Sunshine Rainbow Moonlight: Tips on Wedding Preparation

A lot of you have been emailing me and asking me how to go about planning a wedding. And now let me share my experience with you. First and foremost, I would like to congratulate soon-to-be-wed couples who are planning for your big day. Normally a wedding planner is the best person to consult. But for my own wedding, I decided to take up the role as a wedding planner since I'm a Communication graduate majoring Public Relations. Hence, planning an event should be easy peasy. Boy, I was wrong! But it was worth the hassle and stress. The end result was overwhelming and memorable. If I can do it, I'm sure anyone of you could do it.

Set a Date:
Very crucial! (especially if you plan to get married during peak season i.e. Nov and Dec) Book your venue of ROM (registration of marriage) and dinner banquet. Make sure you pay deposit.
*5 months b4 my wedding, one big shot called me up asking whether I can push my wedding date forward or later. NO WAY, I'm going to give in!
Set a budget:
Unlike other big events, you normally pledge for sponsorship from respective companies but for your own wedding, you have to work things out yourself, in other words at your own expense. Hence, its wise to set a budget.
Take your pre-wedding pix:
I took mine 9 months b4 the wedding. I checked out all the bridal magazines and flew all the way to KL. But I booked the date of our wedding shots 12 months ahead. Call me kiasu if u want to.
Renovation: (if any)
Highly suggest that you start early if you are a fussy person like me. It is also high time to eye for sales or mega sales especially your new towels, beddings, curtains,furnitures etc etc....Smart ppl buy things during sales. I got mine during Hari Raya Sales.
Decide and inform you helpers:
Its best that you have a bunch of friends who can share your ~~pain~~ joy with you. Start delegating or else you'll go haywire ~~just like me~~. (From bridesmaid till your driver, take everyone seriously, and let them play a part in your day.)
Key Person
You can never risk your day by hiring a makeup artist that you never meet b4. Hence, go for trials instead. Here's a list of people that are very very very important to make your day a spectacular one. Makeup artist, hairstylist, videographer, photographer (if u plan to get those 'femes' one, book them real early like 6-9 months ahead), florist, caterer, cake, soundman. I would suggest that you book them 3 months b4 the big day and pay them deposit 1st to get the ball rolling. Other than that, decide on your officiant/celebrant, witnesses or emcee.
Prepare you guest list:
This may take you forever to complete. Be prepared of last minute changes. Hence, draft it out as early as possible and get both parents involved bcoz majority of the guests are mainly their friends and relatives.
Wedding Invitation Cards:
Get it printed 2 months before the wedding, It should be given out 4 to 5 weeks before the wedding.
*I almost screwed mine. I was too occupied with the renovation that I almost forgot to design and prepare the details for the invitation cards. Very pathetic. Thank God, I hav my sister who was around to help me out.
Plan your Big Day's Programs:
Agenda should be given to your helpers and make sure you hav an events coordinator/floor manager who is willing to run up and down like a donkey for you.
Attire
Make sure you get all the gowns and suits for the big day. Take notes of the Date of fitting, date of collection and date of return. Most of the bridal shops will require a RM200 deposit for each gown. But if you wanna have nice and cheap gowns, you should check this post. I bought mine 2 months before the wedding. Remember to spare some time for alteration.
Final Check List:
Get this done 2 weeks before the wedding. You'll find it very useful with all the info you need. Make sure it encompasses date of gown collection, rehearsal, mani-pedi session, decoration of the house, preparation of ang pow, bridal car for car wash and decoration, arrival of out-of-town guests, call up all the key person to reconfirm your wedding date, prepare cheques for catering, sound system, florist etc before hand and assign someone to pay on ur behalf ........(the list goes on).....
Last but not least, have a good rest the nite before the big day. Remember, effort put into planning is just to minimize mistakes, hence if there's 1 or 2 tiny mistakes just let it be and kick it away with a smile. All the best!