Hello there everyone :) (help?!)

Hi there, welcome and congratulations :-)

You are not a numpty at all. Getting married is a big deal and can become overwhelming. It is best to get the most important things booked now as a year isn't long in wedding terms (although easily achievable). Firstly as soon as you can look at sorting your budget and booking your venue so you get your desired date. A photographer is a must, the good ones will get booked up, so meet up with a few, think about style of photography you would like and decide from there.

If you are thinking of a bridal shop dress these can take upto nine months to get so might be an idea to start looking soon. Maybe some more details on the type of wedding you want?

You have plenty of time for the little things, start gathering ideas for colours, themes etc (Pinterest is amazing). Get some ideas about the type of invites you want too.

Flower girls are usually younger than your bridesmaids maybe under the age of 10. They can walk ahead of you and scatter flowers:-) A page boy can carry a cushion with the rings on down the isle.

In the absence of father of the bride i chose someone very close to me to take on the role!

These days there is no right or wrong you plan the day exactly as you want, traditional or non-traditional. Enjoy the planning, get on the lappie and do some research and ideas will come flooding in and you will soon become an expert. Do one thing at a time (prioritise) so as not to get overwhelmed. Not sure what the done thing is with favours, we have changed our mind many times but now we are making our own jam.

Hope this helps even if a bit rambly. Hitched is a great place and everyone is wonderfully helpful and will be along with lots more advice

X

Hello and welcome!!

Seeing as you have about a year to go make a start now! Especially as you want your day during 'peak season'. Things like venues, photographers, caterers, and registrar need to be booked ASAP as a lot of people tend to book these up well in advance so get in there in quick!

Expect to pay deposits now and the full balance is usually due from 4 weeks before the big day, could be 2, depending on your supplier. Correct me if im wrong hitchers but I think the registrar requires payment in full, rather than a deposit???

Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest! Its fantastic to help you visualise what you want!!

And dont forget there is no such thing as a stupid question! We are here to help each other :-) ask away!!

Are you having a church wedding? If so then the vicar/priest will sort the registrar side of things out. He acts on their behalf usually. If you're having a civil ceremony, ie not in a church, then you'll need to give notice at the regostry office where you live - if your H2B lives in a different area, he has to go to his registry office. That can't be done more than 12 months in advance and costs a fixed price of £35 each. You'll then have to dec ide where you want to gert married. This is where t gets difficut as the possibilities are almost endless and the prices are also massively different depending what youo do. The internet is a great place but you do need ot be careful too as there's a lot of duff info out there.

There are only a couple of things that are essential, first the two of you, then either a vicar/priest or a registrar and gthen two witnesses who can be anybody over the age of 16 I think it is. Everything else is a nice to have. You must set your budget and then you do need to decide your venue be that church and reception, or hotel or the like, or even a village hall for your receptioon affter a ceremony elswhere. There is a lot of choice.

Hitched is a fantastic resource but it is a lot to take in if you have no idea. Ideally you could do with finding someone you know who has got some experience of weddings to talk to. Are you having bridesmaids? If so often you have an older bridesmaid who is your maid (or matorn of they're married) of honour. Part of their role is to help and support you through all of this. So if youo are thinking of a MoH, choose carefully

But these days you have a massive amount of choice and you can do things your way. Good luck, welcome to hitched and we're here to help (No I don't work for Asda lol x

Great advice already above, saw this and just wanted to say a massive Congratulations! xxx

My OH was exactly the same. I booked the venue, photographer and entertainment about 11 months in advance and was told I was being "too enthusiastic". Fast forward to now, some friends have just announced they've set the date for October and the first thing he says to them is: "have you booked the photographer? It is IMPERATIVE you book the photographer NOW as they get booked up!" ?

If you're after a Saturday in July then you need to get the venue booked now! I get the impression from your post that you have chosen the venue but not actually booked it?

I think as with anything, take this one step at a time! Book the venues and set a date, then you can start on other issues. For example, the absent father issue is a very common one which we can help you with. Flower girls are usually very young bridesmaids, their role is pretty much the same on the day. Not all brides have flower girls, it depends on the ages of their bridesmaids.

Aww thanks guys - you're all so helpful! As it happens, we've put a deposit on the venue and have been talking to the lovely staff there about all of the available extras (venue dressing, catering et al.) so a lot of the big things are sort of tied in with that. We have a cake maker on hand, a photographer available (just waiting on him to get back with full prices). Dresses and stationery I am not even worried about because crafting is kind of what I do, and I'm not exactly new to dress making, haha.

The ceremony itself is going to be small and intimate, so my bridesmaids will be my two little girls and the pageboy my little boy...

None of my friends have been married, which is kind of an issue. Eek!

Well, if you still need a photographer for your day, please have a look at www.minnarossi.com xxx