How to plan your wedding

For several years, Beatrice Betley, aka The Expat Wedding Planner, has been helping international couples plan their dream weddings. She shares a few tips to help make this next step in your life as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Congratulations! You are engaged. Once the initial excitement is over, you realise that there are so many things you need to get done as you start planning your special day, especially as an international couple. Between getting the paperwork you need in order and making sure you allow guests enough time to plan on being able to attend, it is important to have a solid timeline you can stick to.

Planning your wedding

The first thing you need to do, after letting everyone know your amazing news, is to come up with a budget and set a date. This should be completed about a year before the actual wedding.

This gives people, like parents and close friends, time to purchase plane tickets and request time off work. It also means you will have a better chance of getting the perfect venue at a good price. Moreover, you get a little bit more time to create the perfect day and ensure you aren’t rushed.

Once you have done all that, the next thing you should do is get your paperwork in order. You will need to prove you aren’t married in another country and have it apostilled. This is also the time that you should start looking for a photographer and thinking about what sort of entertainment you want.

Enjoy the little moments

The following months are when the real planning gets going. From six months onwards, your life will be a series of appointments, fittings and tastings. There will be dress shopping, choosing a wedding party, looking for a caterer, cake tasting and flower shopping.

The most important thing to remember is to stick to your timeline and budget, while making sure you enjoy the little moments.

Need help planning your wedding? The Expat Wedding Planner has created an online wedding planning course to share the knowledge she's gained after years of event planning, with you! For more information feel free to contact her.