The holidays are here and while they can be hectic, there is often some downtime whether you are traveling in the car or on a plane or you have a few days off work. Relaxing is wonderful during the holidays, but if you are planning a spring or summer wedding, using the free time you have available to do some advance planning can save you a lot of stress closer to your wedding date. So once you’ve got all of your holiday preparations done, consider tackling these six do-ahead wedding tasks:
1. Finalize your guest list. If your wedding is six to eight months away, you should have a pretty good idea of who you want to have in attendance and getting together with family over the holidays can give you the perfect opportunity to run your list past relatives who may need to weigh in on it. Plus, you can take the time to create a spreadsheet of names and addresses of your guests so that addressing your invitations is much easier later on.
2. Draw up your seating chart. Once you have your guest list, consider creating your seating chart using The Guest Table’s online platform . You’ll be able to modify it 24/7 and share it with family and friends. You can even send guests an online code to choose their own seats, which makes everyone happy and saves you even more time.
3. Work on your budget. No one wants to be stressing over wedding costs at the last minute, so eliminate the possibility by using holiday downtime to research the prices of items you need. Incorporate these costs into a full budget spreadsheet that all parties involved in paying for your wedding can agree on well in advance of the big day.
4. Decide on wedding favors and prepare them. As long as you are not planning to have edible or other perishable wedding favors, there’s no time like the present to pick out what you want and order it. If you need to assemble your favors, then put your holiday work hiatus to good use by doing it now. Then put your favors somewhere safe until needed.
5. Order your wedding invitations. If you have your ceremony and reception details all locked down then there’s no reason not to take advantage of holiday sales on invitations. You can even address them now so all you have to do is pop them in the mail or email them out when you are six to eight weeks out from your big day. If you aren’t ready to commit to printing invites yet, at least get the design set so they can be produced quickly when you are ready to mail or email them out.
6. Check out post-holiday sales for shoes, décor and more. For many couples, having a wedding means purchasing new shoes, clothing, and décor. These items will often go on sale after the holidays, making the week between Christmas and New Year’s and the first few weeks of January the perfect time to look for what you need at a more leisurely pace. While you’re at it, you may want o look at bedding and other home items for your newlywed home.
These six items are easy to knock off in a few days over the winter holiday season. Even if you prefer not to tackle all of them, choosing a couple of key tasks such as setting your wedding guest list and seating arrangements, will lighten your load considerably as your wedding day nears. After all, anything you can do to reduce your wedding day stress is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself!
Author: The Guest Table