WOW, now it all begins, a few tips!

Hello friends, bloggers and fellow Brides-to-be,

This is my first wedding blog post on Expat Bride 🙂

I have been been planning to launch my personal wedding blog since April 2012 when I first became engaged, in addition to planning the launch of my own on line wedding magazine www.brideclubme.com which should go live in November (this will be my master piece and needs time, attention and care before the BIG reveal).

I aim to help you with your wedding planning and also document my own plans here. So, lets start with our check list after the ring is on our fingers!

Once the initial glow of the engagement excitement starts to subdue, reality hits! Where, when, who to invite, how much will it cost, color schemes, favors, the dress, arghhhhh! lol.

When we dream of our wedding, we don’t envisage all the questions and dilemma’s that come along with planning our weddings, all we do is focus on the end event. But in reality, planning a wedding requires a lot of energy, effort, imagination and patience.

• Enjoy the engagement – First things first, once he or you have popped the question, take some time to just enjoy being engaged, don’t rush into planning straight away, allow time to revel in the joy of your moment.

• Wedding date – Once you have enjoyed the engagement period, discuss your time frame and intended date of marriage. Consider key points such as your financial situation, can you afford the wedding of our dreams just yet? Are you keen on starting a family quickly? Etc. Once you have weighed up all the key points, set a tentative date.

• Where? –  Some of us dream of marrying in an exotic location, some dream of marrying where we grew up, others love the notion of a romantic elopement in Paris, etc. Being an expat means, we have the added pressure of NO1: Living in a country away from our family, NO2: Living somewhere, where the laws of the country may mean, we can’t have the wedding we want, NO3: Considering the costs our family and friends will incur having to travel aboard to celebrate our wedding if we choose to wed in the country we currently reside in. NO4: Considering the costs and implications of organising from the UAE , a wedding back in our home countries.

Whatever your choice, make sure you are doing what is right for YOU and your fiancée. You can’t always please everyone, but you must remember that it is your day, a day you only intend on having once. Your family and friends should respect your final choice, however always remain considerate and polite when expressing your choices to your loved ones.

• Venue – Once you know if you are marrying back home, here or another country all together, you should start thinking about the venue. Be careful not to fixate on one choice straight away, having options is always a good thing. Weigh up what each venue offers, costs, facilities, nearby accommodation for friends and family, etc and then make your final choice based on your financial capabilities and how well that venue accommodates yours and your guests needs for your special day.

Once you have decided on the date, what country and what venue, all the other fun things come into play. Bridal party and grooms men, Theme, color scheme, food, dress, grooms attire, favors, etc. In my blog, I will be covering many of these important decisions for my own wedding, and hope to be able to help you in some way with your decisions too.

Happy planning!

Signing off for now….

Rio x