Planning an Indian wedding can be very exhilarating not to forget stressful, what with the many elaborate events that it comprises. As a bride-to-be, you in all probability must have never planned a wedding before, so the entire process must definitely be very daunting. 

Keep those worries away, because we’ve prepared a detailed wedding planning checklist of things to get done to make sure that all goes well on your wedding day. This article (part of a 4-part series) will help you with all the activities needed to be completed at least a year before your wedding takes place.

1 year away

So he’s popped the question and you’re all aglow! Now begins the preliminary planning stage for the big day. A lot of progress can be made once the wedding date is set. It’s also time to get connected with your wedding planner of choice. Once done, your partner and you will be spending a lot of time with your wedding planner and it goes without saying that the sooner you do it the better!

Set the tone of the wedding: Now is the time to decide whether you’ll want to have a formal, casual, destination of themed wedding. You both might also want to mutually decide on the religious ceremonies involved such as a church wedding, Pheras, and other pre-wedding functions & rituals like the mehndi or a cocktail party.

1. The next step will see you drawing up a tentative wedding guest list with your partner. Perhaps at this stage, having parents from both sides sit down with you’ll, will help to finalize the wedding guest list.
2. It’s time to set the budget for your wedding. You can leave the nitty-gritty of it all to your wedding planner. After all, the bride and groom are not really expected to plan their own wedding, rather they get help!
3. Now you must decide on your bridal party. You’ll be the best judge of who’s to be your Matron of Honor and brides maids. Have your partner select his groomsmen too.
4. Your wedding is still a year away. So make the best of this time by looking up photographers and videographers. In India, wedding photography of the artistic and natural kind has become quite the trend over posed and planned photography. If you have a photographer in mind that is based out of India, it’s time to contact them and finalize your queries.
5. Your partner and you need to keep your wedding theme in mind when deciding the invitation style. However, you don’t’ really need to get them printed at least four months before the actual day. Since the wedding date has been decided upon, you may also want to send ‘Save the Date’ cards to your friends who are out of India.
6. Start discussing the type of music you’d like to be played at your wedding. There are a good number of wonderful live bands in India itself who specialize in jazz and upbeat music.
7. You want to look like a princess at your wedding, don’t you? So it’s time to figure out make-up artists for yourself and your bridal party.

Now that both you and your partner have most of the information, the planning can actually begin. If you have a wedding planner, then your work is almost done! Stay tuned for the second part of this 4-part wedding checklist series, because you’re only getting closer to the big day!

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Choosing the perfect location is the most critical part of the planning process. In fact, this step is one of the first amongst many others that to-be married couples need to decide upon. After all, important things on the wedding checklist such as the decor, theme, flowers and wedding dress all depend on this choice.

This is when a couple needs to get together with the wedding planner to discuss their wedding location options.

 And there are so many to sift through. From fun beach weddings to fancy yacht parties to receptions in a hotel ballroom or even an intimate gathering on quaintly lit lawns, there s much to choose from! You ll could even hold the reception on a far-off pristine island or perhaps even tie the knot when skydiving or deep sea diving if daredevil traits run through your veins!

Here’s a rather absurd way to get married. But when you’re in love, the sky or should we say the sea is the limit!

But seriously speaking, even though it can be exciting to choose your dream location, a lot has to be taken into consideration during this planning process. For instance, if you select a wedding location which is not in your home city, this would mean that you have to make sure that you have absolutely everything available in that place.

An important point to be noted when choosing your wedding location is the season and climate. No bride would want to see napkins tossed around or the banquet table skirting wildly flying in the breeze.

Then your wedding budget is an important factor. The amount you have to shell out will obviously change from location to location. Do not forget to ask what will be included with the total cost when making the rounds of different locations.

In these difficult times of the credit crunch, you may want to consider cost-cutting options. So, if you live in a bungalow for instance, why not have the wedding in your own backyard on or the front lawn? Perhaps if you already have the vision of your dream wedding taking place there, it will become much easier. Yes, you will need a lot of imagination, hard work and organization to see your backyard materialize into a potential fairytale wedding zone. But, it has and could work wonders if you plan ahead.

That said, once you have decided on the wedding venue, a lot of other things need to be taken care of. Stay tuned for our complete wedding checklist, which will ensure that you do not miss out on the smallest of things when planning your dream wedding.

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The wedding date has been set, your rings have been chosen and as the day approaches, all you can imagine is that fairytale wedding- the moment you have waited for your entire life. Weeks of planning are required, after all a wedding is one of the most beautiful and important times in your life.

The newlywed couple will forever treasure the memories of their special day. Brides-to-be brim with a heady combination of excitement, anticipation, joy and mostly stress, while to be grooms generally take things in their own stride. That said, memories of your wedding could also be tinged with regret if something goes wrong unexpectedly on the big day. Here is when the problems begin, especially for the girl; almost forgetting that she was once a perfectly calm bride-to-be only a minute ago. This is also the time when she realizes that awedding planner should have been called in to assist planning this day out way in advance.

Your wedding day which may span just a couple of hours has to be well thought of. It really goes without saying that planning a wedding is filled with a lot of details and work to be taken care of. Most might consider a wedding planner as an unnecessary expense, However it should also be noted that the wedding planners job is to assist the bride and groom in every possible way to making the wedding more enjoyable and less stressful.

Planning your dream day involves a flurry of activities ranging from choosing the perfect wedding venue, a wedding cake, caterers and a live band to selecting that gorgeous dress with a train a mile long, photographers and the list goes on.

Well, this is just the exciting part. Most married couples-to-be tend to leave out crucial matters such as budgeting, guest lists and other not-so-exciting affairs. And, once again a wedding planner can come to the rescue, taking care of the nitty-gritty that you and your spouse might not have time to sit down alone and chart out at a go.

Planning out your wedding day can almost be compared to a full-time job! We at Marry Me advise you – do not get too overwhelmed! It may be a good idea to make multitasking and delegation a part of the planning process. Stay tuned for ideas, tips and more on weddings by the Marry Me Team.

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