My sister is getting married. What are the preparations needed?

My sister is getting married in a few months. We’re all excited, including our relatives working in a foreign country. They say they’ll be home for this very special event. Here’s my concern, my sister wants me to prepare for her wedding. She said she’s very confident with my ability to be an organizer, and it would be much special if I prepare for it other than looking for somebody else. Now, what are the preparations needed? Should I start with the wedding theme? If so, please give me some suggestions. Thanks!

First thing that I would do is go to a site that specializes in wedding planning, not one that is about photography

A FEW months !!!

You have your work cut out for you.

The problem is experience or lack of it. Experience is important here, as there are MANY things that can bite you if you miss them. These are only a few of the things that I can think of, off the top of my head.

• BUDGET
  
• date. In some/many cases, the availability of the venue will drive the date of the wedding.
  
• venue; wedding and reception
  
  • indoor vs outdoor
    
    • if outdoor, you need a plan B, in case the weather is bad and it rains or the ground turns muddy. Spike heels will sink into the mud or even soft dirt. For that reason, outdoor on grass may call for wedges instead of spike heels.
      

    [*]Wedding

    • church/religeous or civil (non-church) wedding
      
    • wedding script
       
      
    • Someone needs to release the people walking down the aisle, for timing.
      
    • Practice
      

    [*]Reception

    • table decorations
       
      
    • food;what kind and how much, buffet or "sit down"/served.
      
    • Drinks. How will liquor be managed? This can get really expensive if it is an open bar.
      
    • Wedding cake? Needs to be selected, ordered and delivery arranged for.
       
      
    • Music; live or a DJ
      
    • Reception script
      
    • MC
      
    • Dance. Don't laugh. Some people need to be taught how to dance as a couple.
      

  [*]theme

  • This may drive the color of the dresses and decorations at the wedding and reception.
    
  • What about your sisters dress?
     
    
  • Speaking of dresses, a few months may not be enough time to get the dresses for the bridesmaids. So you need a plan B for the dresses.
    

  [*]logistics.

  • Where will the bride and bridesmaid be getting prepared?
     
    
  • How to get everyone from the various home/preparation sites to wedding venue, then from wedding to reception. How to get the couple from the reception to where they will be staying after the wedding, and collect them the next day.
     
    
  • Gifts: Where are gifts collected? Who will record who gives what gifts? How to get the gifts transported to where you want them to be opened?
    

  [*]photographer and videographer

  • Photo/video restrictions of the venues.
    
    • What is on the photo list to shoot?
      
      • Any MUST HAVE photos need to be listed.
        

      [*]Make sure the bride and groom know of these also, as that could affect what the photo/video guys can capture.

      [*]I've seen situations where some of the ceremony shots had to be staged, because the photographer was not allowed near the alter during the ceremony.

    [*]Formals

    • When and where are the formal photographs to be shot? This has to be integrated into the schedule.
       
      
    • If certain guest are to be included in the formals, they have to be notified in advance (so they know when to be available) and collected.
      

This is only a few of the MANY things that have to be considered.

 

Start doing as much research as you can NOW.

And get working on long lead time items ASAP.

 

Gud Luk

IMO - If you have significant work experience in Project / Team / Meeting / Event Planning, then take Gary's suggestion for a starting point, dig in and do some fast research and Roll hard and fast. If not I think you would be well advised to engage a wedding planner with proven experience. Failing on a family wedding is unrecoverable - of course you can change your name and move far, far away. :eek:

Following on Sandy.

Consider making your wedding present to your sister, the hiring of a professional wedding planner.

Another reason is, if you are part of the wedding party, you cannot also be managing the wedding and reception.

If you have no experience planning a wedding, you shouldn't plan the wedding any more than you would want to hire Uncle Henry who's taken a few decent snapshots on his vacations to the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls to be the photographer at the wedding.

Planning a wedding for your sister and blowing it is a great way to start a family feud.

I think the FIRST step is to get a firm set of expectations from your sister. As in like a proper 'meeting' using the list Gary posted as a tentative 'agenda', and comprehensive note taking. Once you have a firm understanding of what her EXPECTATIONS are, you can decide whether you are capable (ie. You have the TIME, budget, and Ability to do it). Then you should seriously consider how she is going to take partial successes, and hiccups (especially if the planning is extravagant) You obviously know your sister better than we do, but you should be brutally honest with yourself - for some people such normal occurrences are apocalyptic, for some it's expected or no big deal. If your sister tends toward the 'apocalyptic' worldview, i wouldn't advise taking this on - that's what pros are for.

 

Anyway, good luck, and remember, no matter what you do, this is going to be a source for family drama for the next few years. Focusing on making the B&G happy is ALWAYS my primary goal, but don't expect that to be everybody's.