Wedding Tasks: Who Does What

 

Photo courtesy of Jenny Haas

Wedding planning can be such an exciting time leading up to your big day, but it can also be stressful if you have to do it all on your own. Hopefully you’re surrounded by a lot of family and friends who are going to help you in the process to make everything a bit easier! With so many people involved, you might be confused on who’s responsible for what when it comes to wedding planning. Don’t worry--this guide will help you decide who to delegate wedding tasks to!

Engagement party

After he pops the question, an engagement party can be such a fun way to celebrate your new engagement with all of your loved ones. It’s traditional for the bride’s parents to host an engagement party, but if your maid of honor or another family member wants to throw it, let them take a little bit of the burden off of your parents. If you’re unsure of how to celebrate your exciting news, here are some unique engagement party ideas to get you started!

Guest list

Figuring out who is on the guest list for a wedding is one of the bride and groom’s first tasks after they get engaged. Before looking at any venues, you have to figure out how many people you’ll need to accommodate. You and your fiancé can make a big portion of the guest list, but you should also consult with both sets of parents to make sure everyone who needs to be invited is included on the list; especially if they’re contributing financially to your wedding. Deciding who is invited to your wedding can be tricky, but you have to consider who is most important to have there on the best day of your life.

Budget

Figuring out the budget for your wedding might be a group effort. You and your partner should sit down with both of your families and figure out what type of budget you’re working with. Decide how much of your personal savings you can use, how much your parents will be contributing, and if you’ll be using a low-interest wedding loan for a portion of your costs. After you’ve determined how much you have to work with, try to designate specific amounts of your budget to cover each aspect of your wedding.

Venue, Entertainment, Photographer and other vendors

Once you’ve got your budget figured out, it’s your job as the engaged couple to figure out the details of your wedding day. You’ll have to book all of your vendors, including your venue. If you’re hiring a wedding planner, they’ll be able to help in a huge way with this step of the process. They’ll be able to help find the best of what’s out there, and you’ll have less stress to worry about with all of the decision making. The venue should be your first priority, as locations tend to book up fast for peak wedding season dates. If you’re unsure of what venues are nearby, do a search on WeddingWire for venues in your town to get an idea for what you might like. There’s bound to be something within your budget that fits your style!

Bachelorette party and bridal shower

More celebrations leading up to your wedding day include your bachelorette party and your bridal shower. The maid of honor and your bridesmaids should take on the roll as planners for these two events. They may want to keep the details a surprise from you, or they might ask for your opinion on what you might like location-wise and ideas for activities you can do together. Consider one of the most popular bachelorette party locations if you’re looking for a new destination, or have something close to home to save a bit of money. For your bridal shower, suggest hosting it at someone’s home or rent out a private room at a local restaurant.

Rehearsal Dinner

The rehearsal dinner is the last hoorah before your wedding day. It’s traditionally the groom’s parents’ responsibility to host a rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. They pick a location for the rehearsal, possibly with the couple’s input, and they foot the bill for the evening. For the guest list on the night of the rehearsal dinner, the bride and groom’s immediate family should be there, as well as the bridal party and any out of town guests that traveled a long way. Some hosts hire a planner for this event too, especially if they live out of town or the guest list includes more than the immediate family and bridal party.