Wedding Planner 2020

Wedding PLANNER 2020

THE BROOKINGS REGISTER

THE BROOKINGS REGISTER

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Photos by Choke Cherry Photography

Married!

Where to start?

YOU’RE GETTING

Use the following checklist to help plan your perfect day.

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Wedding PLANNER 2020

Sixteen to Nine Months Before... n Start a wedding folder or binder.

n Work out your budget.

n Pick your wedding party.

n Start the guest list.

n Hire a planner, if desired.

n Reserve your date and venues.

n Book your officiant.

n Throw an engagement party, if you wish.

Begin leafing through bridal, lifestyle, fashion, gardening, design, and food magazines for inspiration.

Determine how much you have to spend, based on your families’ contributions and your own.

As soon as you’re engaged, people will start wondering who’s in.

Make a head count database to use throughout your planning process, with columns for contact info, RSVPs, gifts, and any other relevant information. (Want to keep costs low? It may be brutal, but the best way to do it is to reduce your guest list.)

A planner will have relationships with— and insights about—vendors.

Decide whether to have separate locations for the ceremony and the reception, factoring in travel time between the two places.

Research photographers, bands, florists, and caterers.

Keep their contact information in your binder.

But remember that your invitees should be on your wedding guest list as well.

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Photo by Choke Cherry Photography

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Wedding PLANNER 2020

Eight Months Before... n Hire the photographer and the videographer.

n Book the entertainment.

n Meet caterers.

n Purchase a dress.

n Reserve a block of hotel rooms for out-of-town guests.

n Register. n Launch a wedding website.

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Wedding PLANNER 2020

No need to talk specifics yet, but be sure that the people you hire are open to doing the shots that you want.

Attend gigs of potential acts to see how they perform in front of audiences, then reserve your favorite.

If your wedding venue doesn’t offer its own catering service, look for one now and hire the service this month or early next.

You’ll need to schedule time for at least three fittings.

Veil shopping can be postponed for another two to three months.

Pick three hotels at different price points close to the reception venue.

Sign up at a minimum of three retailers.

Create your personal page through a free provider such as weddingchannel.com. Note the date of the wedding, travel information, and accommodations.

Then send the link to invitees.

Seven to Six Months Before... n Select and purchase invitations.

n Start planning a honeymoon.

n Shop for bridesmaids’ dresses.

n Meet with the officiant.

n Send save-the-date cards.

n Book a florist.

n Arrange transportation.

n Start composing a day-of timeline.

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Wedding PLANNER 2020

Hire a calligrapher, if desired. Addressing cards is time-consuming, so you need to budget accordingly.

Make sure that your passports are up-to-date, & schedule doctors’ appointments for any shots you may need.

Allow at least six months for the dresses to be ordered and sized.

Map out the ceremony and confirm that you have all the official documents for the wedding (these vary by county and religion).

Reserve structural and electrical necessities.

Book portable toilets for outdoor events, extra chairs if you need them, lighting components, and so on.

Florists can serve multiple clients on one day, which is why you can wait a little longer to engage one.

Plus, at this point, you’ll be firm on what your wedding palette will be.

Consider limos, minibuses, trolleys, and town cars.

(But know that low-to-the-ground limos can make entries and exits dicey if you’re wearing a fitted gown.)

Draw up a schedule of the event and slot in each component (the cake-cutting, the first dance).

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Five to Four Months Before... n Book the rehearsal and rehearsal-dinner venues.

n Check on the wedding invitations.

n Select and order the cake.

n Send your guest list to the host of your shower. n Purchase wedding shoes and start dress fittings.

n Schedule hair and makeup artists.

n Choose your music.

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Wedding PLANNER 2020

Negotiate the cost and the menu. If you’re planning to host a day-after brunch for guests, book that place as well.

Ask the stationer for samples of the finished invitations and revise them to suit your needs.

Some bakers require a long lead time. Attend several tastings before committing to any baker.

Provided you, ahem, know about the shower.

Bring the shoes along to your first fitting so the tailor can choose the appropriate length for your gown.

Make a few appointments with local experts to try them out. Snap a photo at each so you can compare results.

What should be playing when the wedding party is announced? During dinner? To kick off the dancing?

Keep a running list of what you want— and do not want—played.

Three Months Before... n Finalize the menu and flowers.

n Order favors, if desired.

You’ll want to wait until now to see what will be available, since food and flowers are affected by season.

Some safe bets: monogrammed cookies or a treat that represents your city or region. If you’re planning to have welcome baskets for out-of-town guests, plan those now too.

n Make a list of the people giving toasts.

Which loved ones would you like to have speak

n Finalize the readings.

n Purchase your undergarments. n Finalize the order of the ceremony

and the reception. n Print menu cards, if you like,

as well as programs.

n Purchase the rings. n Send your event schedule to the vendors.

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Wedding PLANNER 2020

at the reception? Ask them now.

Determine what you would like to have read at the ceremony—and whom you wish to do the readings.

And schedule your second fitting.

No need to go to a printer, if that’s not in your budget: You can easily create these on your computer.

This will give you time for resizing and engraving.

Giving them a first draft now allows ample time for tweaks and feedback.

Two Months Before... n Touch base again with all the vendors.

n Meet with the photographer.

Make sure any questions you or they had on your first draft have been answered.

Discuss specific shots, and walk through the locations to note spots that appeal to you.

n Review the playlist with the band or deejay. Though you probably won’t be able to dictate every

n Send out the invitations.

n Submit a newspaper wedding announcement.

n Enjoy a bachelorette party.

single song played, you should come prepared with a wish list.

The rule of thumb: Mail invitations six to eight weeks before the ceremony, setting the RSVP cutoff at three weeks after the postmark date.

If you’re planning to include a photograph, check the publication’s website: Some have strict rules about how the photo should look.

Arranging a night out with your girlfriends generally falls to the maid of honor. But if she hasn’t mentioned one to you by now, feel free to ask—for scheduling purposes, of course!—if a celebration is in the works.

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One Month Before... n Enter RSVPs into your guest-list database. n Get your marriage license.

n Mail the rehearsal-dinner invitations. n Visit the dressmaker for (with luck!) your last dress fitting.

n Stock the bar.

Phone people who have not yet responded.

The process can take up to six days, but it’s good to give yourself some leeway. If you are changing your name, order several copies.

For peace of mind, you may want to schedule a fitting the week of your wedding. You can always cancel the appointment if you try on the dress then and it fits perfectly.

Now that you have a firm head count you can order accordingly.

n Send out as many final payments as you can. n Confirm times for hair and makeup and all vendors. n E-mail and print directions for drivers of transport vehicles.

This gives the chauffeurs ample time to navigate a route. n Assign seating.

Draw out table shapes on a layout of the room to help

plan place settings. Write the names of female guests on pink sticky notes and the names of male guests on blue sticky notes so you can move people about without resketching the entire setting.

n Purchase bridesmaids’ gifts.

You’ll present them at the rehearsal dinner. n Write vows, if necessary. n Get your hair cut and colored, if desired.

Photo by Choke Cherry Photography

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Wedding PLANNER 2020

Week of the Wedding... n Reconfirm arrival times with vendors. n Delegate small wedding-day tasks.

n Send a timeline to the bridal party.

n Pick up your dress. n Check in one last time with the photographer.

n Set aside checks for the vendors. n Book a spa treatment.

Choose someone to bustle your dress, someone to carry your things, someone to be in charge of gifts (especially the enveloped sort), someone to hand out tips, and someone to be the point person for each vendor.

Include every member’s contact information, along with the point people you’ve asked to deal with the vendors, if problems arise.

Or make arrangements for a delivery.

Supply him or her with a list of moments you want captured on film.

And put tips in envelopes to be handed out at the event.

Make an appontment for a manicure and a pedicure the day before the wedding. (You might want to get a stress-relieving massage, too.)

n Send the final guest list to caterer & all venues hosting your wedding-related events. Typically, companies close their lists 72 hours in advance. n Break in your shoes. n Assemble & distribute the welcome baskets.

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Wedding Colors for 2020 Neo-Mint

Gender-neutral neo-mint is a pastel shade of green predicted to dominate fashion and interiors in the year 2020. It’s also the first on our very own list of top 2020 wedding color schemes.

It’s a fresh, oxygenating tone that is so aligned with nature and yet goes in harmony with science and technology.

Purist Blue

Purist Blue is the sunny and softer side of the familiar hue we’ve come to associate with calm and cool. The sea and sky have always been symbols of desire and possibility. It’s an optimistic shade across cultures. Blue and all its shades represent meditation, peace, and escapism. It grounds us and yet uplifts us because of its association with spirituality.

Cassis

If you tend to shy away from juvenile pink and purple hues, you might want to take a good look at Cassis – a group of sweet tones that offers a deeper blend of purple and pink. Cassis is grown-up glam. It’s coming of age. Yet it is also surprisingly soothing. When you think of purple, you think of royalty, grandeur, and sophistication.

Photo by Choke Cherry Photography

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Wedding PLANNER 2020

from weddingshoppeinc.com

Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe is such a rejuvenating color that it breaks down gender boundaries even if it comes in notes that are associated with softness and sweetness. It exudes a nurturing attitude and creates a good balance between the physical and mental aspects of a person.

Mellow Yellow

Mellow yellow is touted to be the next Millenial Pink. It’s been linked to well-loved Generation Z brands and is splashed across a few influencer’s pages. Psychologically, it is the strongest color because yellow is light and is the first hue that the human eye notices. Thus, it stimulates creativity and mental activity. It also taps into our emotional response by mimicking the look and feel of sunrise or sunset.

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Fresh Wedding Ideas You’re About to See Everywhere in 2020 realsimple.com

1 Sustainable, Eco-Friendly Details

7 Barrettes and Combs

2 Consciously Inclusive Food Options

8 Wedding Attire Revamped

Zero waste is more than just a lifestyle—it’s a wedding style. According to The Knot, sustainable weddings are trending, with many soonlyweds committed to minimizing their celebration’s carbon footprint and upcycling (or reusing) certain details like flowers, decor, and attire.

This isn’t your parents’ wedding menu; 2020 will serve up wedding dishes that cater to everyone’s dietary preferences and restrictions, not to mention totally reinvent the wheel. Think over-the-top mocktails, conveyor-belt-served appetizers, and unparalleled service.

3 Self-Serve Sips

Speaking of service and presentation, the wedding bar situation is looking insanely cool for 2020. The Knot has been seeing a rise in self-service drink stations, like beer taps, champagne dispensers, and the ever-popular margarita bar where guests are encouraged to choose their own mix-ins and garnishes to taste.

4 Innovative Lighting

What’s a wedding without mood lighting? While candles, lanterns, and string lights will never go out of style, couples are making room for unique and bold lighting options: hanging basket lanterns, modern tube lighting, and LED light signs, to name a few.

5 Flowers (Literally) Everywhere

Stems are synonymous with weddings—but we’re not just talking about bouquets and centerpieces anymore. Look out for fanciful salads and wedding cakes topped with edible blooms, pretty petals frozen in ice cubes, flower-infused water and cocktails, and monochromatic arrangements that play with texture.

The “it” hair accessories—clips, combs, and barrettes—are making their way into weddings too. In addition to more traditional veils and tiaras, brides, bridesmaids, and guests will be keeping their strands in place (and turning heads) with pearl, rhinestone, and enamel hairpieces.

It’s all about the bright colors, bold shoes, edgy jumpsuits, embroidered leather jackets, and textured embellishments (pleats, feathers, sequins, to name a few). Fun sleeves and statement ball gowns graced the Bridal Fashion Week runways most recently, so you can definitely expect to see those details trickle into ready-to-wear wedding dresses and day-of looks before long.

9 Experiential Gift Registries

Silver tea sets are nice, but these days more to-beweds are asking for experiences—or even just straight cash funds—as wedding gifts. They are still registering at big-box retailers, but supplementing their traditional registries with less tangible asks: a safari honeymoon, couple’s massages, lifetime passes to their favorite national park, and starter funds for a new puppy.

10 Unplugged Honeymoons

Unplugged weddings are nothing new, and couples are starting to take that off-the-grid mindset on their honeymoons. Per The Knot, “Unplugged honeymoons give couples the chance to celebrate their newlywed status without distraction, simply enjoying each other’s company as they start their marriage journey together.”

6 Over-the-Top Interactive Entertainment

Expect the unexpected when it comes to secondary entertainment (next to the band or DJ, that is), like “magicians, interactive make-your-own scent bars, and champagne stations in lounges just outside the restrooms to ensure the party doesn’t stop, even when you leave the dance floor,” The Knot says.

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Wedding PLANNER 2020

Photo by Choke Cherry Photography

Photo by Choke Cherry Photography

Wedding Day Emergency Kit Packing an emergency kit before your wedding can help tend to mishaps during the big event.

With proper planning, you can alleviate the worry of torn clothing, makeup disasters and even hunger pangs from getting in your way.

Whether your wedding is local or away from home at a luxurious location, keep these crucial items nearby. That way you’re not stuck in a state of panic when you should be focused on celebrating the next stage of your life.

Sewing Kit

A simple kit can be a lifesaver during a wardrobe emergency. Bring along an assortment of needles, different colored threads, scissors, hem thread and safety pins. Learn to master these tools in case of a disaster like an ill-fitting dress or accidental tears. When you’re prepared for small problems to arise during your wedding day, knowing the solution can make them much less stressful.

Touch-Up Supplies

Since you will likely be dressed and prepared for your wedding long before you say your vows, it’s important to keep beauty supplies accessible.

Here are some items you should consider.

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Wedding PLANNER 2020

Makeup: Mascara, foundation and lipstick are infamous for smudging or running. Especially if you will be outdoors for pictures, the need for a touch up may be crucial when a photo opportunity arises.

Hair accessories: You should also be prepared to address messy hair situations. Keep items like bobby pins, hairspray and a brush in the dressing area to touch up your hairdo before walking down the aisle.

Perfume and deodorant: Assume that you will sweat during photographs in your wedding dress.

Ensure you smell as good as you look by keeping these important toiletries nearby.

Snacks and Water

With all the nerves and excitement you will experience during the buildup to your wedding, it’s easy to forget basic needs like nourishing yourself.

Of course, you don’t want to have a generous meal before your catered meal at the reception, but you should plan to bring along healthy snacks like granola bars, nuts and protein bars.

Keeping yourself nourished and hydrated throughout the day will ensure you feel your best when it’s time to walk down the aisle in front of your closest family and friends.