Don't Forget The Music!

Given the huge number of things that need organising in preparation for your wedding day, it's easy to get yourself confused – exactly what has to be done and when has it got to be done by?! Fortunately there are various websites and magazines out there with checklists to help you remember everything, and they'll even give you a schedule of what needs to be done when.

The problem I find is that different couples have different lead times when it comes to booking their wedding.. I myself booked my venue 18 months prior to the big day, thinking this was a smart move (and also to give myself time to save!). Others, however, will get engaged and then 3 months later they'll be married – so why does my wedding planners checklist say that my fiancée had to order her dress 12 months before the actual day? It's clearly possible to squeeze all these jobs into a very short period if you have to, so I guess it's just a case of making sure you give yourself time if you have that luxury.

Having been to a good few wedding fairs, I've found that there's almost too much choice over the majority of services – florists, cakes, photographers etc, but one thing I haven't found too many of is wedding bands. I guess it's difficult for a band to take a stand at one of these exhibitions... you couldn't have more than one really either. I would imagine the majority of wedding band bookings come from word of mouth, but if you don't have anyone who can give you that recommendation then where do you go to find a really good band for your wedding day?

I ended up consulting my old friend, Google... Through a search for “wedding band essex” I found a great band – they had a demo on the website, some great pics and a few testimonials which sealed the deal. So that's the venue booked, the caterers, photographer and band booked and my fiancée has actually found a dress, which just leaves the wedding insurance (probably should have looked at that sooner), invites, florist, rings and cake and we're set!