Well hello there and welcome along to the blog. As we are a few days into the New Year now I thought it might be a good idea to introduce myself and the blog and tell you a little bit more about what we do here.

The chances are you may be one of the lucky brides or grooms-to-be that got engaged over the Christmas and New Year holidays. If so, may I wish you a MASSIVE congratulations! Welcome along to the world of weddings, you are in for quite a ride! Planning your wedding is an awesome time, so many things to get excited about and so many pretty things to research. I’m so glad you have found the Blog, and honoured that you have chosen to spend some time looking round the pages here.

So who and what is Boho Weddings? Well I’m Kelly, Editor in Chief and founder of the Blog. I set up Boho Weddings soon after my own wedding in June 2009 in Ibiza. It started from my love of weddings and my job as a wedding planner. Fast forward 10 years and here I am still writing about weddings and still absolutely loving what I do. I am no longer a wedding planner. Instead, when I’m not writing the blog, I look after my little boy Dexter who is now 5, my husband Nik and my British Blue Cat called Daisy. I am a lover of all things weddings though, and just adore what I do.

Photo by Jess Petrie

Photo by Gypsy Westwood

The Blog is filled with amazing Real weddings, I am truly honoured to be able to share so many special days with my readers. From Bohemian, free spirited days, to rustic, modern, industrial, super glam to vintage, destination weddings, same sex, multicultural, we love ALL weddings here at Boho.
I also love sharing lots of lovely wedding inspiration with you, as well as wedding planning tips and of course all the best suppliers in the industry.

If you are looking for your dream supplier, then you will need to check out our fabulous WEDDING DIRECTORY. It is jam-packed with some of the best wedding suppliers in the business, with a super easy search tool to help you find the right one for your wedding.

If you are looking for a wedding show or event to go to, then you need to take a look at our EVENTS CALENDAR, so you don’t miss any of the great shows up and down the country.

As for Social media, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,  Instagram and BlogLovin. 
We also have a super friendly Facebook group full of brides and grooms all getting married, this year or next, all offering advice and ready for a chat, so why not pop along and join in the fun.

So that’s Boho Weddings, if you have any questions or need help with anything, you can always find me at [email protected]

For now, to help you along with your wedding planning, here is a super helpful step by step guide. Hope you find it useful.

Step by Step Wedding Planner Guide

STEP 1)  Set your budget / set your theme / Do it together

Sit down with your partner and talk through your ideas together, you should be making these decisions together! Ask each other what sort of wedding the other has envisaged, you may both have completely different ideas. Do you want a Church ceremony, a civil ceremony or a Humanist ceremony or a blessing?

Once you have done this then look at your budget, yes I know it may not be the most romantic aspect of planning a wedding but it pays to be realistic about your expectations and also it will help with the whole planning process. Talk about what you can afford, what you have saved and how much you can put away each month. The amount of time you need to save may also have a reflection on your wedding date. Also it’s a good idea to find out if family members are going to be contributing, and if so how much? Don’t presume, it’s always good to know at the beginning stages.

Once this done you can look at the feel of the day and ideas on how you want it to look. Do you have any sort of theme, have you seen anything you like the look of, do you have your own ideas how to make the day special to you?

Jessica and Oliver’s Bright Bournemouth Beach Wedding By Paul Underhill Photography

STEP 2) prioritise the important things

Discuss with your fiancé what is important to each of you. For one a photographer may be the most important thing to get organised, the other it may be the entertainment, but you may not be too bothered about the car. This way you know where you need to spend your money and where you can save it. By doing this now you won’t make any mistakes further down the line, by not allotting each supplier enough time, money or attention.

STEP 3) get organised

Get a folder whether it be in paper form or on your computer. Make a section for each thing you can think of; venue, photographer, cuttings from magazines or pinterest folders. This way nothing will get lost. Here you can keep all contacts, contracts, emails and quotes in one place.
It’s also a good idea to put together a spreadsheet with all the details on it; a to do list, guest list, budget planner etc. Keeping everything in one place will help later on in the planning process and make your life a lot easier.

Amy and Michael’s Boho Filled, Glamping Festival Wedding By Mike Plunkett Photography

STEP 4)   set a date and your guest list

Decide what part of the year you both want to get married and check with important family members before you book anything. Be ready to be flexible if you can and have a few dates in mind as many venues may not be available if you only have one date in mind.
Once you have this, draw up a very rough guest count so you have some idea what sort of numbers you have, remember the more guests you have the more expensive the wedding will be, so choose wisely!

STEP 5) keep a check list

Once you have an idea of what needs to be done don’t over face yourself by trying to do everything at once. List each job to be done and then break down how many months you have to do it all before the wedding, then allot each month a list of jobs. Keep this list in your wedding folder and tick off each job as it is done.

Deshani and Stefan’s Bohemian Beach Sri Lanka Wedding By Cloud Attic Photography

STEP 6) do your research

This may be time-consuming but don’t take the first option given to you, or make hasty decisions. Each supplier needs researching, what was good for one person may not be good for you! By spending time looking at all of your options you will not only save your self-money but create a more personal wedding with your own style.

STEP 7) find your Venue

Finding your venue could very well be the hardest part of the planning process, as it will be the biggest decision you make and set the whole tone for your day. But once you have you will find a lot of things fall into place.
Lots of popular places get booked up quickly, especially if you are looking for a Saturday venue. If you are looking for a Friday, Sunday or mid-week then there may be more availability and flexibility, however Fridays are becoming nearly as popular as Saturdays these days. Try and think outside the box if you are looking for something a bit different. There are so many places that hold wedding licences these days, cinemas, old swimming pools, warehouses, pubs and bars, you aren’t just limited to the old stately home or church. And don’t forget about marquees and tipis. This could be a more flexible option if you are looking to put your own stamp on your wedding day

Debbie and Anthony’s Beautiful Barn Wedding in North Wales By Taylor Roades Photography

STEP 8)  choose your photographer

You will find that good photographers get booked up at least a year in advance, so this is one of the first suppliers you need to book. If you have your eye on a certain person you don’t want to be disappointed because you haven’t got your booking in quick enough. Photography is a very personal thing and there is a huge amount of choice. I would advise you to look at the photographers blogs as well as their website as they tend to put more up to date work on them, also you get to see whole weddings not just the best bits that may be on the websites.  Also look at different wedding blogs as this is often a great way to find the style of photographer you may be looking for. Choose your top 2-3 and go and meet them. It’s SO important you get on with your photographer because if you don’t you won’t be comfortable in your pictures and it will show! Your photographer is the one person you will spend the whole day with so it’s important you get on.

STEP 9) choose your dress

This is probably the best bit of the whole wedding experience!! To most brides it is so much fun but some brides do find it stressful and put so much pressure on finding ‘The’ dress! The first thing I would say to do is research! Make sure you do as much research as possible. Look through the magazines; search the internet so you have a good idea what you like before you go. Be ready to try as many style’s on as possible and go with an open mind. What you thought you may choose may not be what you finally decide on.  Also a lot of the dress shops have a 9 month league time from choosing the dress to it being delivered to the shop so you need to make sure you leave yourself enough time.

Dalia and Neil’s Elegant Bohemian Chic Suffolk Wedding by Benjamin Thomas Wheeler

STEP 10) choose your Entertainment

The next thing that gets booked up is entertainment so get in quickly! The type of entertainment you choose can have a massive impact on the party aspect of the wedding. If you are choosing a band, try to get to hear them play first, ask for recommendations and choose a band that fits in with your taste. Also look at different parts of your day, there are so many different options these days from garden games, village fete games, magicians, photo booths, musicals, singers, circus acts….anything goes! Choose something that fits in with your theme and tone of the day.  

STEP 11) catering and drink

Catering is another thing that gets booked up way in advance, so something you will need to look at early on in your planning. If you have chosen a venue that doesn’t have on sight catering then you will need to look into outside catering companies. Many will be able to provide the drink as well, or you may want to hire in a separate bar company, or run the bar yourself to save some money. You need to think about what sort of food you want and take it from there. Many catering companies will be able to help you with your menus choices, offering up ideas and variations.  Remember there are so many options these days, you don’t have to go for a 3 course sit down meal, and something more relaxed may be up your street! A BBQ, Hog Roast, afternoon tea, crepe van, ice cream trick, fish and chip van, street food,a buffet! Choose something that fits in with your day and tastes.

Katie and Gary’s 3 Day Bohemian Woodland Festival Wedding by Selah Photography

STEP 12) choose your suppliers and get organised

Once you have your venue, photographer and dress, entertainment and catering the rest of the wedding will begin to take a bit more structure and fall into place.
Get a list together of everything else there is to do, invitations, flowers, cake, decorations, outfits, transport etc keep it simple an excel spread sheet may do the trick or maybe you just like good old pen and paper. Work out when each job needs to be done and spread it all out on a month by month basis. A check list will help you stay focused and also it helps to incorporate the budget which will help you stay on track. Also it’s very important to spend time researching each supplier; don’t book the first person you find. Where you can, go and meet them, sample what they have to offer. Look at their website, but also check out their blogs and Facebook pages, as with the photographers they may have more up to date work on these.

Last of all……..Enjoy it!

Don’t let the planning consume you, far too often planning a wedding can take over your life. Try and allot yourself chunks of time to do you’re planning. You will find that putting a day aside every month to get the jobs done is better than doing a job here and there each day,  this way you won’t let the wedding run your life.

Don’t forget it’s your day, you will spend a lot of your time trying to make other people happy, especially your family and guests, but it’s your day, don’t forget that. Yes you have to be sympathetic to other people’s needs and wants, but the people who have the final say are you two.

And don’t forget why you are getting married. Some couple lose site of the actual marriage as they focus so much on the wedding itself, yes it is the best day of your life, but you also have the rest of your lives together, so try to focus on the long-term gaol!

Happy Planning

Kelly xx