Have you picked a wedding date yet?

What day do you want to marry? Is there a certain day in your relationship that has special meaning? Do you want to get married in the summer, fall, spring, or winter months? Do you have a certain venue or church that you want as part of this day? What day do you want to get married? Remember this is the day that you will continue to celebrate every year for the rest of your lives.

Some venues need to be booked a year or more ahead of the date. Also some venues have select packages on off peak days. We chose a Sunday to get married on. My venue of choice had a great off peak package which included my choice of photographer and DJ. That was great--I didn't have to scout out our own! Booking our day almost a year in advance, we got to pick one of the best wedding photographers around! We also got a DJ that was very well known everywhere as 'the master of ceremonies'. They both helped make our day perfect!!

Things you need to consider when selecting your wedding date:

• If you want to get married in a church(especially if you are catholic) book the church and your officiant early. Find out all information you need to know and do for religious ceremonies.
• Search wedding venues for your reception, make sure you book your ideal venue early or some other couple may take your date!
• Consider flowers--if you want fresh tulips in lets say September....in season flowers will be cheaper than out of season flowers. So if you want tulips perhaps a spring wedding is the ticket.
• Professional Photographers need to be booked asap.
• Professional Videographers need to be booked asap.
• Book a great DJ as soon as possible.
• The wedding dress! I ordered my wedding dress 1 month before it was discontinued from it's designer. Start searching online, go to bridal shops and try on dresses. It's actually a lot of fun!
• Start deciding on your wedding budget. Discuss who will pay for what. I will discuss this in dept in future posts! And will also have a wedding planner budget document that you will be able to save and use to help.
• Save the dates!!!!! I will also be posting a couple templates of Save the Dates that I made for our wedding. I made a postcard and also refrigerator magnets.
• Start talking to florists.
• Start to select your wedding party. This also will be discussed in dept in future posts.

So...the above will keep you busy for awhile!!! More tips: Don't be afraid to ask for references, don't be afraid to ask what is included, what isn't included, what you can expect, and what you will really get. Ask for samples, ask to see pictures. Plan, plan, plan!