WaW Wedding Tip Sheet: He asked. You said, “Yes!”… Now what?
After the giddy feelings and telling your closest friends & family members regarding the proposal, you are left with the question, “What’s next?”
You might get asked a million questions especially regarding when and where you’d like to have your wedding. You might also get bombarded with so many recommendations from well-meaning and not-so-well-meaning individuals.
How do you deal with this new phase in your life?
First, tell your parents of your plan to get married. We live in a society where “pamamanhikan” is still important. The process of the groom asking the bride-to-be’s parents for her hand in marriage may be old fashioned but for a lot of families, this process is important because it implies that the groom respects them and their position in the life of their daughter. It is also important for the groom to tell his own parents of his plans, after all, the groom’s parents should be present during the formal pamamanhikan.
Second, before you go and visit a bridal fair, read up about wedding preps first. There are reputable sites where one can get information from fellow couples – those who are further along in terms of preparations or who are already done with their weddings. They can give valuable pieces of advice and they can give you their reviews of suppliers. Of course, reviews must be taken with a grain of salt. One or two negative reviews should not prevent you from considering a supplier especially if the said supplier has a lot of positive ones. (Personally, I would advise that you join the Weddings at Work community so you can have a support group as you go through your preparations.)
Going to a bridal fair, unarmed with reviews and the like, will make you prone to impulse booking. Reading up about a supplier after giving your down payment is never a good practice. You can’t get your down payment back because most have clauses in their contracts that reservation fees are non-refundable.
Third, it’s always better to finalize your date before sending out inquiries. That will make things easier since the suppliers can tell you right away if they are still open for bookings or if your date is already taken. No need to spend time discussing packages and your wedding plans if the supplier can’t handle your date anyway. Note: This date should be one that you also consulted with your parents, because some end up changing dates due to the parents’ insistence.
Fourth, if you’re not the type who is easily satisfied, then don’t go for a package deal. Avoid going for full planning as well, because you will end up researching even if you’ve been given options by the coordinator/planner whom you hired. Complete your roster of suppliers on your own and hire a day coordinator. That person can guide you but you can get the satisfaction of having researched for yourself. Being busy at work is not a good reason for getting a full planning service. As the saying goes, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”.
Fifth, have a working budget for your wedding but get ready to add a bit more to it once you’ve gone around your first bridal fair and you’ve seen actual rates. I would not advise that you already book suppliers on your first bridal fair unless you researched regarding the said supplier already.
Bonus Tip: Remember that the greatest deal is not always the lowest deal. It is the deal where you can get more bang for your buck. If the supplier is the type who will go the extra mile for you, then you are in good hands, and believe me, on the day, you will need these kinds of suppliers.
Read more of Darlene Tan-Salazar’s Wedding Tip Sheet articles at weddingsatwork.com/category/waw-wedding-tip-sheet/.
About Darlene Tan-Salazar, W@W Supplier of Year (2015):
Darlene started out as a Planner/Coordinator of Perfect 10 Weddings. Since she needed more time for family matters, she opted to focus on emceeing, and has since started “The Wedding Tip Sheet“, a Facebook page that tackles the practical points in planning a wedding.
