i need ideas on planning my small church wedding?

Question

i am getting married at my church and havent the slightest idea where to begin! every time i search for some kind of checklist- its for something really fancy, and i dont want fancy. anyone have ideas on where to start? and i dont have the money to hire someone to do it for me, hence the question....

Answer 1

The bare minimum you need to get married is:

1) Meet with your minister to arrange the time for your wedding.

2) Acquire a marriage license or arrange for publication of Banns.

3) Appear at church at the appointed time with your fiance and two witnesses.



Everything else is optional -- even the rings. So, what you need to do next, after meeting with the minister, is decide what optional extras you actually do want:

- Will you wear your Sunday best dress -- or get a special dress, and if getting a dress how fancy do you want it to be?

- Will you invite other people to see you get married, and if so how many, and who?

- Will you serve refreshments and entertain your guests after the service, and if so where and how extensive will the entertainment be?

- Will you add any optional elements to the wedding service, such as exchanging rings, lighting candles, pouring sand, having extra readings or special music; and if so what?



Answer those questions for yourself, and you'll have made a good start on customizing a wedding checklist. Answer them here, and I'll help with some additional timelines for you.

Answer 2

first thing SET A BUDGET. Set a date.Pick color scheme. Sounds like you plan on maybe 25-50 guests tops. Go to a craft store like Michaels for invites or get online sites like annsbridalbargains.com to get invitations You need no more than a Maid of Honor. Got a sister ? He has a best man only. Find your dress either at a bridal shop or online. Talk to a florist in your area about flowers.americanfloraldistributors.com has a great picture catalog if you don't know a lot about flowers. or when they are available they also have how to do it yourself videos on that site. either talk to family members about doing your own food or get trays from grocer/deli The Unity candle and sand ceremony is an optional thing not required.

Answer 3

have you reserved your church & talked with the minister? you need to do that as soon as you have a date picked out. from there, start looking at options for receptions, are you keeping it ultra simple (cake & punch) or finger foods, full meal etc, look for invitations, and flowers, start looking for dresses. you can use almost any checklist you find online and just ignore the things that don't apply to you.

Answer 4

I found a good one in the modern bride magazine for my church wedding. Also I think www.rexcraft.com (invitation company) has a good one. It's in their catalog at least, so maybe it's on their website.



You probably won't find one that matches your wedding perfectly, so just mark-off things that don't apply. And write in extra stuff as it gets closer. Good luck.

Answer 5

http://www.fresnoweddings.net/wedding_planning_checklist_2.html



This is the one I am using. I copy/pasted it into word format, then I deleted the things I was not going to need (i.e. wedding coordinator - doing it myself). I am also having a simple wedding and therefore I didn't need all the thing most weddings have.



That is what is great about copy/paste!