Planning Your Wedding - How To Get Organized

You have purchased the latest bridal magazines from your local grocery store and there are pages and pages of photos of beautiful wedding gowns, rings and articles on weddings. Some give you a brief idea of what you need to do to plan your wedding, but you're still not sure how to begin the process.

The key is to start organizing and planning earlier than later.

You first need to create a system to keep all the details in one place. You may choose to use a binder with a tab for each category you will be using. Examples of categories are: Bakery, Ceremony, Catering, Florist, Music, Reception, Photography, Transportation. An accordion file is another choice, using the same category tabs. You will be able to see each category at a glance.

Whichever system you choose, use it to keep track of all receipts, pictures, brochures, business cards etc. that is related to each category.

Once you have your system in place, you can then do some research. There are many wedding planning books out in the market, even online websites (like this one). Visit your local bookstore or library to pick up a book to help your with the entire planning process.

Find a "wedding timetable" layout. This timetable will include a list of to-do's for the entire months/year before the big day. Some of the first things on this timeline may be: Consulting with fiancé and parents to decide budget and financial support. Another may be deciding the number of guests to invite to your big day (always dependant on budget $$ available), deciding what type of wedding - formal or informal or even interviewing wedding coordinators. This timetable is a basic guideline. You can recreate on your computer to fit your wedding and time line.

Once you have an idea of all the details involved in planning a wedding and all the dedicated time you will have to spend, you can start recruiting help from family and friends. Delegate tasks to help you check off all the to-do's on your list and by the time you know it, it's wedding day.

Maggie Puertas is founder and owner of Wedding Dreamz. Offering full service wedding coordination & consulting services for brides in Northern California, SF Bay Area. We dedicate ourselves to providing a personal touch combined with detailed organization and individual attention to plan, design and coordination to fit your personalities, style, vision & budget. Visit us today at http://www.weddingdreamz.net and request your complimentary consultation.

In The News:

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Sydney Morning Herald
‘Bride Wars’ is a failed marriage | 1 ½ stars
Kansas City Star, MO - 14 hours ago
And their mutual friends will have to decide which wedding to attend. All would be well if only one of them would cancel (or if they would agree to a double ...
Video: Ann Hathaway's Stellar Year CBS
'Bride Wars' stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway are funny allies Los Angeles Times
'Bride Wars' A Marriage Of Mediocrity Tampa Tribune
Boston Globe - Washington Postall 793 news articles

Downtown Express
Manhattan's new Marriage Bureau earns wows as a place to say your vows
New York Daily News, NY - Jan 8, 2009
On Wednesday, Roney witnessed the new Manhattan Marriage Bureau’s first wedding ceremony, between Carlos Sanchez, 27, and Jennifer Avila, 22, from Sunnyside ...
Eloping to Vegas? Why Not Lower Manhattan? New York Times
NY hears wedding bells, aims to compete with Vegas The Associated Press
Wedding Bells Ring In NYC Marriage Bureau WNYC
Downtown Express - Gothamistall 254 news articles

New York Times
"Not Easily Broken" a thinly disguised sermon
Reuters - 49 minutes ago
Wedding-day dreams have taken several unexpected turns when we catch up with Dave (Morris Chestnut) and Clarice (Taraji P. Henson). They live an extremely, ...
Movie review: Cliches nag 'Not Easily Broken' San Francisco Chronicle
Not Easily Broken ( ** ) AHN
Movie Review: ‘Not Easily Broken’ is a romantic soap opera that ... Providence Journal
Chicago Daily Herald - Pittsburgh Post Gazetteall 86 news articles

FOR FAMILIES: A guide for parents to Jan. 9 and earlier releases
Chicago Tribune, United States - 12 hours ago
By Roger Moore | Tribune Newspapers What it's about: Best friends become dueling brides when they both book the wedding they've always dreamed of in the ...

Wearing white and eating cake, Brides magazine turns 75
The Canadian Press, NEW YORK - 22 hours ago
"The magazine is realistic about how people's lives are today, but still the focus is how to have a successful wedding and start a healthy marriage," says ...

Wedding war: Las Vegas versus New York
KVBC, NV - 10 hours ago
The city has renovated it marriage bureau and even built a 24000-square-foot wedding complex with the hope of becoming the most popular wedding site. ...

New York Magazine
City to Make Your Shotgun Marriage Just That Much Nicer
New York Magazine,  USA - Jan 7, 2009
Photo: Getty Images Perhaps sensing the economic downturn (and having eventually watched the Sex and the City movie), the city spruced up its civil-wedding ...

MLive.com
Bay County gets older, refrains from marriage, likes guns ...
MLive.com, MI - 20 hours ago
Luczak said economics could be partly to blame, as young couples struggling to get a foothold in life may be putting off the expense of a wedding.

Former First Lady Cornelia Wallace Dies At 69
NBC13.com, AL - 6 hours ago
Just 16 months after their wedding Governor Wallace was shot. The assassination attempt left Wallace paralyzed. Fifty-four days later, he left the hospital ...

KHOU
Houston wedding show could help brides on a budget
KHOU, TX - Jan 7, 2009
“I refuse to go into this marriage in debt, “ says Ashley. “That's no way to start out.� -- Watch the flowers. All those arrangements can quickly add up. ...

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