How to Plan a Wedding

Be in the moment and enjoy this special time together. Start storyboarding your ideal Adelaide wedding day. Discuss it together. What do you picture? Casual or Black Tie? Rustic or Fairy tale? Local or Destination? Wedding SA has real weddings you can browse for inspo.

Announce your engagement and discuss your wedding plans with your family and friends. Find out if any VIPs (parents, potential bridal party members) have commitments that would rule out certain dates for people you really want attending your wedding in Adelaide.

Your wedding style will narrow your venue choice. Venues often book many months, or years in advance. Once you have your wedding style, then it becomes easier to pick your Adelaide wedding venue. The most popular styles are:
Fairytale = city ballroom
Rustic = country or winery
Beach = coastal or water views
DIY = community hall, sporting venue, private home
Destination = somewhere with great views and accommodation.
Check out the Wedding SA venues or catering companies and make some enquiries as to availability and pricing.

Once you’ve received info on potential venues, you can think about your budget. Talk to your parents and see if they plan on contributing towards your wedding. Think about how much you can save and afford to spend on your Adelaide wedding. You might like to open a separate account for wedding savings and spending. Once you have a rough budget you can consider how many people you can afford to have at each venue. Of course, it’s also an option to ask people to donate cash in lieu of a gift to help off-set the cost. Wedding SA has a budget planner you can download to help you out.

Typically it is the reception venue selection that sets the date. Then couples consider their ceremony location – which may be at the same place. Wedding SA has some great ceremony venues to consider – gardens, beaches and churches.

Adelaide wedding photographers and cars can also be booked out many months, or years in advance. Don’t forget a video! Many couples skip the video, but it’s an gorgeous way to relive the forgotten or never seen moments. Have a browse through Wedding SA to find your preferred suppliers.

Your choice of celebrant can make or break your ceremony. Meet with a few and make sure they make you feel relaxed and confident. This will help with any nerves on the day.

What are you going to need to make your venue fabulous? Do you need to hire chairs and crockery for a DIY wedding? Will you have floral arbors and centerpieces? Some venue packages will include decorations – check what is included – it may be centerpieces, chair covers, etc. They may also include a wedding cake.

Consider a floral theme – it could be colour or style based. Remember that you’ll be holding your bouquet throughout the ceremony and photos – they can get heavy!

Will your wedding cake be used as dessert? This will determine what size your bakery will recommend. You can also get different tiers with different flavours! Heavenly! xx

Musicians at your ceremony can set a lovely mood for your wedding in Adelaide. The entertainment options are endless – DJ, swing band, jazz singers, band. Photobooths can be fun too!

What are you going to look like and wear at your wedding? Browse through the Wedding SA fashion, hair and makeup, and rings and jewellery sections for inspo and amazing Adelaide wedding suppliers.

Work out your guest list. Select your bridal party. It can be less stressful to select your bridal party closer to your wedding date, eg 3 months before. It’s easier to not select someone, than have to un-select them. Wedding SA has a guest list and seating planner you can download to help you out.

Invitations! Send out invitations for your hens or bucks party, and then the wedding. Typically wedding invitations are sent 3 months in advance. Although this is flexible, and sometimes a save-the-date is important especially for friends or family that might need to travel a long way, arrange time off work, or save up to attend!

Yay! This can be any time you like. Soon after your wedding day, or some time later. Many travel agents offer a honeymoon registry and can be an easy, but fabulous gift from your guests. If you are planning on changing your name, ensure you have your passport and travel documents in the same name! It might also be necessary to have a credit card in this name too, especially when confirming bookings or collecting tickets.

Maybe you’re looking for something unique to finish off the day? Or a dance studio to WOW your guests with a special routine? A thank-you gift for your bridal party and / guests is often nice too.