How to Plan A Wedding
- Danielle Esterman
- Jul 16
- 5 min read
A considered beginning
There’s a gentle shift that happens after a proposal, a sense that something meaningful has begun. The quiet wonder of committing to a shared life, followed by a flurry of anticipation and tender questions. Among the first is often this: How do I even start planning our wedding?
It’s a question layered with both excitement and uncertainty. Weddings hold so much, not just the details of a celebration, but the personal values, relationships, and intentions that define a couple.
At Aron James Creative, we’ve guided many couples through this journey, and we know it isn’t just about choosing suppliers or styling a space. It’s about creating something deeply personal, and doing so with clarity and calm.
This guide is for couples at the beginning of that journey. It offers a measured, thoughtful outline of what wedding planning truly entails and why trusted guidance can make all the difference.
Setting your foundations, budget, priorities and people
Start with honest conversations
Before timelines and moodboards, pause. Take time together to reflect: What do we want this day to feel like? What matters most to us? Is it the atmosphere, the food, the landscape, the intimacy of the guest list, or perhaps a seamless, stress-free experience where you're able to be truly present?
This is where all good planning begins. By identifying your shared priorities early, you create a decision-making compass that will guide every choice to come.
Define your wedding budget intentionally
Think of your budget not as a constraint, but as a tool to help you align your values with your decisions. Be realistic about your financial comfort zone. Consider any contributions from family, and set expectations clearly from the outset.
Then, decide where to invest. Perhaps it’s a private estate venue that requires a marquee build, or a fine dining menu paired with exceptional wines. Perhaps it’s design-forward florals or live musicians. Whatever it is, your budget should reflect what you truly care about.
A wedding planner can help you allocate costs thoughtfully, avoid common pitfalls, and stay within budget without compromising quality.
Draft up a working guest list
The number of guests you invite will directly influence your venue, catering costs, and overall logistics. You don’t need a final list at this stage, but a rough idea is crucial. Whether you're imagining an intimate celebration of 40 or a seated dinner for 150, this early insight will shape everything that follows.
Think in tiers: must-invites, would-love-to-invites, and evening-only guests. This makes it easier to adjust later and keeps you grounded in what’s manageable.
Finding your place: choosing a venue and setting the date
Begin with the location
Western Australia offers extraordinary diversity in its wedding venues, from architectural spaces in the heart of Perth, to sweeping coastal views in Yallingup, to vineyard estates in the Swan Valley or Margaret River. Each offers a different tone and experience.
Your venue is more than a location; it’s the setting for your story. It should feel aligned with your vision, your guest count, and the flow of your day.
If you're still exploring options, our curated venue guides may help:
Timing matters
Venue availability will often determine your date. If you're drawn to a specific venue or season, spring vineyards, long summer evenings, or autumn’s golden tones, be ready to secure your booking 12–18 months ahead.
Consider day-of-the-week flexibility. A Friday or Sunday wedding can offer more availability and a relaxed feel. A weekday can open up premium suppliers with shorter lead times.
Designing the wedding experience: visual storytelling and creative cohesion
Find your aesthetic language
Styling isn’t just about how your wedding looks; it’s about how it feels. It tells your story through tactile detail and subtle symbolism: the way candlelight softens a room, how linen moves in the breeze, or the colour palette that evokes your shared history.
Whether you're drawn to modern minimalism, timeless romance, or layered textures with seasonal depth, your aesthetic should be deeply personal. Avoid copying trends or assembling inspiration boards without intention. Instead, notice what you’re consistently drawn to, then consider how it can translate into your space, your table, your florals.
At Aron James Creative, our role is to help interpret and translate those intangible feelings into a design language that’s cohesive, refined, and uniquely yours.
Design meets logistics
A well-styled wedding must also be logistically seamless. Design decisions intersect with layout, lighting, furniture hire, and timing. This is where a planner-stylist becomes invaluable, ensuring beauty doesn’t exist in isolation, but flows through every practical element.
We collaborate closely with creative vendors, florists, hire companies, stationers, and lighting designers to bring your vision to life without compromising flow or function.
Assembling your team: choosing vendors and understanding support
Build your vendor team early
The best vendors often book out quickly, especially in high-demand months. Once your date and venue are secured, prioritise booking your most crucial suppliers:
Photographer (and videographer, if desired)
Celebrant
Catering team
Music and entertainment
Florist and décor professionals
Hair and makeup artists
Transport providers
Ask for recommendations from your planner or stylist; they’ll often suggest vendors who align with your aesthetic and communication style and who work beautifully together.
The case for professional wedding planning support
Wedding planning is not only time-consuming, but it is also emotionally layered. You are balancing logistics with creativity, timelines with emotion, and countless decisions while managing your normal life.
That’s why professional support can be so transformative. Whether you’re after:
Full Planning + Design: comprehensive guidance across every decision
Styling + Management: aesthetic leadership and on-the-day execution
Design and Styling: a purely creative partnership to refine your vision
What matters is that the support reflects your needs. Our approach is always relational, never prescriptive. We’re here to hold space for your ideas, translate them into plans, and carry the weight so you don’t have to.
Refining the details: guest communication, scheduling and meaningful moments
Save-the-dates and invitations
Once your guest list and venue are confirmed, send save-the-dates, ideally 8–12 months out, particularly for destination weddings or longer weekends. Invitations typically follow 3–4 months prior, with RSVP dates timed to assist with final vendor confirmations.
Work with a stationery designer or studio who can carry your design language through, from your paper suite to your signage, menus and more.
Ceremony and flow
Designing your ceremony is more than choosing readings or music; it’s curating a moment that feels grounded, honest, and true to your relationship. This might be a garden ceremony with vows spoken under native trees, or a gallery space filled with quiet stillness and light.
From there, think about the rhythm of your day. Work with your planner to draft a timeline that includes:
Guest arrival and transitions
Ceremony length
Cocktail hour
Dinner, speeches, and music
Breaks for rest or reflection
Personal rituals or unstructured time
A well-considered schedule offers ease for you, for your guests, and for your vendor team.
In closing, planning your wedding with presence
Weddings aren’t just events. They are living expressions of love, and planning one should reflect that.
At Aron James Creative, we walk beside you, offering clarity, empathy, and elegant solutions at every stage. We hold space for the complexity and beauty of the planning process, and we create environments where trust and creativity flourish.
You don’t need to do this alone. If you’re seeking a partner in thought and detail, we’re happy to support you.
