Singaporebrides | Weddings 101
January 2019
Get Ready for these Things When Planning Your 2019 Wedding
Wedding planning tips for anyone getting married in 2019 (and don’t know where to start).
So 2019’s free trial month of January is over, and it’s time to get serious about the year’s goals. Number one, planning your wedding. Since it’s your first time, we’ve got some tips for you. Get ready for these things to happen when you’re planning your wedding.
1. Not knowing how to get started.
We got you. Check out our top 2018 lists of the wedding vendors you’ll need, to get your wedding planning started.
2. You can forget to focus on the things that matter.
Most brides start wedding planning on a Pinterest board, and with all the pretty pictures and fun ideas—confetti-filled balloons! personalised succulent favours! writing a message on the bottom of your shoes!—it’s easy to obsess over the little details and forget about the big ones. Before you burn yourself out trying to incorporate every single trend into your wedding, try to take a step back and start with the things that make a big impact, like, you know, a venue.
3. There’s no 100% pleasing everyone (or your wallet).
If you had no budget restrictions, you could probably hold an intimate garden wedding to please yourself, then a 500-strong wedding banquet to please your family, and finally a destination after-party in a private pool villa with free-flow alcohol to please your friends.
4. Even “simple” weddings require a lot of planning skills.
Start with our wedding checklist, tailored to Singaporean weddings. It’s broken down into a hierarchy of importance, so NO asking for florist quotes on your puppy-bouquet floral collars before finding a venue that allows pets.
5. You don’t need to feel obligated to involve everyone in the wedding.
Don’t feel like you need to take up your cousin’s offer to beatbox, your new in-law’s offer of their child for a flower girl, or your colleague’s offer to decorate your wedding “for a friendship price” if you don’t want to. Thank them graciously and say you’ve already made plans.
6. Three months before the wedding, you’ll be buried under an avalanche of wedding planning details.
For a long time after getting engaged, you might be like, “Wedding planning is going to be easy because we’re so chill.” Two to three months before your wedding date, you’re going to be hit by seating arrangements, décor being delivered too late, invitation printing deadlines, and a host of other little logistical details. We warned you.
7. You don’t need to have a big wedding party just because everyone else is having one.
And you definitely don’t need a big bridal party because of the photos. Yes, all the images of bridal parties you’ve ever seen on Pinterest or Instagram involve at least five groomsmen and five perfectly matched or perfectly mis-matched bridesmaids, but if you just want to have your sister stand up beside you on your wedding day, that’s fine too! And don’t feel like you MUST have an equal number of bridesmaids and groomsmen, or have all girls on your Bride Squad and only guys on Team Groom.
8. You might feel the pressure of wedding trends.
You don’t have to hold an intimate outdoor garden wedding with a llama ring bearer just because it’s the cool thing to do. Your guests will enjoy themselves even if you don’t have a massive dessert table/ice cream bar/donut wall. Only follow the trends you actually want to! Hold a wedding that’s you!
9. You don’t need to DIY everything. Or anything.
It might seem like it’s morally superior to DIY things like wedding favours—“It’s so much more personal and heartfelt!”—but unless you enjoy crafting, you shouldn’t feel like you need to. Your guests won’t be like, “How dare you not take calligraphy lessons to inscribe my name on one of 200 place cards!”
10. Everyone has an opinion on your wedding.
Your BFF, your grandmother, your colleague, your client, the aunty you buy chicken rice from. Once you tell people you’re getting married, be prepared for A LOT of opinions on what you should do for your wedding.
11. Your wedding day schedule will require military precision.
At 0400 hours, you’ll probably be up for makeup. To get an idea of what a wedding day involves, check out our customisable wedding day schedules for two common wedding scenarios in Singapore. You can adapt it for your own wedding needs.
12. Joining local wedding planning groups can be a great resource for reviews and recommendations.
Local wedding planning groups like the SingaporeBrides Forum, or Whatsapp groups for Brides of 2019 or Brides of 2020 are great places to ask for recommendations on vendors, compare package deals, pick up wedding items second-hand, or simply find people who actually understand what you’re going through.
Illustrated by Tansey Tang.
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