If you’re newly engaged and still in the process of showing your engagement ring to everyone that comes within a 2-meter radius of your hand, you might be revelling in the excitement of the engagement. But if you’ve decided that it’s time to start planning the big day rather than just dreaming of it, you might be wondering where you can get some inspiration.

It’s not just walking down the aisle, but the wedding reception, dress, suits rings, music, flowers, ceremony, guest list decorations, photographer and much more.

To help you plan the wedding day you’ve always dreamed of and memories to last a lifetime, we’ve rounded up some top sources of inspiration below.

The planning process

As your wedding is unique to you, everyone who gets married and joins the other 85,770 married couples in the UK will have a different approach. But generally speaking, the wedding planning process should be broken down into steps.

You’ll want to think about a budget before you get inspired. While it’s not the most glamorous part of getting married, without knowing your budget, it’ll be hard to know what’s realistic for your wedding and what’s not. It’s important not to overspend, especially amid a cost of living crisis, so try to be sensible and don’t overstretch yourself for one day.

Once you have your budget, it’s a good idea to discuss your priorities on what you want when you get married. You need to establish who you want as your bridesmaids and groomsmen, and which wedding guests are essential to be part of your big day. Only when you’ve done that can you start to gather some wedding ideas!

wedding fayre

Relationship goals: A Wedding Fayre is a great place to get any bride and groom to be inspired

Where to get wedding inspiration from?

  1. Wedding fares

It might seem old-fashioned but attending wedding fares will give you plenty of inspiration for the big day. But rather than attending the huge shows packed with designer brands, smaller wedding fares with local independents and vendors are a great way to pick up some ideas, especially if local to you.

Many wedding venues of all shapes and sizes host wedding fares, so try to attend the ones offered at your preferred venues. This is because they’ll be decorated with florals and set up as if there is a wedding on, giving you a glimpse of how it’d look on your big day. Plus often the caterers will be out offering samples, so it can save you a job.

If your spouse isn’t interested in attending, take the best man or chief bridesmaid.

  1. The internet

Another obvious one is the internet. Pinterest boards and Instagram accounts are a great place to start looking for inspiration. You can even pin various ideas and share them with your friends and family if you wish, making it far easier for outsiders to understand your vision.

  1. Being a guest at a wedding

If you’ve already been to a few weddings, you’ll probably have seen some nice touches. Try to think back about your most recent weddings in depth. Was there something you loved or that filled you with happiness and joy? Was there anything that you really wouldn’t want at your nuptials? It could be anything from the reading of choice to the flavour of wedding cake!

As you think of different ideas, write them down so you have something to refer back to as you start the wedding planning process.

Final thoughts…

Planning your wedding can be one of the most stressful times in your life. But you can make it fun with the different ways you can get inspiration. Whether wedding fares are your thing or you prefer to scroll on Pinterest, there’s no reason you can’t tie the not tie the knot in a top-notch wedding day celebration, no matter your budget.

So get your pen ready –  it’s time to send some save-the-date letters.