Your Wedding Countdown

This is intended as a guide to help you plan the essential elements in the count down to the wedding day. Organise everything in advance and everything should go smoothly and seek help from family, close friends and professionals.

One year before your wedding

·First things first, set the special date and arrange a time with the priest, minister or registrar.

·Discuss in full detail your plans with the person who will be performing the ceremony.

·Decide on a budget and stick to it.

·Remember to suit the ceremony to your budget, and to both your personal tastes and wishes.

·Talk it all out now!

·Decide on the type of ceremony, type of reception and hoe many guests will attend.

·Choose your venue and arrange a meeting with the people in charge.

·This goes for hotels, caterers, musicians (for the ceremony, the reception) etc.

·Plan your wedding cake, cars, photographer and florist.

·Think about wedding clothes and costumes, particularly your bridal dress, colors, fabrics and accessories.

·Remember you will probably want a color scheme and a style that carries throughout the day so talk your plans through with the your dressmaker, florist and caterer.

·Both of you should book in for a pre-marriage course. Start thinking about your honeymoon.

Six months before the wedding

·Order wedding stationery, cake boxes, and favours.

·Discuss the order of the service with the person performing the ceremony and decide on service sheets for guests.

·Discuss your wedding menu with your caterers/hotelier. ·Decide on a wedding present list.

·Choose the rings.

·A doctor and dentist check up is a good idea.

·Plan inoculations for your honeymoon if necessary.

·Organise visas, passports etc.

·Think about your 'going away' attire and clothes for your honeymoon

Three months before the wedding

·Make sure you have all the appropriate pre-marriage documents and certificates.

·Finalise details of your color scheme, bouquets, buttonholes with the florist.

·Finalise the wedding guest list and have the invitations sent. ·Remember to keep a careful track of replies.

·Choose gifts for the best man, bridesmaids and attendants.

·Arrange accommodation for attendants and advise travelling guests of the rates for your hotel.

A month before the wedding

·Organise the final fittings for your dress and for the bridesmaids.

·On the day of your final fittings make sure all the bridesmaids are wearing the same shoes that they intend to wear on the big day.

·Finalise fittings for the groom and best man. ·Have a hair and make-up rehearsal.

·On the day of the hair and make-up rehearsal remember to bring the head-dress with you for the experts opinion.

·Finalise seating arrangements for the church and wedding reception.

·Plan the wedding rehearsal with the priest, minister or registrar.

·Eat properly for the next few weeks, you will need all your energy with all the running around you will be doing.

A fortnight to go

·Arrange your honeymoon and going away clothes, including passports, tickets and visas.

·Now is the time to arrange travellers' cheques, insurance, car hire and all other documentation.

·Give advice to the hotelier of the approximate number of quests for the reception.

·Plan the table setting, place cards and linen etc.

·Finalise details with the florist, photographer and caterers.

·Try all your wedding clothes on and make sure all fits correctly and all is comfortable.

A week to go

·Have the wedding rehearsal.

·Nominate someone to look after the wedding dress and the groom's outfit after the wedding.

·Wrap all the gifts for the bridesmaids, best man and attendants.

·Arrange all fees for the church or registrar, musicians (best man should do these).

·Do one last check on all documentation required including passports for the honeymoon.

·Give all documentation to the best man for safe keeping.

Two days before the wedding

·Confirm your final guest list to your hotelier.

·Make sure the wedding cake is fine and arrange all transport to and from your reception.

The day before

Have a manicure and pedicure, a long hot bath and an early night

The Big Day

·Relax.

·Have a good breakfast.

·Get your hair and make up done.

·Give yourself plenty of time to reach the church or registrar and always allow for the last minute hiccup.

Have a fantastic day to remember

About the Author
Declan Tobin is a successful freelance writer providing advice on purchasing a variety of Wedding Dresses which includes Wedding gowns, Designer wedding gowns, and more! His numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched resource of interesting and relevant information for all of your wedding interests.

In The News:

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New York Times
Eloping to Vegas? Why Not Lower Manhattan?
New York Times, United States - Jan 7, 2009
“With these new digs, there might just be a new world wedding capital.� The city clerk’s office issued 66600 marriage licenses in 2007 and performed about ...
Manhattan's new Marriage Bureau earns wows as a place to say your vows New York Daily News
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

Boston Globe
‘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 774 news articles

Boston Globe
Movie review: Cliches nag 'Not Easily Broken'
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 6 hours ago
The opening wedding scene in the new Bill Duke film, "Not Easily Broken" is so overwrought and cliched, it's akin to sitting down with a promising novel, ...
Not Easily Broken ( ** ) AHN
Movie Review: ‘Not Easily Broken’ is a romantic soap opera that ... Providence Journal
» Inspirational drama anything but 'Broken' Chicago Daily Herald
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Kansas City Starall 82 news articles

FOR FAMILIES: A guide for parents to Jan. 9 and earlier releases
Chicago Tribune, United States - 11 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 ...

Wedding war: Las Vegas versus New York
KVBC, NV - 9 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. ...

Wearing white and eating cake, Brides magazine turns 75
The Canadian Press, NEW YORK - 21 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 ...

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 - 19 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 - 5 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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