I just stumbled on various full wedding planning website that take care of everything for you.  Imagine not having to do the labour intensive parts of your wedding and only making decisions. 

This is exactly what you’ll be doing for most of these wedding planning companies.  A proper wedding will take about 250-300 solid hours to plan and execute.  This includes the hours they’ll be there during the ceremony.  Here are some services that are offered by some of these planners.

• All services provided in Wedding Day Coordination are included
• Unlimited Wedding day coverage 
• Venue/ site referrals and visits to the location together
• Vendor appointments with consultant 
• Ceremony planning & design guidance/recommendation
• Reception planning & design guidance/recommendation
• Etiquette lessons/advisement during wedding ceremonies
• Act as the liaison between you and all vendors throughout the planning process

Hand over the stress, relax and meet your deadlines by allowing the consultants to handle everything from booking appointments to taking care of your actual wedding day.  After all, it’s your wedding and you deserve to enjoy it. 

Please comment below if you have used a complete wedding planner and recommend anyone. 

Newly engaged couples often send an official announcement to their local newspaper and/or city magazine. They need to contact the publications to find out the submission deadlines, run dates, and photo requirements (you may want to keep an engagement photo log with key information). Be sure to keep track of the newspapers and magazines contacted so you both can buy up plenty of copies when the announcement is published.

A proper announcement includes:

• Bride’s full name
• Groom’s full name
• Bride’s mother’s name
• Groom’s mother’s name
• Bride’s father’s name
• Groom’s father’s name
• Bride’s parents’ hometown and state
• Groom’s parents’ hometown and state
• Wedding site city, state
• Season, month, and/or date of wedding

It is not recommended that the couple include addresses, since they will receive many wonderful gifts during the next few months and don’t want to tip off burglars.

Engagement parties often occur soon after making the official announcement. Presents are not generally given; if, however, someone does bring a gift, be sure to promptly send a thank you card. It’s an easy gesture to forget, since about now both of your minds are focused on wedding plans, and you probably do not yet have official thank you cards printed.

Did you both get through the budget, timetable, rings, and announcement without a hitch? Good for you! If not, take a deep breath. It will all work out, and there’s a lot more to do! Let’s move on to find out more about making the guest list and selecting invitations in the next section.

Source: howstuffworks.com

Sit down together to determine a wedding date priority list. You both may want to include your families in this conversation, especially if they live out of town. Here are several important things to consider when choosing a date:

The honeymoon: Consider the type of honeymoon you both want. For instance, if you are both sun-worshipers, don’t plan a wedding date when your favorite island is experiencing monsoon season.

Work schedules: You both may have work periods when you can’t take time off. Select a date when your lives are least demanding.

Holidays and family occasions: Some couples go out of their way to schedule a wedding over a three-day weekend, so everyone has more time together. This idea works best if you send invitations at least eight weeks in advance; otherwise, people might already have plans.

The bride’s menstrual cycle: The bride wants to look and feel her best on her wedding day. If she suffers unpredictable cycles, a quick chat with her gynecologist may bring up solutions.

Day of the week: Saturdays are generally the preferred wedding day. That way, out-of-town guests can easily stay overnight. Weekday dates result in many regrets.

Alternate dates: If possible, have a first-choice date and at least one backup date.
Once the couple decides on a date, the real fun can begin! Work backward from the chosen date to determine a timetable of what needs to be done when. Some tasks, such as mailing invitations and picking up the rings, obviously can’t be checked off until two months before the Big Day. On the other hand, you both want to take care of other items — booking a florist and reception site, for example — at least a year in advance.

Click here for a timetable to organize your timelines for your wedding.

Now that you have heard wedding bells and experienced the joys of your wedding ceremony, it’s time to start thinking about how you’ll merge your finances. The budget management situation of a newlywed couple is not something to take lightly – the foundations you build right from the start will affect the entire relationship. Don’t simply think that “things will sort themselves out.” That’s the mindset of a financially troubled marriage.

Over 90% of couples admit to arguing over their budget management, and 34% cite it as a major problem in their marriage.1 Imagine not planning out who will handle your bills and organize your joint savings, let alone plan an overall budget for the family – and you might just cringe. Each spouse has their own interpretation of “important” expenses, and they’re going to spend accordingly without some joint agreements.

Coming up with those agreements, though, can be hard without the proper ways to track spending. Especially for young newlyweds in their late teens or early twenties, knowing what to do with taxes, savings, and 401k plans can be so confusing that many often revert to simply avoiding the subject altogether. Unfortunately, the theory of “if we ignore it, maybe it’ll work itself out” usually leads to more tension than satisfaction.

As if that weren’t enough, many newlyweds these days are thirty-somethings who are combining households and finances – a complicated issue by any measure. Whether you’re 19 or 35, then, there are several key factors and financial items that should be on any newlywed’s To Do list after the excitement of the wedding dies down.

1. Combining and Optimizing Insurances

Job One for any “financial marriage” is for both of you to change your insurance coverage. If both spouses have insurance coverage, it’s best to examine the different plans and costs to decide where the combination should occur. For instance, if the husband has insurance coverage that allows for free spousal coverage, you can set the wife up under that policy and start cutting your spending immediately.

If you can duplicate coverage, that’s good! Duplication ensures that should a medical emergency occur, your insurance policies should cover all of the important issues. If you are paying for insurance under one policy, but not the other, it may be a good idea to place the insurance coverage under the free policy and eliminate the charged one, if possible. Look for ways to lower your overall costs without losing coverage for both.

Mint’s Tip: A popular comparison site for health insurance is eHealthInsurance.com. They list many of the major insurers, and don’t require you to input your personal information before seeing the plan specifics such as monthly premium, deductible, and coinsurance percentage.

Aside from just medical insurance coverage, you’ll also need to combine homeowners insurance, renters insurance, auto insurance, and possibly life insurance. Make sure that you aren’t paying for the same coverage twice, and combine everything when and where possible. Your overall costs are cheaper when combined – for instance, auto insurance policies always offer multiple-driver and multiple-car discounts. Since most policies will require you to complete these changes within 30 days of your marriage, it’s a quick way to see financial savings immediately.

Keep in mind, as well, that your insurance coverage policies need verification of the marriage in order to proceed. Don’t just wait around and count on filing the marriage certificate paperwork to get that document in time! Most offices take 4-6 weeks to process your certificate. Make it a point to go down to your local county recorder’s office and get a copy, so that you can set up your policies quickly and efficiently.

While you’re changing your insurance coverage policies, you’ll also need to change your beneficiaries should something go wrong. Most people allow their spouse to be their beneficiary for all bank accounts, savings accounts, retirement plans, and insurance policies – so you’ll have to make those decision, as well. Also, some employers require that you identify the person who would receive your final check should something happen to you. Make sure to identify that person as your spouse, as well.

2. Juggling the Tiny Details and Plan for the Unexpected

There are also other issues that should be addressed before you race off to the honeymoon. If one spouse will be changing his or her name, for example, that change should be filed with the social security administration. That spouse will be issued a new social security card and, with that information, can change driver’s licenses or IDs to reflect the change. Anyone who sends you mail – such as credit card companies, magazine companies, and even, where applicable, your alumni association – should be alerted, too.

Now that that’s all taken care of, you’ll need to upgrade your wills next. This step is particularly important, as an old will can cause a terrible knot of problems should something happen to you or your spouse. Don’t stall from addressing these concerns quickly – although planning for situations like these can be difficult, ignoring them will only compound the problem. Make sure your desires are made clear.

3. Figure Out Where You Both Stand Financially

Your next obvious step is one that’s hard to overlook: reviewing all credit cards and other debt obligations between you and your spouse. Many people have credit cards, while others have student loans, child support, and alimony. It’s a good idea to sit down and plan out a way that you and your spouse can pay off these debts. While a perfect solution would be to eliminate your debt prior to getting married so as not to burden your spouse with your own debt, this isn’t always a possibility. Therefore, it’s important for both parties to work on making their family and their marriage debt-free.

4. Budget Management For Your Future – Together

Beyond just paying off debts, though, you’ll want to review your financial goals for life. When do you both plan to retire? Do you own a home yet? If so, do you want to plan on moving into a larger home? If you don’t own a home yet, you’ll often want to draw up a timeline goal for buying one. How long will it take you to save up money for a down payment, and what can the two of you afford when it comes to a home purchase? Set goals together, as a couple, so that you both have a clear understanding of your desires, your goals, your milestones, and the means by which to accomplish them.

This last step brings us to a key point: a newlywed couple absolutely must develop a budget. It is essential that the two of you work out your income, your monthly expenses, and debt obligations. Once that’s been determined, you can make key decisions on how to save money, create an emergency fund, or invest in options for the future. Without a budget, you are going to experience a difficult time together!

With this budget in hand and your plan for the future set, your debt repayment plans laid out, and your key financial information changed over, as a couple you’re ready for a successfully and financially responsible marriage together. Stress levels will be lower and your foundation will be set for a strong marriage based on financial responsibility. Hopefully, all of this planning will ensure that money will never be what comes between you both!

Source: http://blog.mint.com/blog/finance-core/four-steps-for-responsible-budget-management-for-newlyweds/

While the new couple are flying high and simply giddy, integrate a few stress-busters into your daily life. Then they’ll already be part of your routine once the really tough stuff starts.

Pick your favorite exercise, and stick with it. Whether it’s yoga, kick-boxing, or spinning, give this activity a few hours each week.

If you both have something that calms your nerves — be it reading, painting, or collecting rocks along the shore — don’t always put wedding plans ahead of this activity. You’ll stay calmer, make sounder decisions, and enjoy the entire planning process more if you stay relaxed.

Learn to ask for help. Delegating makes everyone feel better: It makes both or your Moms feel as if she has a vital role, and it puts less on your to-do list.

Don’t forget one of the most important reasons you are getting married to each other — because you love spending time together. Once a week go on a date, and ban any talk about the Big Day.

In decades past, the man got down on one knee, ring in hand, and proposed. Today, many couples jointly decide to become husband and wife. Likewise, they choose the rings together. It pays to know a few things first:

Find a jeweler you can trust. Use recommendations or family connections to find a jeweler you know to be honest and fair.

Select a style. There are many rings out there, with styles from heirloom to contemporary. Choose a style that reflects your personal tastes.

Set a price range. Have some sense of what you can afford before you even visit any jewelers. Most experts agree that the ring budget should total no more than the bride and groom’s combined salaries for two months.

Know your diamond basics. There are four
categories by which a jeweler assesses the worth of a diamond: cut, clarity, color, and carat (see below for more details).

Be sure to keep a good record of where the rings were purchased, how much they cost, the four C’s of the diamond, etc. This will come in handy for insurance purposes and if you find something wrong with the rings after bringing them home.

Also, you both just spent potentially thousands of dollars with a jeweler, so take advantage of your new status as a valued customer and consider using the same jeweler to purchase the bride’s attendants’ gifts. Don’t be timid about asking for a quantity price break.

The four C’S for diamonds

There are four qualities, or Four C’s, that jewelers use to evaluate a diamond.

Color: The closer a diamond is to colorless, the greater its monetary value.

Clarity: This term refers to the number of interior and exterior flaws that can be seen when the stone is magnified ten times.

Cut: A diamond should be proportioned and faceted to bring out the stone’s shine and clarity.

Carat: This refers to the size of the actual stone. Per carat value is determined by color, cut, and clarity. A small stone with flawless color, cut, and clarity can actually have a higher value than a large stone with many imperfections.

Source: howstuffworks.com

Marriage is one of the most important experiences of a person’s life, but like any legal process, it can get complicated. Depending on where you live, there may be laws governing who can get married and how a marriage license can be obtained. Some couples also face the decision of whether or not to have a prenuptial agreement. In this article, we’ll look at some of the laws surrounding marriage, including age requirements and marriage licenses. We’ll also explore some of the many legal benefits to being married. Finally, we’ll take a look at other forms of marriage, such as polygamy, civil unions and domestic partnerships, and find out where they fit in American law and society.

In order to have a legally recognized marriage, a couple has to have a valid marriage license. An application must be filled out in order to get a marriage license, and each state has its own laws regarding who is eligible to receive a license. The legal age to marry varies from state to state; in most states, both parties must be 18 years old in order to marry without their parents’ permission. However, in some states, people as young as 12 years old can marry with a parent’s permission, though some cases may need the approval of a judge. Some states also require blood tests for sexually transmitted diseases or for the couple to undergo pre-marital counseling.
A marriage license is essential for having a marriage legally recognized. In filling out a license, you will have to provide some personal information and identification.
 
When applying for a marriage license, the bride and groom must appear together in the marriage license office in their town. Official identification is required; it can be a birth certificate or a drivers license, depending on state law. A nominal fee usually accompanies the application ($60 in Hawaii). The couple fills out an official application and gives it to the marriage license agent. In some states, there’s a short waiting period of a few days before the license is issued. Once approved, a marriage license is generally valid for 30 days to a year.

After a couple gets married, a marriage certificate is proof that a marriage has taken place.