Where to start and on a budget

Hi Kayla! Congratulations and welcome! Melissa had a lot of good ideas! A good place to start would be to sit down with your fiance and you each pick your top 3 things you want for the wedding. (Ex: food, photography, dress, music, decorations, etc) Once you know what your priorities are, you can figure out which areas you're willing to compromise on so that you can make sure you can fit in those important items. (For us, food and photography were important so we didn't do a lot of decorations or flowers. And we were lucky to find a space that already had nice decor so we didn't have to do much!)

Next you want to work on your guest list because that will determine everything else. You and your fiance should each make a list of everyone you'd want to invite and then go through and start narrowing it down. Maybe run the list by your parents too to see if there's anyone you're forgetting. Once you have a general idea of how many guests you want, you can start researching venues and vendors.

You probably want to research the pricing for vendors in your area so you can start putting together your budget. What you think things are going to cost versus what they actually cost can be very different! (We definitely had quite a few things that cost WAY more than we were expecting!)

The first things you want to book are your venues so that you know they're reserved for the day of the wedding. (Some places are booked more than a year in advance, especially if it's during prime wedding season.) Generally if you've been in contact with a venue but are still deciding, they'll give you a heads up if someone else wants it so you can put down your deposit or decline.

Hope this helps! Have you and your fiance decided on anything else other than the date?

Hi Kayla, weolcome to WW Canada Community

We are very happy to met you, your wedding plans sounds fabulous, congratulations! There's no such a better idea than start planning your wedding with time, you'll see there's a lot to plan. Ready to start with the first steps?

How To Start Planning Your Wedding

My To-Do List

Since you already have the budget, I recommend you to start searching for your wedding venue and inspiration to visualice your big day

Wedding venues in Edmonton Alberta

And for inspiration...let us know your favourite choices

Wording templates for your wedding invitations

How would you like your FH to dress on your big day?

10 elegant and divine wedding dresses

Six cascade bouquets

Show off your ring!!

Hope you enjoy them! Do you have favourite wedding colors in mind?

Hi Kayla! Welcome to the community- and congratulations!!

I think that since you have a firm budget your best starting point would be to consider what style of wedding you would like, and how many guests you hope to host, and talk to some venues to see if what you envision can be done within budget. Some venues have a price per person, other just have a minimum spend amount.

I had a firm budget when I started, but it turned out to be unrealistic for the style of wedding I wanted (a booze heavy cocktail party with amazing small plates), and to host all of the people we love, so we had to get DIY creative and expand the budget a bit.

I have been using buy and sell groups on facebook- and leaning on a crafty friend for help too, which is helping keep in budget.

Maybe make a list of what things are very important for you, and keep those in mind when you allocate budget dollars.

What style of wedding are you imagining? Any idea about guest count?