Wow, a whole year to plan a wedding. I only had a month and a half to plan my wedding!

If you cannot hire a wedding planner and must do it yourself, here are a few suggestions to keeping your wedding planning days pleasant and as stress free as possible plus have the wedding of your dreams without breaking the bank.

1. Make a guest list. Making your guest list should be on top of your list, if not the first thing you should do. Doing this will help you create a budget and will help you save money and time. Invite only close friends and relatives, keeping it intimate will give you a feel of what a wedding should be like.

2. Choose a theme.

3. Make a budget and stick to it. Don't overspend for the wedding, instead save money for the honeymoon.

4. Keep it simple but elegant. Choose flowers that will complement your dress as well as the ambience for the reception of the wedding.

5. Fit your dress atleast thrice, 2 weeks before your wedding, so that you can alter the dress if it becomes too tight or too loose. Make sure that your dress complements your body and feels comfortable when you wear it.

6. Have a food tasting day, make sure that the food you serve your guests will be worth every cent. Choose your cake, the design should conform to your theme.

7. If you must have a rehearsal dinner, make sure that the food you serve there is not the same as what you intend to serve at the wedding reception. But in my opinion, if you have a tight budget, just have the rehearsal dinner at home with your closest friends and your immediate family members.

Planning a wedding varies depending on what kind of culture you have, so make sure that you incorporate a bit of your culture into your wedding. For example, here in my country, we have a lot of traditions that we have to do before we get married, some still practice the giving of a dowry to the bride's family, some perform rituals as part of the engagement, some offer sacrifices to ward off evil, but these are done mostly in the provinces. So even if you don't practice any tradition but you know of a tradition that your people practice, why not incorporate it in your wedding, it will surely make your wedding a unique and memorable one. Good Luck! and Best Wishes!