THE COMPLETE GUIDE

You are about to start a new life, a life filled with the promise of happiness and dreams coming true.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Your wedding is meant to be a momentous affair, but one that will demand a lot of planning and decision making. This Wedding Planner is specifically designed to provide a pragmatic and organised approach towards making your wedding a runaway success from the word 'go'. Follow this guide, step by step, and all your plans will run to perfection.

SETTING THE WEDDING DATE

The date is usually based on the auspicious time given by the family pandit, but it is thoughtful to make sure that it does not clash with any other event in the family, and is convenient for people to attend.

FINANCING THE WEDDING

How do you plan to finance the wedding? It is a good idea if the parents commit a specific amount of money, and the bride and groom supplementing it. Take references from friends or relatives

who have recently conducted weddings.

• Maintain a budget file to check all expenses.
• Make a list of urgent and optional items.
• Assign each element an approximate amount or a percentage.

ENGAGEMENT

This is the first of the formal ceremonies. Traditionally, rings and gifts are exchanged between the bride and the groom's families.

Ascertain ring sizes and buy the engagement rings well in advance, so that the couple can try them out before the ceremony.

GUEST LIST

The number of guests likely to attend will decide your planning of venue, accommodation, catering and finances.

• Compile a consolidated list of invitees with their postal address and telephone numbers.

• To avoid duplication of common friends, discuss the list with the other family.

INVITATION CARDS