Unless you can afford to have everyone one you know, or you only have one friend, this decision can be one of the hradest to make.  If you’ve been to University you probably have a huge crowd of friends and choosing one that is going to be your right hand lady for the day, without upsetting everyone else is hard.

I’d been bridemais 5 times by the time it was my turn to get married and the normal thing to do would have been to return the favour, but I didn;t really want that many.

So, I stuck to my guns - chose the friend that I’d known the longest and had more or less grown up with and then had little ones.

I asked those that felt they’d been left out to be involved in other ways…one helped me to organise my Hen party as my bridesmaid lived away and didn’t really know any of my local friends.  Another did a reading in the church ceremony for me and others just made sure I had a cracking day!

Decorating the church or the room your getting married in and the place your having the reception is hard to do.  Do you chooes flowers, do you have an array of balloons both, what?

This is a personal opinion but unless balloons are done correctly they can look extremely tacky so be careful.  Make sure you get a company in do to arrange them and not Uncle Bob and Aunt Flossy to stnad around and blow them up for you.

Ask the Vicar about the flowers for in the church - you could be lucky and his wife could be a flower arranger and a third of the price of a professional florist.  You could also share the cost with if there are other brides getting married on the same day.

My flowers were done by the Vicars wife in the Church and they were fantastic and would have cost thousands if done by a florist.

Just remember you are only in the church for an hour at the most so if you have a tight budget - don’t go over board and just have one or two displays.

Money does run away with you so try not to get too carried away.

If you are going to have the traditional big white wedding then there is a lot is organise so be prepared…

Visit as many wedding fairs as you can - although you want a traditional day - you still want yours to stand out form the rest and these fairs have alsorts of ideas that can help give you’rs a little bit of a twist.

Shop around for your dress and try on as many as you can.  It really is true what they say about you know when it’s THE ONE! And try and ones which you don’t like on the hanger - it’s amazing what can look nothing just hanging but when you try on its the most beautiful thing you’ve ever tried on!

Don’t be afraid to ask bridesmaids to buy there own shoes and accessories etc -and or/ the groomsmen to contribute to hiring their suits-  money will just run away with you if you don’t.

Remember it’s your day and hopefully the only wedding you’ll have so invite who you want only.  Don’t feel pressured to invite people you’ve not seen for 10 years and don’t particularly like - it’s a special day keep it to the special people in your lives.

Try to stick to these guidelines and it’ll help relive the stress - but only a little!

Choosing the perfect venue is probably one of the hardest decisions of the whole wedding palava.

When it was my time to get married as neither of us had really been to church for the 15 years we didn’t want to be hypocritical and get married in a church, so we made appointments at all the local hotels to see the rooms where the service would take place.  Each and every one just felt like I was in a meeting room with work - there was nothing special about them at all.

Where we took our vows meant alot so I wanted it to feel right…my childhood was spent going to sSunday school and Guides and I actually made it into the choir - so if I was going to  get married in a church the Vicar i grew up with would have to do it.

We visited the church and on opening the main door I could hear the wedding bells ringing - perfect!

An appointment later with the vicar - who actually remembered me after 15 years and the day was booked in one of the most beautiful old and quaint churches in Cheshire.

So my advice on this one don’t just settle for any old room - its like the first time you put ‘the’ dress on - the venue has to feel right too.

Every propsective bride wants their day to be absolutely perfect.  After all its the one day most girls have dreamt about since playing with their dollies at a young age.

Having been through it myself and of course wanting perfection too - I now wonder why?  The day passes by in such a blur - you’re dressed, walked up the aisle and said I do before you know where you are.

It’s true though that the effort is of course for your guests.  Have the wrong colour scheme or a bridesmaid that has a dress which doesn’t fit properly and it’ll the talk of the weeding for weeks after!

So to all young ladies who are arranging their weddings - do strive for perfection - its worth all the stress just to hear the words from guest mouths saying ‘it was a perfect wedding!’