Get
Organized for Easier Wedding Planning
You've
had friends to your home for dinner. Maybe you've hosted a Super
Bowl party or two. But have you ever planned and coordinated
an event for 50-300 guests?
If you haven't, then welcome to the world of wedding
planning.
Caterers,
florists, and other wedding-related companies will be banging
down your door to get your business. Friends and relatives will
offer advice, phone numbers, and web sites for you to check
out. How will you juggle the multitudes of research and information
from those who want your day to be special? The key to smooth
and stress-reducing wedding planning is...
Being
Organized
Being
organized is the art of having the things you need when you
need them whether it is a brochure, a phone number, or a picture
of your ultimate bridal bouquet. And no one recognizes the need
to be organized more than someone who is planning a wedding.
A few organizing techniques you can use to help you plan your
wedding are the consistent use of a calendar/PDA and making
'to-do lists.' But what about all of those wedding-related papers
you've accumulated? Estimates from caterers, song sheets from
bands, and all of those pictures you tore out of magazines--how
are you supposed to keep them all organized?
The
Wedding Binder
The
top tool for organized wedding planning is a 'Wedding Binder.'
Besides your future spouse, your 'Wedding Binder' will be the
closest thing to a best friend you'll have during your engagement
period. The wedding binder is essentially a 'home' for all wedding-related
information. Each topic will have a specific area in the binder
allowing for quick referencing and retrieval.
How
should you build your wedding binder to work best for you?
The
size of your wedding and how many 'extras' you incorporate into
your wedding day (ex. ice sculptures, doves) will determine
the size of your binder. If you are having a small, simple gathering
or you're not doing much research, you may not need more than
a 1" spine. Large gatherings with many 'extras' will probably
require a binder with upwards of a 3" spine.
Besides
the binder itself, you will need:
One,
two-sided pocket folder is usually enough room for the paperwork
of one vendor. One side of the pocket folder is for ideas and
research and the other side is for estimates and contracts.
Keeping these different types of information separate will allow
you to locate them and retrieve at a moment's notice.
Examples
of some categories for your pocket folders are...
Assemble
the pocket folders in order of importance to you. If you are
constantly making calls to your caterer, place that folder towards
the front of the binder. Already know what favors you want to
give out? Place that folder towards the back.
What
other information can be stored in your wedding binder?
