A couple of weeks ago we introduced you to Darren and Teagen – a couple with cheeks so sore from smiling due to the proposal and congratulations that flowed in the weeks that followed. A month has now passed and reality has set in as they are getting elbow-deep in the wedding planning process. Here’s a breakdown of where they’re at to help you when planning your wedding.
First things first: find a wedding venue, set a wedding date, find an engagement venue, and set yet another date. If you have a longer lead-time between engagement and wedding, then it’s a little easier to plan things systematically step by step. The reality is though, many couples only have 6-9 months of planning time, which means multitasking is essential… as is calling on assistance from family and friends (aka Wedding Planning Team).
Wedding Venue + Date
I’ll group these two together as they really are dependent on one another. Find a venue that’s not available on the date you want and you’re back to the drawing board. Luckily for these lovebirds, they looked at all the factors when choosing a wedding date and are planning an off-peak wedding (January) on a weekday (Friday) so availability should be in their favour.
They still needed to do their research though, and after receiving quotes for marquee hire that equated to the same cost of the reception itself, they decided to look for a unique space instead… with my encouragement that air-conditioning was a must!
D & T took the following into consideration when trying to find their venue:
- Space – Seeking a venue without a ballpark figure of guest numbers is difficult! So they drafted their guest list using some helpful tips and decided on a sit-down dinner over a cocktail reception.
- Budget – It’s easy when a venue offers an all-inclusive package, but often unique spaces offer the chance to bring in your own caterers, furniture, styling, and so forth… meaning they needed to get a number of quotes to be able to put together a realistic budget.
- Logistics – Music is a big part of their lives and so the venue needed to be acoustically appropriate. Darren and Teagen also needed to ask the right questions regarding set up and pack down times, how long they could have the space for, and what sort of parking or nearby transportation was available.
It was then time for the fam to view the venue and (hopefully) give their tick of approval. Wedding venue liked and agreed upon – check! Onto discussion of the engagement party and other wedding details over a dinner of tapas and gyoza (tip: make meetings over meal times – everyone is always a little happier with a full tummy).
Engagement Party
This date was perhaps the hardest for them to set with the only available Saturday between them being late September. Thankfully the weather at that time is beautiful, it’s not too close to the wedding date, and it still gives them a couple of months to plan and get invitations out.
D & T love the idea of a brunch engagement party complete with fruit, pastries, and a coffee cart. We discussed everything from hard copy to electronic invitations, what park has nearby amenities, and what to do if random people decide they want to join in the festivities (after all, it is a public space).
Of course, with multiple people comes multiple opinions, and our bride and groom seemed to be fading towards the end. Talking about wedding plans can be overwhelming, especially when there seems to be a continuous string of questions, all to which the couple don’t yet have answers for. But, for all the future newlyweds, hang in there, it actually does get better… and easier… and then you wonder why you were even stressed in the first place!
Until the next edition…
I’m really enjoying following the wedding journey and planning stories!