Planning a wedding can be an exciting but stressful event in your life. Wedding planning information and advice can sometimes be everywhere you look, but don't become overwhelmed with all the information and details. Here are three tips to help you more successfully and less stressfully plan your wedding. 

Decide on a Budget

One of the first factors you should consider when planning your wedding is to decide how much you can or want to spend. If you don't plan a budget and stick to it, your wedding spending most likely will increase and spiral out of control, as it will have no limits. Look for budgeting recommendations online to help you in deciding how much to spend for each area of your wedding.

The average cost for a wedding in the United States was recently found to be $31,213 with many weddings costing less. These figures can give you a good starting point for deciding on your budget. Next, consider which parts of your wedding are going to cost the most, so you can break down the total budget for each category of your wedding. Up to 50 percent of your wedding budget can be expected to go toward the wedding reception, then followed by the cost of the wedding photography and videography at 10 to 12 percent.

Give Yourself Enough Planning Time

When you first get engaged and begin looking at setting the wedding date, make sure you give yourself enough time to make all the appropriate plans. According to a wedding professional, it is recommended to allow twelve months to give yourself enough time to plan and arrange your wedding. Forty percent of engaged couples spend anywhere from 13 to 18 months to plan for their wedding day. Deciding how long your engagement will be can depend on how large and elaborate you want your wedding to be. It can also depend on if you want to book your wedding at an event location that is hard to reserve without months of notice. 

It is a good idea to make a list of all the details you will need to arrange for your wedding day, then specify when each task needs to be completed by. Doing this can help you decide how far out you need to set your wedding date. If you have plans for a simple wedding, you may be able to plan it successfully within one to two months or even less. There are many free wedding planner checklists you can download online to help you in considering every detail.

Hire Professionals to Help You

Whenever possible and affordable hire someone to help you plan your private event. Many parts of your wedding you may be able to handle on your own, or have a friend who can do it for free, but choose carefully when you decide to forego a professional. Using free help can save you a lot on your budget, but you may pay for it with less-than-perfect results on your wedding day.

For example, you may be able to put together your wedding flowers by building your bouquet and assembling flowers for your groomsmen and bridesmaides without incident. But don't take on anything too difficult, such as building the wedding cake or assembling friends and neighbors to cook all the food for the wedding dinner. Unless you or the person volunteering to do the project is very talented with the experience to make the finished product look near-perfect, hire a professional.

It is helpful to use this advice when, for example, choosing a venue for your wedding. If you rent a professional wedding venue, you won't have to worry about rigging up lighting, a sound system, or setting up chairs and table before the event. As part of an event rental, most of all these tiny but important details are handled by the event location's staff. 

Use these three tips to help you in planning for your wedding.

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