How to be an Organized Bride
Simple Wedding Planning Strategies to Keep You Organized
Four easy ways to stay organized and sane when planning your wedding.
With all of the arrangements brides and grooms need to make before the big day, wedding planning can quickly go from fun to frenzied. However, by keeping on top of the details, you can greatly reduce your stress and enjoy the wedding planning process. The key to stress-free wedding planning is simple organization. Here are some tips to help get a handle on all your wedding tasks.
Invest in a date book. Whether you prefer the idea of a calendar, a day runner or a more specialized wedding planner, you need to get a date book ASAP. Consider this the single most valuable tool in your wedding planning arsenal. First order of business? Pencil in your wedding date. Once you know when the big day is you can plan for everything else accordingly. Ideally, most brides like to have a full year for planning which reduces the amount of stress, but your specific situation will dictate how much time you will allow yourself in the planning process.
See the Big Picture. Get your hands on a wedding planning checklist, as these are invaluable for giving you a basic idea of what your planning timeline should look like. Scour bridal magazines, websites and wedding planning books for variations in timelines and find one that suits your needs. Once you have an idea of the monthly breakdown of tasks, schedule them into your date book under your "to do's". This will ensure that you stick to a schedule and reduce the chances of overlooking any major details.
Pick a Weekly Planning Day. The easiest way to tackle multiple tasks is to do them in small increments over an extended length of time. Regularly set aside one day a week for an hour or so to devote to planning. Your actual planning time may need to be altered depending on how close the wedding day is, but the idea is that you get in the habit of going over the details with your fiancé regarding all things wedding related. Remember, the sooner you begin the planning process, the easier it will be.
Invest in an Accordion Folder. Once you begin booking vendors, it is important that you keep all the supporting contracts, receipts and paperwork in one easy to locate place. Create an individual file for each vendor and store all of the files within the accordion folder. By having all your important documents in one place, you are less likely to loose any important paperwork. This also makes it easy to refer back to when you need to locate specific information.
By keeping yourself organized, you will save time and stress worrying about misplaced contracts, overlooked details and missed appointments.
