Planning a Wedding
It was over 13 years ago that my husband Joshua and I got married at Sundial Resort. (That’s not us in the picture, it’s one of the many other happy couples who have been married at the resort) We still celebrate our anniversary there every September. I got to thinking about this because we’re now in wedding planning season and recently I have seen a lot of articles on trends, tips and new things going on in the wedding world. Since I have my very own blog and firsthand experience getting married, I figured that I would throw my hat into the ring of nuptial advisors.
Since my “specialty” is beach/destination weddings, I’ll stick to that and give you the best information I can, both from my own experience and the best articles.
Timing: You don’t need to start planning your wedding 5 minutes after you get engaged but you do need to figure out when you should start.
Until I got married myself, I had no idea about the various timelines associated with planning a wedding: pick a date, pick a venue, order a dress, get dress fitted, book caterers, entertainment etc. I was so overwhelmed when I first found out that I spent a week refusing to do anything! Back then, there weren’t as many tools and apps available to help out. (Sundial has a great planning tool on their site that lets you enter your wedding date and it creates a custom timeline for you! Sundial Wedding Planner Calendar)
Now that you have an idea of when you should get things done, it’s time to figure out how to get them done.
Venue: A few quick decisions can narrow down your options and make it easier to make a decision.
- Local or destination?
- Inside, Outside or Both?
- How big is your guest list? (Just do a rough count so you have an estimate you can compare to a venue’s capacity)
- Do it yourself or have it done for you?
Here’s how my wedding looks with those questions:
- Local for us but destination for the majority of guests
- Outside ceremony and inside reception
- 250 guests
- Have it done for me
Knowing that the majority of people coming to my wedding would need a place to stay, I kept that in mind when choosing a venue. It is far more convenient to have your guests staying at the location of the wedding as opposed to wandering around an area they don’t know trying to find it. The inside v. outside aspect didn’t hugely affect my decision, since I live on an island and most places have outdoor event capabilities. However, it was my guest list that drastically affected my options for location. There are a limited number of venues that can handle a crowd that big. Sundial has one of the largest capacities in the area, being able to handle events up to 300 people!
It really was a no-brainer for me. I could think of nothing better than getting married at my family vacation destination for so many years.
For more wedding tips and tricks:
5 tips that may save your wedding (and your sanity)
31 tips to make sure you enjoy your wedding day
15 Crucial Items You Need On Your Wedding Day, According To Pinterest
