Last updated : Tuesday, November 17, 2009

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The 4 Decisions You Should Make First

He finally popped the question! You've probably spent the last few days calling family, friends, your college roommates, the old lady at the dry cleaner's … but while the glimmer of your new ring won't fade, the initial rush of excitement will soon morph into the panic of planning the big day. Where do you begin? We spoke with Darcy Miller, Editor-in-Chief of Martha Stewart Weddings to find out what decisions to make first.

Budget
Decide how much you can spend and map it out beforehand. Marthastewartweddings.com has a great budget planner; it updates as you put in numbers. The biggest problem people have is they say 'Okay, I'll spend $2,000 here and $500 here, but then when the contract comes in it's $200 more here and $400 more there, and it begins to add up and people easily end up way over budget.

Size
Who's invited? Before you decide on a location, write down who's important to you. Yes you can narrow down, but if you realize you can't have a wedding for under 100 people, you shouldn’t be looking at spaces for 50 people. Likewise if you realize there are 40 people that you care about the most, you might say, 'You know what? We could have a destination wedding because we'd be happy if it was just this group.'

Style
Figure out what kind of wedding you want. You'll drive yourself crazy looking at all the different aspects and yes, you should get your inspiration: look online, buy magazines and get ideas, but you need to figure out your style and stick to it. A lot of brides say they want something romantic and then they see modern styles and completely change their mind.

Location
Pick a location that fits all of the other criteria. Also take into consideration where your friends and family are and how easily your guests can get to the venue.

For more on wedding bliss, check out the Love Section. 

 

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