Write It Down

Weddings are days of happiness and joy. You bring together the people you love, the people who are about to become part of your family and some of the things you enjoy together under one roof. You create a memory for everyone.

For many couples, it is hard work to put together their wedding. Most don’t know where to start to get the ball rolling. Everyone relies on memories of previous weddings they’ve attended, magazines, books and the experience and stories of family and friends who have themselves gotten married.

So, how to get started? Take a pen and paper and write things down. It might seem corny but you’ll be amazed at how much clarity and direction you can get from simply putting pen to paper.

What do you write down? Even before you start meeting up with any wedding professional, you have some ideas of what you’d like your wedding to be like. Write down those ideas. Separate them into categories. You might want to categorize them as ideas for the ceremony or reception. You can even have sub categories such as flowers, food, wedding favors, photographers and so on.

No idea is too big or too small for you to write down. As you visualize or think of anything you’d like to have for your wedding, list them down. For example, if you feel that it is important to choose a venue that is comfortable for the elderly because you want your grandparents to have an easy time moving around, note it down. That will remind you to keep an eye out for ramps and elevators rather than long flights of steps.

Even if you feel that your idea is too vague, write it down anyway. If all you can think of is that you don’t want white or cream to be used for the invitations and decors, that is still an excellent suggestion. That will rule out two colors not to use for your wedding theme.

Keep a special category open for honeymoon. Though this is generally the groom’s province it never hurts to give hints of what you hope for. Go ahead and list places you’d like to see together or activities you would like to do with him. Your groom may be just like you - trying to figure out the perfect honeymoon - and since the perfect honeymoon is one that makes you both happy, go ahead and let him know what you like.

It also helps if you try to visualize your wedding day and get the images you see down on paper. Go ahead and be as specific as you like. That will be a big tool to creating a wedding as close to your dream as possible.

You and your fiance can do this together or separately as you prefer. If you work separately you can just discuss your ideas after. Exchange what you wrote then figure out how to put them together. This allows both of you to have a say in what your wedding will be like and it helps you get to know each other a little better.