Party Planning, Wedding Planning Series

January had me thinking about all the things that I am looking forward to this year. As of last count, I am excited about 3 weddings. The first would be the wedding of my sister-in-law. She's having both a civil and a church wedding. The second would be the wedding of my bestfriend since highschool. She finally found someone who can match her wit and passions. The third wedding which as of this post is still unofficial is that of my 'adopted cousin' from dorm years in Kalayaan.

With these in mind, I feel as if my mind is travelling back to the time when I was planning my wedding. So many details, so little time.

   
    Planning for a party begins with the occasion, the date you want to hold it and the time. For weddings, the biggest considerations would be your budget. When you celebrate a wedding on a weekend, expect a higher turnout of guests. When you decide to celebrate your wedding on a weekday, there is a bigger chance of less visitors.So take note of that to help you decide. For weddings, find colors that will suit the ambiance of your church and your reception. For aesthetic purposes, check what colors suit you, your entourage and the view. Consider this: You are having an evening reception and the colors would have to be vivid enough for it to be captured on film.

I always tell anyone who asks for my opinion on party planning that after you've settled the date, the time and the where... your next priority should be the guestlist, the guestlist, and the guestlist. The guestlist is usually the basis for the number of invitations you would have to send out, food to be prepared and the number of souvenirs/tokens you are going to give away. In any party, you must have a guestlist prepared. This actually helps since after you get married, if and when you have kids, there are tons more parties to plan. Having a guestlist handy is of great help. For a wedding, with the guestlist you can start planning on your entourage participants as well. Remember that when you pick out principal sponsors, they usually come in pairs. You can pair husbands and wives together or you can mix it up, it's all up to you.

For Catholic weddings (Members of the Entourage):
Principal Sponsors (Ninongs & Ninangs)
Secondary Sponsors (Candle, Veil & Cord)
Best Man/Men
Groomsmen
Maiden of Honor/Maids of Honor
Bridesmaids
Ring bearer
Coin bearer
Bible bearer
Bride and Groom (of course)
Parents of the Bride
Parents of the Groom

What usually helps you make a guestlist is by putting columns. I prepare a guestlist by invitation but put extra columns for an expected number of guests to do the head count.
Example:
                                                 Expected
1.Mr & Mrs. Romualdo Rosario            3            the +1 is their daughter 

With this, I am able to estimate the number of guests who will arrive and the number of invitations I have to make/order/send out.