Almost every wedding that runs into trouble made the same mistake in week one: it picked a date before it picked a number. Here is the order that actually holds.
Decide the number before the date
Guest count is the single variable that drives everything else. It sets the venue shortlist, the catering cost, the transport plan, the size of the structure and, ultimately, the budget. Choosing a date first means you will spend the next eleven months trying to squeeze a number into a room that was never going to hold it.
Write the guest list before you look at a single venue. Not a target — the actual list, with names. Then add fifteen per cent, because it will grow, and plan against that.
Set the budget as three numbers, not one
A single budget figure gives you nowhere to go when a decision costs more than you hoped. Set three: the floor you would be comfortable at, the number you expect to spend, and the ceiling you will not cross. Every proposal you receive should be priced against all three.
Shortlist venues technically, then emotionally
Fall in love with a venue on the second visit, not the first. On the first, take a list: ceiling height, rigging capability, power supply, kitchen capacity, load-in access, noise curfew, wet-weather alternative, parking. Any venue that fails two of those is off the list regardless of how it photographs.
Book the date last
Once the number, the budget and the venue are settled, the date is the easy part — and you will have far more negotiating room on a Thursday in February than on a Saturday in December.
Appoint one decision-maker
Two families, six opinions and no single point of decision is the most common cause of delay we see. Nominate one person who can say yes. Everybody can have an opinion; one person signs.
