Here’s Exactly Where to Start Your Wedding Planning

Written By Shweta Desai Cote

Yay you are engaged! Congratulations.

You might be overwhelmed and not know where to start your wedding planning. Most brides will start with the excitement of trying to find a venue or deciding a date. But pause, before you actually dive into any planning there are 2 most important decisions you need to make.

What is your realistic budget?

How strict do you want to adhere to this number?

If you don't know the answer to 1, the average wedding in the United States in 2025 was 35k for a 100 guest count. You can use this as a jumping off point. From here, how flexible is this number? Is the number above your wishes for a dream day or can the number move if you found the dress of your dreams? It's always good to know the quantity of your wiggle room and the priority of if the wants are higher than the number you decide.

The season you choose to get married is going to affect the prices of the venues as well. The wedding season for New England starts from June to the end of October. The most favored wedding day is a Saturday, so choosing a Saturday in this timeframe will be the most you will pay, anything beyond these times (for ex Fridays, Sunday or any days apart from wedding season) are lower cost in comparison. Once you have these two figured out, you can dive into the actual fun stuff.

You can use our vendor guide here.

Once you have the venue, your next big task is to know if the venue provides catering or allows outside catering. If the venue provides & requires in house catering you are all set. But if the venue allows outside catering but also has in house catering available then it is important you try the food of the in house catering company and decide if that's the best fit for your day. If it is not you should look at other catering companies, the venue might provide a recommended list (usually a good place to start).

It is important you ask the venue if they provide the following;

  • Ceremony chairs

  • Reception table/chairs

  • Linen

  • Dinnerware

If any of these items are not provided then you need to contact rental companies to rent the needed items.

Your next task will be to book your photo/ video team, the DJ and your florist.

This creates your whole vendor team on a day of, make sure you trust them all and they align with your values and personality. To manage the whole team we recommend you book a day of a coordinator who can help ensure your day runs smoothly and your guests/family/vendor ask all the questions to the coordinator and not you. So you can enjoy your day!!

Shweta Desai Cote