A-Z Guide on How to Plan a Flawless Wedding Step by Step

As the saying goes, it is a big fat Indian wedding. Be it an intimate affair or a royal gala of thousands, it is still one of the biggest days of the couple's lives and it is still a dream come true for the couple. To make it as memorable as it can get, there is a lot on the plate and no amount of time feels enough to plan your big day, we know. Be it a year's time or just a few months, you will need to take it one step at a time and avoid being overwhelmed by a lot.

Your family members will be there to lend a helping hand too, and make sure you get them to work with you! You might hire a wedding planner too, but even then there are some basic steps that can be followed to avoid any fuss and make it a smooth yet grand affair! Read to know.

Set a budget

The first step to wedding planning and the most hectic one that requires a lot of brainstorming is setting up a budget. It becomes so much easier to narrow down venues, lehengas, decor, guest list and the menu even! Whether you want to get a Sabyasachi lehenga or a singer performing live at your wedding, the budget always gives you a better grip over the planning. It might sound boring, but get set go! Get your partner, parents and other people important for this and set the wedding budget.

Get Inspired

It might not be surprising to all the women out there, because most of us (generalising) start gathering inspirations for our dream wedding since we get the idea of the grandeur of the wedding. Be it a magical OTT ceremony straight out of the fairytales or be it a relaxed and more chic rustic wedding or maybe the very trending eco-conscious weddings these days, you will need to look at your options on Pinterest or on some media platform and blogs to pick your colour themes, decor, even your wedding dress. You can finally start putting 2 and 2 together for the big day!

Start Your Guest List and Pick Your Wedding Party

The final guest list can come way later in the process of wedding planning, but it is important to figure out if it will be an intimate gathering or a royal carnival. This helps you choose your venue right and also the catering services or even the accommodation for your guests. This is also a great time for you to pick up the phone and choose your bridesmaids, groomsmen, best man or your favourite four brothers who can hold your Phoolon ki Chaadar.

Narrow Down the Dates

The Indian wedding scene has a lot of holy dates in the calendar for every religion and every community. You can call up your pandit and pick the dates with your family and your would-be-in-laws in the house. If you want to fix a date beyond the religious times based on holidays or your favourite season, do that too. This allows you to narrow down your venue and getting it in the budget too.

Choose a Venue

This is also one of the most hectic parts of the process of wedding planning. You have an estimated budget, a guest list and some dates on the mind - that is all you need to figure out your dream venue. Oh and a lot of research! Get on our website and read the reviews of the venue online. There a 1000+ venues in India itself, leave alone a destination wedding out of India. You will need to shortlist some of them with your partner and then you can both drive down in person before you finalise it.

Start Your Registry

The wedding registry is quite a new term that has become wildly famous and adopted from the west. Trust us, it makes life so much easier. As the couple at the altar, you will receive gifts that hold utility in your new lives and you can register for them yourself. It is a win-win situation for your guests too who do not have to spend days making wild guesses as to what you may like and might end up spending a fortune in a dinner set that you might not even like. The wedding registry is a saviour! 

Create a Wedding Website (and Wedding Hashtag!)

Creating a wedding website is also a relatively new concept, but this is an angel in disguise. You can create your own wedding website and put in your venue, date and all other wedding details. You can also put down the wedding registry link as well as the details of the accommodation for your guests. This step also includes coming up with a cool hashtag that will not only be your social media charm but can make your wedding decor all the more personal!

Book Vendors

The next step is to book your vendors - the decorators, the florist, the catering, the transportation and so on. You might need to sign contracts and before you do that or interview them for the day, make sure to read their online reviews.

Get Your Pre-wedding Shoot Done

Pre-wedding shoots are one of the most pivotal parts of a wedding and it is important you have it done before you send your invites and Save-the-dates. Look as pretty as ever, get your groom, get your photographer and make sure your wedding album looks breathless!

Finalise Guest List

This is the perfect time to finalise your guest list. Get your family and the in-laws with the spouse on one table and shortlist all the people that everyone thinks need to be there. Keep in mind the venue capacity and catering budget too before going overboard, but that is allowed too given it is your big day!

Send Save-the-Dates

With almost everything in place, you can finally send out your first set of save-the-dates. You can send them by email, by WhatsApp or even by a physical box of favours. Some couples like to directly send out invitations too if not the save the dates and this can be done in this step.

Purchase Attire

Finally the big day for the couple! Get yourselves to your favourite designer store where your dream lehenga awaits. This step is necessary to be done on time so that once you pick you wedding attires as well as pre-wedding attires, you might also require some adjustments to the measurements and alterations. If you need to get it stitched completely, you should do it earlier. 

Plan the Honeymoon

It is very taxing to be constantly planning the wedding step by step but that does not mean you will forget about your honeymoon planning. If you plan to fly off to your dream honeymoon right after the wedding, then you must take care of this stepwell before time - pick the place, book the tickets and accommodation and even pick your clothes and pack a trolley already.

Attend Those Pre-Wedding Events

And it begins. The next step to the pre-wedding planning is to start attending those bridal showers, bachelorette parties, Mehndi ceremony, Haldi and so on. The party begins here! Look all dainty, get some rest and enjoy the moments!

Buy Wedding Bands

The next step requires for you to pick the band that keeps you together forever - yes the wedding rings! Be it a solitaire, or a platinum love band or a golden ring of love - pick it right for each other and make it comfortable because that will not leave your ring fingers for a really long time!

Obtain a Marriage License

Some couples do it after the wedding ceremony too, but the ideal time to get your marriage registered or your wedding registry done is before the actual wedding date. It is not a lengthy process but to visit a court and get to sign papers while the lehenga gets ready is more convenient than doing it while basking in the glory of being a newly-wed couple!

Confirm Your Wedding Details with Vendors

Make your final calls to the wedding vendors to confirm their schedules for the days. If you think of getting a musician make sure you tell him the date and venue well ahead of time for him to make it without any delay in your entertainment. Ensure all the last minute touch-ups and other requirements are done.

Get Married!

IT’S FINALLY TIME TO GET MARRIED! After what seems like a lot of tasks in hand that needs to be in place before the D-day, the final step of exchanging your Jaimala and taking the saath phera is here. Take your vows and seal the deal till time’s end. You’ve worked really hard to get married, so you get to enjoy this dream come true! 

Oh we forgot the most important step, hop into the car waiting right outside with the sign that says “Just Married” and drive into the sunset!

If you're going to plan your wedding, do it from the ease of your couches with the WeddingWire website/app with everything on your fingertips.