Hi Tweety! I don't think I'm the one who's in a position to dish out advice, becos I seem to be quite disorganised! But I'll still kaypoh and add in my 2 cents worth hehe.
On my list, the most important thing is to find a location for the wedding, becos if you want a good auspicious date, some of them are booked as early as 2 years in advance. E.g. September is always a very popular month. Even if you're like me and don't believe in auspicious dates, it's still nice to get something big settled and out of the way. After that, it'll be gowns, photos, makeup/hair, accessories, bouquets and floral decor (of location, car, church etc), invitations, wedding rings. I'm not sure if I missed out anything....
I can't give you any advice/tips on renting from bridal shops becos I'm planning to tailor-make both my wedding and evening gowns. Maybe Nofuss or Koala can tell you more about it.
Personally I thought it's even more troublesome to get from bridal shops, becos I don't like a lot of the sales tactics used. I like to be left completely alone until I've made up my mind. Although having said that, I have very little time left, so I might just cave in to getting from bridal shops.... don't know yet.
For me, I'm budgeting about $2k for gowns, makeup/hair, actual day photography, flowers and decor.
Hope this helps, cheers!
