Weddings are fun, but anyone who has ever planned a wedding might be happy to tell you about the horror stories of everything that went wrong. Unfortunately, this happens all too often no matter how well you plan or how experienced your resources might be. Planning the wedding doesn’t have to be like that, though.

One of the most important aspects to consider when planning is to try to match the type of wedding to the length of time you have to make the plans.

Any formal affair that entails hundreds of guests, designer gowns, destination travel plans, a celebrity style caterer, and additional custom touches, will take at least a year of virtual full time planning. For a smaller wedding of perhaps ‘family and friends’ ‘ under 50 people ‘ you’re still looking at two months, although a month (with lots of help) might be reasonable.

Finding the perfect dress can take a month if not more. Many women are finding that this time honored tradition simply isn’t worth the money, time and effort involved. School, careers, and even single moms with families are opting for less all consuming alternatives that include renting a wedding dress or even wearing something that is closer to a cocktail dress. For bridal attendants, the same options are available. Make it easy ‘ let them figure it out!

For invitations, save time and money by doing your own. These aren’t cheap home made reproductions; these are beautiful high end pieces. Kits can be found online and in local stores. Do yourself a favor and forget those little RSVP cards that no one uses anyway. Give people an email address they can respond to. What may have raised eyebrows a few years ago is considered industry standard and acceptable today. The same goes for wedding photos. Hire a professional wedding photographer to fulfill your needs.

Instead of spending time at a printer pouring through books and books of invitations, print your own. There are specialty papers and kits made for all types of invitations and they cost a fraction of professional done invites. If time is of the essence, give people your email for RSVPs. The same goes for wedding photos. Hire a professional wedding photographer to fulfill your needs.

Formal sit down dinners are cumbersome, error prone, and rarely appreciated. With photos, dancing, talking, and catching up with family and friends, many dinners remain untouched. Opt for something just as elegant but easier on the budget and probably more enjoyable. Wine and cheese receptions are quite popular, as are desserts only with a coffee bar set up instead of a full bar.

Don’t forget to check on your transportation a few days ahead. Whether you are using limos or depending on friends, double check addresses, times, routes and even talk about parking availability in larger cities for friends driving in.

To avoid additional problems, request that guests not bring gifts to the reception unless it is being held at your home, of course. This eliminates the need to move them again.

Professional wedding planners strive to make all weddings momentous and unforgettable. Their extensive services include hiring a Toronto wedding photographer, booking the banquet hall Toronto, and ordering the Toronto wedding cakes. Let your wedding mark the start of a long and blissful married life!