ARRANGING A WEDDING is a huge undertaking and can be very stressful if you have a full time job and perhaps other commitments, so don’t be afraid to seek some assistance. The most important thing you can do is plan ahead and give yourself enough time to source, arrange and buy everything you either need or desire for your big day

Research

It’s a good idea to research weddings thoroughly before you make any decisions for your own big day. Start by looking on the internet to gain a knowledge of the industry, see what’s available to you and simply gain inspiration. Next, use wedding magazines such as The Scottish Wedding Directory and Real Life Weddings, which are full of tips, advice and useful numbers to help you with the planning. Remember to enlist the groom and trusted friends or relatives to give you support at this stage. Once you’ve got an idea what’s out there, your first step should be setting out a budget of what you can afford. Even though it is difficult, stick stringently to it. It is advisable to allow some extra money for over-spending or extras which could possibly creep up on you.

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Bringing in the professionals

Professional co-ordinators will keep to the budget you give them and provide advice on what kind of day you can realistically afford. They are also experts at hiring quality services at value for money; they will know which companies offer the best service in the area or can arrange for a quality supplier to travel to you. A co-ordinator can prepare a costed report of what is required and change it if your plans change. There should be no 'hidden costs'; a professional should tell you exactly how much their services will cost – and in fact can be a lot less expensive than many couples think. Don’t worry about losing control as you can still have as much input as you want; both communication and a contract with your co-ordinator are essential.

Wedding co-ordinators - top tips

• Co-ordinators don’t work on an ‘all or nothing’ basis; they can assist you with one particular element that’s causing you problems, or perhaps just be there to manage events on the day
• What many co-ordinators say is that they can do the legwork – research, pricing, sourcing, checking availability etc – the time-consuming aspects of the planning
• A planner can be particularly helpful to couples living a considerable distance from where the wedding is taking place
• Many offer a range of pricing packages – some offer various services for just £400 or £500.
• Some companies offer a service where at six-eight weeks before the wedding they take over tasks such as paying suppliers, arranging final fittings and co-ordinating guest lists