Top 10 Tips for Planning Your Wedding

The best ways to make your dream day that much more special.

Starting to plan your wedding? As one of the best wedding venues in Boston, MA, our team specializes in creating a couple’s dream day. Here are their top 10 tips.

1. Decide on your “must haves”. What are the most important elements of your wedding? Is it the type of food? The style of music? Having an open bar? Think about the aspects of the wedding that are essential to you, and define them before you begin speaking with a wedding planner.

2. Look at your numbers. Determine a rough budget and guest count. Before you start looking at venues, think about how many people you want to invite and how much you can afford. Those two numbers are vital to understanding where to get married. You don’t want to end up having an intimate wedding in a ballroom, or have a large wedding in a too-small space. To avoid disappointment, make sure your numbers align.

3. Identify the season. When you want to get married can determine where you can get married. If your dream is for a New Year’s Eve wedding, your specific date may determine your choice of venue. If you’re more flexible, spring and fall provide some great opportunities for a memorable wedding day.

4. Plan for your guests’ needs. If you’re having the ceremony and the reception in two different locations, consider transportation, such as shuttles for your guests. If there’s a long break between the ceremony and the reception, suggest things for your guests to do. Getting married in Boston? Consider a Boston Duck Tour, or a hop-on-hop-off sightseeing tour.

5. Bring a taste of the location to your celebration. Planning a rehearsal dinner? New England lends itself to clambakes or seafood-inspired menus that capture the flavor of the area.

6. Take care of visitors from afar. If you have guests traveling from a distance, remember they may not know their way around. In Boston, consider providing a welcome bag with a map and a CharlieCard that gives them easy access to public transit. Build an itinerary around your favorite places as a couple. Suggest your guests try a restaurant or two that are important to you, such as where you had your first date. That way, they can feel part of your love story. In addition, consider hosting a brunch the day after the wedding to let visiting guests see you one more time before they return home.

7. Plan your pre-wedding space. If you’re getting married in a hotel and staying there too, have separate, designated rooms where the wedding parties can get ready. That way, your suite isn’t filled with their bags and clothes. And if you’re having snacks before the wedding, be sure to have them delivered, so a member of your wedding party isn’t traveling across town for food.

8. Have hair and makeup come to you. Don’t travel on your day. Bring the vendors to you.

9 . Suggest your wedding party stay at the hotel. Avoid last-minute or even late arrivals by having everyone together.

10. Have someone designated to communicate your choices. On your special day, you don’t want caterers asking you every question. Choose someone from your wedding party to be the point of contact, so there is a single voice for any decisions.

At Boston Park Plaza, we have been making wedding day dreams come true since 1927. If you’re looking for a venue rich with history yet freshly updated, contact us. From our Grand Ballroom to more intimate spaces, our professional wedding team can create the mood and the menu that reflects your love story.