Getting ready to walk down the aisle? Planning your wedding might be something you’ve dreamed of for years, but when the time comes to actually put pen to paper and get the planning process underway, the reality often hits.
Planning your big day won’t be easy, but with years in the industry and all the best insight from the Irish wedding scene, Wedding Suppliers has lots of experience to share. In this blog post, we’ve put together our top tips for planning a wedding in Ireland. Keep reading for all the best tips and know-how to plan your perfect day.
Set your budget
Whether you’ve done your homework or have only just got engaged, the chances are you know the perfect big day comes at a cost.
And it’s all too easy to get carried away with extravagant extras, from fancy table decor to couture bridal gowns. With so much to buy in the run up to your big day, setting a budget—and importantly, sticking to it—is a vital necessity which will make the entire wedding planning process more enjoyable and less stressful.
With so much to pay for in the preparation for your big day, knowing the budget you need to work to from day one is the important first-step. If you’re tying the knot in Ireland, there’s wedding suppliers that cater for every budget. From modest barns to luxury castles and DIY to all-inclusive, planning to your means is not only key—it’s completely possible!
Whether you’re working to a tight budget or have a house deposit to spend, dividing up your total limit into specific budgets for everything you need, such as venue, dress, catering etc. will ensure you don’t overspend and no area of your big day gets ignored.
Know your guest list
So you might have your budget set, but you can’t start looking for the first big choices like your venue until you’ve got your guest list down.
Ireland has a wide variety of venues available, from cosy and intimate to grand and extravagant. It’s important to find a venue that suits your wedding party size—too small and guests will be left without a place to sit, too large and your attendees will be swallowed by the space.
Before you go venue hunting, cake testing and catering searching, drawing up the guest list for your big day is a must. From knowing how much seating you need for your marriage ceremony to the size of the dance floor for your reception and the number you need to cater for, ultimately, it all comes down to who’s invited.
Crack who’s invited to your wedding (and the afterparty!) early on, and this will make the decision of everything else that little bit easier.
Set the date
Once you know what you have to spend and who you want to come, you can finally set the date for your big day.
But in Ireland—and much of the world—certain dates cost more than others. Saturdays are among the most popular days, with summer proving the most popular season.
And with higher demand comes more competition and a bigger price tag. If you’re looking for easy ways to save money on your big day without losing out on your dream venue, choosing a less popular time of year or day of the week to say ‘I do’ can save you hundreds—and in some cases, even thousands!
Setting the date should be a top priority for your wedding checklist if you want all your guests to attend. Making sure you’re well prepared in setting the date and sending your ‘save the dates’ to family and friends well in advance will ensure no one makes alternative plans or books to go away.
Choose your style
When you’re planning your dream day, you have to make a lot of decisions a long time before the day itself. From choosing your dream wedding dress to securing the perfect venue to celebrate in with your loved ones, the wedding planning process might be starting as much as two years before you exchange vows and officially become Mr and Mrs.
And with decisions being made well in advance, it’s important to decide the style you want for your big day before signing on the dotted line for anything.
Intentionally or not, every wedding has a style. From simplistic and rustic to the traditional white wedding, whatever your choice, it will influence everything from the venue and the dress to the decor and the cake.
Get organised
Brides and grooms who snooze often lose in the wedding planning game. Taking time to make important decisions about your big day is a must, but leave it too long and your perfect options might already be booked up.
Setting your budget and finding out exactly what you want for your dream day early on will ensure you can book all the suppliers you want for your wedding before they get snatched up by others.
Over 20,000 marriages took place in Ireland in 2018. Although there’s a lot of venues, caterers, bands and entertainment for weddings available, you can see why there’s a need to get in and book your desired suppliers early to avoid disappointment.
Being organised is the key to getting your first choices. From spreadsheet and powerpoints to Pinterest boards and lists, knowing what you need to do in preparation for your big day and making sure you do everything with plenty of time to spare is a tip we can’t stress enough.
Find your team
If you’ve done the groundwork and you’re ready to find your dream team, then it can seem like a simple (and fun) case of cake testing, dress fittings and weighing up all the options.
But finding the right team for your wedding in Ireland isn’t quite that easy. Good wedding suppliers are in high demand all year through, and ensuring you find the perfect choice for you can be extremely time consuming.
You may need to do multiple visits, trials and consultations to find the right option for you. This can be frustrating, especially when there’s a time pressure, but it’s important not to rush your decision and potentially choose a supplier that isn’t right for you. The perfect suppliers for your big day are there, it just takes time to find them.
Be smart
But with a thousand and one things to take care of, finding the hours in the day to sift through your options can seem impossible.
Being smart is crucial here. There are ways to make the planning process easier, including:
- Hire a wedding planner
- Use a wedding directory
Wedding planners
It’s a common misconception that wedding planners are only for Mr and Mrs’ to be who have a lot of money to spend.
True, wedding planners can be costly, but they can actually be an investment for your big day that saves you €’s.
Just because you hire a wedding planner doesn’t mean you have to pay them to plan your entire wedding from start to finish. Many wedding planners offer a number of packages, from complete planning to a helping hand in the run up to your big day and on-the-day coordination.
Although there is a cost for these services, they can help you find trusted suppliers and great deals, saving you lots of time, stress and even money.
Wedding directories
If you’ve got a little more time on your hands or don’t think a wedding planner is right for you, there’s an alternative that doesn’t cost you a penny.
Wedding directories are the solution for newly engaged couples planning their wedding who want to find the best wedding suppliers in their area, without the hassle of time-wasters, multiple viewings and hundreds of Google searches.
With all of Ireland’s most reputable wedding suppliers in one place, the Wedding Suppliers directory keeps everything from entertainers to tailors under the same roof.
Using the website or our app-based version, you can browse the best wedding suppliers Ireland has to offer, with features that allow you to favourite your preferred options, contact potentials and generally manage your entire planning process from wherever you are.
To find out more about planning a wedding in Ireland or for more information about Wedding Suppliers, get in touch with us today.
Ready to take your wedding planning to the next level? Sign up for Wedding Suppliers here or download the app for Android or iOS now!
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