The key to having a great wedding is adequate planning. You need to start well ahead of time in order plan well for the wedding. It is not silly to start the preliminary planning at least one year ahead of the tentative date of the wedding, as long as the couple is ready to wait for 12 months to exchange vows.

Of course, one year is an ideal time frame. You can also plan on the shorter time frame, but you need to get a lot of things done in that shorter time period. This means that you need to work fast and ensure that everything goes according to schedule. The tighter the schedule, the less the tolerance there is for lapses in deadline. Everything has to go on like clockwork when you have less time. But when you have one year to plan, you can take things a little slow at the beginning and speed up as the wedding date approaches.

Assuming that you are starting your wedding plans one year ahead of the wedding date, the first things to do would involve deciding on the budget for the wedding. Everything you do from then onwards would be based on the figure fixed in the budget. The next important task is booking the venues where the wedding ceremony and the reception would take place. Since the venue is one of the most important factors in a wedding, fixing that first should be the first step. Once the venue is confirmed, then you would be free to print your invitations whenever you want.

About six months from the wedding, you can fix the people who would be officiating the wedding. The minister for the wedding ceremony, the MC for the reception and all the other key people involved in the wedding need to be intimated and their availability determined. It is also wise to plan for alternatives in case they are not able to attend at the last moment. You can then book the videographers and the photographers to cover the events of the wedding ceremony. You should also book the catering service for the wedding reception.

Between six months to three months, the final list of invitees for the wedding needs to be written down and invitations dispatched to their correct addresses. Based on your susceptibility to weight fluctuations, you need to decide when it is the right time for you to purchase your wedding dress.

These are some of the key factors that you need to take into account while planning for a wedding. It is advisable to start the planning early so that you have enough time to get things ready before the grand day arrives.