Everyone awaits one of the most important milestones in his or her life. This day is like a huge cluster of memories! Memories which you would always cherish. Memories, that you will grow old with. Memories that you will look back on and smile. I am obviously talking about – Your Wedding!

It is but natural for you to feel, that you want to be involved in every tiny detail right from deciding the date to the theme of the reception! The bride and groom are like celebrities on this day. Both of them wish to plan their wedding, as this will be their first thing, together.

Nowadays, the trend is so, that hiring a wedding planner is easy and tension free. But then, your involvement gets reduced to almost nil. If you want to be completely involved in such a beautiful process, there are some important things to remember. Firstly, stop worrying. If you wish to, everything definitely falls into place. Second, be prepared for emergencies! Have some backup plan for every important part of the wedding. And last but not the least – Keep smiling and everything will go your way!

Now that you have decided to plan it yourself, here are some quick off the table notes to get down to your perfect day in grandeur and caviar.

Your own wedding folder!

A creative folder to organize yourself

Once you have made a determined decision to plan it out yourself, you better start early. And by early I mean six to nine months minimum before the wedding. This gives you ample time for taking care of every detail on your long checklist and avoiding any kind of emergencies during or before the ceremonies. The simplest way to do this is to create your own wedding folder or a simple binder. Make sure it has enough space and enough pages so that you have some space left even, after all, the ceremonies are over. The second important thing is not to change this book. Imagine this to be your big book of wedding & write each note, reminder, budget detail, dress design, etc. only and only in this book.

Right colour for the perfect wedding

As it happens only once in your life, we are sure that you want to look your best and also want your ‘to-be’ to dress in perfect compliment with you! To make this happen seems like a task, doesn’t it? But don’t worry. There’s a simple rule to follow – choose your COLOURS before you choose your CLOTHES! Typically, all Indian weddings have 3 - 4 ceremonies spanning over a period of 2 - 3 days. Make sure that you choose a single theme throughout the wedding and select your colours code in line with the theme. There’s nothing more beautiful and memorable than a colour coded couple on their special day!

A colour coordinated couple during their wedding photoshoot

Your own wedding theme

Everyone wants to make their wedding a memorable one. In the many ways to do this, selecting the appropriate theme is one of them. Every wedding should necessarily have a unique theme. Make sure the theme you choose is the same throughout the wedding. In your bid to be creative, try not making it too much of a mixture. Some of the themes that you can choose from are rustic – which gives your wedding ceremony a traditional but modern look; mythical – where you can play a lot with your dressing styles and make it memorable. Some modern themes like LED inspired – in which by an apt, but the spectacular use of lights, you can design each of your wedding ceremonies. Another very important point, while selecting the theme for your wedding is the weather. A theme like Royal – which is dominated by heavy clothing material does not suit for summer weddings. Adding some light music to your theme will certainly be a cherry on the cake!

Wonderful venue glazed in simple white for a wedding

Map out the ceremonies

In any Indian wedding, there are various ceremonies. Weddings are meant to be spectacular and extravagant! When you are planning your wedding, ceremonies like Haldi, Mehendi, Sangeet, etc. also need to be planned as immaculate as the actual wedding. Try using a mind map for each of these ceremonies; wherein you can mark up all the related pointers to the particular ceremony. Having one plan for all the ceremonies leads to total disaster! Try and plan them as completely independent events. With this simple method, you can ensure that nothing goes wrong on any given day.

Friends of the bride dancing at the Sangeet ceremony

The key is photography

Weddings are most expensive, elaborate and extravagant days of one’s life! Keeping these memories preserved is vital. For that, hiring the perfect photographer is another important item you need to check. While looking out for the photographer, make sure that you review 4 - 5 photographers. When you meet them, insist on looking at a complete profile that they did for a wedding. Once you have gone through all the details, select the one that stands out!

A click to remember…

Selecting vendors for the wedding

An outdoor venue set for a reception

In every wedding, there are numerous agencies involved in making the wedding, a perfect one. Caterers, decorators, photographers, designers, transport providers, musicians, etc. There are hundreds of all these agencies to choose from. There are three pointers for getting this straight. One, look out for vendors/agencies who have already provided their service at some weddings that you have visited. Second, choose the vendors that have a good profile online as well as offline. Moreover, lastly, ensure that the vendors you choose have a good and nearby access to your wedding venue, to avoid any kind of delay.

YOU matter

The most important people to take care of on your wedding day is no one but you yourself! While planning your wedding so meticulously, ensure that you neither fall sick nor injure yourself before the wedding. Be cautious to follow a healthy and proper diet plan so that you are your best during the wedding. Try your wedding dresses and shoes beforehand so that you get used to the fitting and the weight of the clothes. Line up your make-up and accessories according to the dresses that you are wearing on respective ceremonies. So finally, don’t forget to delegate small jobs to your bridesmaids and friends on the wedding day, as you don’t want the caterer talking to you about some problem!

Beautifully layered dress for the bride

Remember all these pointers, and make your special day, a memorable one. Planning a wedding is definitely not a piece of cake. And when you are planning it for yourself, it comes with added cost of time. A lot of time. Keep one thing in mind, that you have invested a lot of thought and time in planning your wedding, don’t let it go waste due to some minor mistakes. Important details like budget, food spread, time, etc. should not be missed out of your to - do list! The best way to enjoy your wedding is to be happy about it. This is the most important step in your life. Make it count.

Your wedding will always be the most memorable time of your life. And planning it yourself just makes it better and more personal!