Getting Engaged, Planning Weddings, Finding Wedding Venues

By Author: Ricky clarke
Total Articles: 2
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So the man of your dreams has popped the question and now it is time to start planning the wedding you have always wanted! This is one of the most special times of your life. First thing to do is to relax and enjoy the moment. Weddings can be stressful and it is important to remember what this time is all about- you and your beloved partner.

Once you have made all the announcements and updated your status on Facebook to engaged, because as they say it’s not official until its official on Facebook, it’s time to really start thinking about what you want for your big day. The first thing you want to do is work out your budget and start drafting your guest list. The reason that this is so important is that you need to know who you want at the wedding and what you can afford before you embark on looking for wedding venues and wedding suppliers.

Once you know exactly you are in for one of the most exciting parts of planning a wedding is going through all the wedding venues and finding the perfect one for you. South African wedding venues are going to set the tone of the whole wedding. Important questions to ...
... ask the venue are limitations on amount of guests, information on ceremony and reception space, if there is a venue hire fee and what exactly is included in the quote and what is not included. Take your time in choosing a venue – it is a massive commitment and you want to be sure that you have found the right one. Discuss it with your partner and get a second opinion from family or friends.

Luckily for you South African wedding venues are so varied and gorgeous that there really is something for everyone. Perhaps you want to get married at the beach, in the bush or in the amazing winelands that we are blessed with… the options are endless and rest assured there is a venue that will suit your budget perfectly.

If your wedding venue does not offer catering finding the right caterer would be your next step. What kind of food do you want to serve on your big day? I had a client that came to see me and wanted a whole list of speciality food at her wedding. However when the quote came she realised that she could only afford a fraction of what she initially wanted. This was not a problem as she was able to deduce from the quote what she really wanted and what she could afford. Ask your caterer for the best price they can offer on canapés, starters, mains and desserts. You might also want to have cocktail hour while you take your photographs – this is the perfect time to serve canapés.

Now that you have these things sorted it is recommended that you start looking for your wedding photographer. There are thousands of photographers out there so you are going to have to do a lot of research. Something that I have been told by my brides over and over again is that your wedding photographer is the one thing that you do not want to skimp on. You will be looking at your wedding photos for the rest of your life and it will be the lasting memory of the day. So before you start looking for the best deal you can get please think about this and work out your budget to see what the most you can spend on your wedding photographer.

Getting a professional to plan your dream wedding is never a bad idea especially if you do not have the time or the inclination to start planning a big wedding. If you are not going to using a planner then a great way to determine the type of wedding you want is to sit down with your partner and discuss what each one of you envisages for the day. Here are some pointers to get you started; are you looking for something formal with your man in a smart sexy suit or are you looking for something more relaxed? Do you want to get married indoors or outdoors? What is the most important factor to the wedding, the one thing you cannot sacrifice and the things that you can? Once you find the answers to these questions then you can really start weeding out what it is that you want and what you definitely do not want.

The main thing is to enjoy yourselves and plan a wedding that will celebrate the love you share with eachother.

Kathy van Zijl - South African weddings expert specialising in South African wedding venues, wedding advice. Love all things wedding! 10 years experience in the Wedding industry.