The A, B, C's of planning a great wedding are Attendants, Band and Ceremony. How size of your families will likely determine how many many friends each of you will invite. It's nice to have a balanced number of people there to support you.
Set your "A is for Attendants" today and try to stick to it without making yourselves crazy. A certain percentage of folks may not be able to attend for a variety of reason an you can extend your invites further accordingly. This number will drive how big a hall you will need and how many meals, chairs and tables you will need. The people you know and love being there on your wedding day is what's most important. You can do without an expensive venue and/or caterer but don't forgo having family and friends you love.
Recently a New England Wedding Planners couple got married with an "A" of 200. A regular wedding venue with meals would have cost them more then they could comfortably afford. The 200 where mostly family and close they could not and do without. The answer? They rented the Friends Meeting House of of Brattle Street in Cambridge MA and had Bob' Food of Medford, MA cater it. This way they could still afford to hire a great "B is for Band". They went with Boston wedding band, Phresh Act, which they were thrilled where still available. There "C is for Ceremony" was held just outside the hall by Longfellow park, with beautiful birch trees as a back drop. Phresh Act provided outstanding live classical ceremony music and a sound system for the officiant and they bundled in at no cost because it was a a green wedding. By following the rule on A, B and C fell right in place naturally. There friends are still raving about what a great time they had.
Hire your "B" is for Band, early. As with your "A" you got to have your "B". You can lighten your expenses on your venue and and caterer but don't cut your head count or try to have a wedding without a great band. Book them early and find one that provides ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner and dance music so you get all your music from a single vendor. Make sure they will MC your wedding, learn your first dance song and parent dance songs, provide a wireless microphone for speeches and DJ some music between sets for you. Negotiate the price around your venue being local, picking a Friday night or early/late in the season. Perhaps by having them DJ your your cocktail hour or dinner you can shave some off their fee.
Your "C is for ceremony" is the first segment of your wedding and you'll be nervous. Location, location, location is important for being where you are comfortable, be it a place of worship or by the ocean, go with it. You don't have to be practical on this. The people that attend will enjoy your ceremony more if the two of you are in the sort of environment you like to be in. Romantic, formal, funky - whatever is best for the two of you. If a family member sings well, have him or her sing something during your ceremony or hire a "B is for band" that also provides ceremony music. If the environment is not appropriate for live music, recorded music is still an option. Many venues have grounds and or a separate area for ceremonies. This makes it easy on your "A is for attendants" as they won't have to drive to your venue after wards. All you really need is the two of you, two rings, the marriage license and your officiant.
We'll cover more details and add more pages but we felt this much was crucial to get out this time.
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