Planning wedding: The first steps for your wedding planning
You're engaged and want to get married. But where do you actually begin?
It starts with a few basic questions. Once these are answered, much else almost falls into place.
Photos: Stock WiX
Planning a wedding: how do we begin?
Planning a wedding begins with the question of what style you want to celebrate your big day in:
Large or small? Civil ceremony, church wedding, or humanist wedding? A classic celebration in a hotel, a wedding on a farm, a Gothic wedding in a castle, a garden wedding, a winter wedding, or a multi-day celebration?
First, consider what kind of wedding you would like to have. A rough idea is sufficient.
Because this already raises the next questions:
How many guests are possible?
Which locations are suitable?
Which time of year is suitable?
How many guests would we like to invite?
30, 60 or 150 guests significantly change the possibilities for further planning.
Therefore, you don't need a complete guest list at the beginning. A rough estimate is sufficient.
Many different questions can arise:
Who would we like to invite?
Are there people who belong for family or other reasons?
Should children be present?
Do we only want to invite family and close friends?
Does this also include colleagues or other acquaintances?
For venue and catering, you can roughly estimate around €100 to €120 per person as a first rough calculation, although there is of course no upper limit. For 50 guests, this would amount to approximately €5,000 to €6,000 (as of 2026).
This is only a guideline. Depending on the location, catering, drinks and region, the actual amount may vary significantly.
A more detailed overview of the total wedding costs can be found in my article.
When would we like to get married?
Do you have a specific date in mind, or are you flexible?
The classic summer months are particularly popular with many venues and service providers. Special dates like July 27, 2027, are also likely to be requested significantly more often than a regular Saturday.
If you would like a specific date or a Saturday during the summer months, please inquire as early as possible.
Those who would be willing to get married in spring, autumn, or winter, or who are flexible with the day of the week, often have more options. Autumn and winter can also be particularly attractive in terms of price.
Where would we like to get married?
Your families and friends are alive In different cities, accessibility can play an important role. Then the question might arise whether you would like to get married closer to your family, your friends, or somewhere in between.
The type of wedding you're having also limits your choices.
A large celebration with 150 guests requires different premises than a small wedding with 30 people. An outdoor ceremony has different requirements than a wedding where everything takes place indoors.
is to take place in a building.
Therefore, the location is one of the first things you should look for and inquire about.
Venues often have a network of service providers who can help you with planning and take some decisions off your hands. Just ask them.
If you're looking for a venue in East Westphalia, I'd like to recommend Kathy Baerg's wonderful blog : The most beautiful wedding locations in Bielefeld & OWL
What should make our wedding special?
What style should your wedding have?
Is there a tradition you'd like to continue? Do you have any special entertainment in mind? Are your guests a large party group, or would you prefer a relaxed evening with plenty of time for conversation?
Perhaps there's something you experienced at another wedding and absolutely want to recreate yourself. Or quite the opposite.
Such considerations will later help you to filter out the options that truly suit you from the huge range of possibilities.
My article, "Which wedding entertainment suits us?", can also help you with this.
Which service providers should we book first?
Location, photographer , DJ or band, catering, freelance wedding officiants or videographers can sometimes be booked up very early.
Therefore, contact the service providers who are particularly important to you as early as possible.
Of course, there's no hard and fast rule. Some are booked up one or two years in advance, while others still have a free date just a few weeks before the wedding.
So if you think of a specific service shortly before your wedding, it's still worth making an inquiry.
This also applies to live painting. If you'd like your guests to be illustrated during the wedding, it's best to inquire early. Even if the idea only comes to you later in the planning process, the date might still be available :)
And perhaps you'll also find some suggestions for particularly cool highlights here:
What can wait?
Table decorations, wedding favors, stationery, seating arrangements, wedding cake and many small details do not need to be decided at the beginning.
First come the things that will influence your further decisions or where certain appointments are quickly booked.
First the obligatory tasks, then the optional ones.
Once the location, date, and key service providers are confirmed, you've laid the foundation for the rest of the planning. After that, you can finally take care of the fun details, step by step.
What question occupied you most at the beginning of your wedding planning – and which decision was particularly difficult for you? Feel free to write it in the comments :)
Looking for something special for your wedding?
With live painting, you can give your guests a hand-painted memento of your wedding day.
You can find more information about my live painting and my other wedding services on my website.
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