you are planning on champagne/sparkling wine for the day.

2) Family photos take waaaay longer than you think. So you want, say, 6 family photos and you think, oh that will only take 10 mins…..wrong! Each photo will take between 2-5 mins depending on the amount of people, if uncle bob can be located or if he’s sneaked off for a cheeky pint at the bar, one of your bridesmaids will be in the bathroom chatting to someone….and so on. Please, please please, sit with your photographer or wedding planner and discuss how many family photos you want and listen to how long they will need. Then allocate sufficient time into your timeline.

3) Good suppliers and venues get booked up far in advance. We advise once you have your date confirmed start looking for venues and suppliers that are high on your list of priorities. If you want a particular makeup artist, or if flowers are your top priority, start contacting them asap. You will find suppliers and especially venues can get booked up to at least two years in advance as standard, more so for those popular summer dates. Make a list of your favourites in each category that falls within your budget and start contacting them asap to avoid disappointment.

4) On your wedding day you are going to have many wedding suppliers coming and going throughout your day. From your hair & makeup artist arriving first thing in the morning to the DJ setting up in the evening. Make a list way ahead of time with all your suppliers contact numbers and service on and hand a copy to your maid of honour/chief bridesmaid and your best man. That way if any issues arise with any of your suppliers on the wedding day they can contact them without hassling you to search for their details.

5) And last, but by no means least….all the worries you have leading up to your wedding day, is it going to rain, is your hair going to be being exactly the way you want, are you going to mess up your speech, are your aunties who haven’t spoke for 10 years going to argue…..  Trust us, none of that will matter on the day. You will be in the moment enjoying the day finally being here. Whatever happens, you will be marrying the love of your life so a little rain, a mishap on your speech, it all adds to the memories of what will be one of the best days of your life. Enjoy every, single, moment!