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Where to start?

Normally when you plan to get married you get all excited and suddenly realise you don’t know where to start. Have no fear! Here are a few things you should keep in mind!



1. Number of guests. You have to decide upon the number of guests. Why is this important? It affects your venue choice. Some venues will only take above 80 guests while others can cater for 1000!
2. Book a venue. This is the most difficult because of availability and variety. There are so many venues to choose from and when wedding season starts you may battle to find a date! Wedding season in South Africa is from September to April. Most venues will give you discount when choosing a week date and even more discount if you choose a date between May and August. Wedding season brings me to another important point, weather. Depending on your budget, March to April is perfect because it is not too warm and it falls in the South African autumn. You may think of autumn is rainy but this is a safe part of the year regarding rain. Usually the rainy season ends in March (summer rainfall region) and starts in December. The winter rainfall season starts in May and ends in August. Once again, decide on where your venue will be. When choosing a wine farm in the Cape you will have to think of the weather as it is more unpredictable in that region than in the north of the country. The important question to ask is: Will it rain? Once you have decided on the venue you will need to pay a deposit to secure it. Make sure what is included and what not. Here are a few questions you should ask:

• How many people do you take? (more or less than a certain number)



• What is included? (tables, chairs, table cloths, cutlery and crockery, glassware etc)



• What is not included? (décor, bar, DJ, flowers etc)



• Do you have a rain plan? (when choosing an outside venue)



• Do you have your own catering? (find out if you can bring in you own caterer if you have a cheaper option and ask for menus if not)

3. Draw up a budget: This is VERY important. Try and stay within you budget. You can add your honeymoon, invitations, transport, fittings etc into the above budget to have a sense of the total cost of a wedding. Also, start saving NOW. The more money you save the more things you can pre pay when the day arrives.

4. Draw up a guest list. This is a whole new article and can be a real nightmare! Follow the simple rule of only invite people you have seen in the last year. By seen I mean actually had a face-to-face conversation.
5. Decide on and mail invitations. You can either have these printed or you can make them yourself. This saves a lot of costs especially when adding some decorative elements. By delivering invitations by hand saves on postage and you will also not run the risk of invitations being lost.
6. Set up an RSVP list. Try to have an idea of you seating plan when drawing up your RSVP list. You will save time by doing seating as people confirm attendance.

Don’t let your wedding day arrangements take over your life. You will have very high expectations of something which should be easy and smooth. Be prepared that something always goes wrong! That way you won’t be disappointed if something does go wrong. Let family and friends help. They can take a lot of pressure off you. Make time for your partner. He/She may not be a part of the arrangements but may feel very left out if all you can talk about is the wedding day.

Guest List and Invitations

Step 1
Start with the guest list. This can be very difficult, especially if you have lots of friends. The rule of thumb is, only invite people you have SEEN in the last 12 months. Set the number of people and try and keep close to that number. Also, decide if you want to allow kids or not. Just remember that some parents will not attend if their kids are not allowed to attend the reception.

Step 2
Once you have your guest list you can start looking at invitation ideas. There are so many ideas online, here are a few sites!
http://www.ourweddingplus.com/blog/unique-destination-wedding-invitations-2/
http://birthannouncementsandcards.com/weddinginvitations/
http://www.trulymadlydeeply.com.au/store/catalog/DIY_Invitations_Buckles_DIY_Wedding_Invitation__1485__Diamante_Buckle_on_Boudoir_Pink.html

The invitations act as a “teaser” of what can be expected at the wedding. Coordinate the colour scheme of your invitations with the décor. A nice idea is to ask guests to dress in a certain colour. This make your photographs look fabulous! The best way to save money is to make the invites yourself. These days you get lovely paper, already printed with patterns and themes. All you have to do is print the info.

When making your invites, remember to make table numbers as well as a seating plan layout. You only need to make the basic background for now – the detail will come in as soon as the RSVP’s stream in. It’s also a good idea to have one notebook or pad just for invites. Keep all of your ideas together, keep track of guests and their contact details etc.

Planning your wedding abroad

So you want to get married but you can’t afford it? Why not have it abroad? South Africa is the perfect country to have a wedding. Why? We have flights from many international destinations. We have beautiful weather. We have great scenery. The South African Rand gives you good value for your Pound/Euro/Dollar. We have MANY venues to choose from. Our hospitality industry is well developed for tourists. Your guests will have an experience of a lifetime. You can do an African Safari Honeymoon.

How does one start? Well, for one you should get in touch with a PCO (Professional Conference Organiser) or Wedding planner. Hatfield Conferences is a good place to start as they can book flights and car hire in conjunction with your function. Contact mariette@hftmce.co.za for a quote! They will stay as much in your budget as possible and will give you advice on where you can save. For instance, by making your own invitations and place cards. These are also easy to stick in your luggage!

Next you need to establish your budget. To give you an idea, a basic wedding in South Africa can cost around R50 000. The Rand is about R10 to the US Dollar. But check the exchange rate daily (ZAR=US$). So you can look at $5000 for a basic wedding for 100 guests. This will include the venue, menu (buffet menu), tables, chairs, décor (table cloths, chair covers, centre pieces, crockery and cutlery and overlays), flowers, music (DJ), dance floor and one night in the honeymoon suite. You have to add the following costs: dress, suite, wedding party attire, hair/make-up/nails, flights, accommodation, car hire, honeymoon, gifts (for guests), invitations etc.

Once you have a budget in mind you can start with selecting a venue. This will depend upon what you want, for instance, a beach wedding will cost less but you always have the wind (and possible rain) to think of. The weather in South Africa is pretty predictable so there’s not too much to worry about. If you would prefer a bush/safari style wedding you should budget for more. These venues are normally luxurious and private, which make them more expensive. Also take into consideration how far your venue is from a major airport. This will add to your cost if you have to travel long distances.

Keep logged in for weekly posts. We plan to take a topic per week and let you know as much as possible. For now, think about your wedding abroad.