A Well-Planned Wedding Begins with a Good Wedding Checklist

By Beth Buehler

If you have never planned an event before and are giddy with excitement, yet slightly terrified, about organizing the biggest event of your life—your  wedding—it’s totally normal! Transform this excitement into the day of your dreams and ease the jitters by plotting out your strategy by using Destination Colorado’s handy wedding planning checklist, which starts with what to do right after the engagement clear up to arrival at the wedding destination/venue and the day before.

Colorado’s venues and destinations will help make sure your wedding day will be a celebration to remember. Courtesy Tivoli Lodge, Vail and Andrea Nigh Photography.

I’m not saying that this will be a process without a few bumps along the way as planning any type of successful event requires being flexible and able to make adjustments without having a meltdown. Most pros that plan events for a living use checklists to make sure that everything gets accomplished on time. In your case, this will be everything from selecting a wedding cake or dessert and developing a vision for florals and decor to reserving a block of hotel rooms for guests and creating a seating chart.

If time is limited or this just isn’t your cup of tea to handle all the details, find a Colorado wedding planner to assist. Also, many properties and venues in Colorado host numerous weddings and have staff who will make sure that you are on the right path and that the weeks leading up to your wedding are worry-free.

Destination Colorado’s wedding checklist begins 12 months prior to the big day and is easily condensed if the bride and groom have decided on a shorter engagement. No worries! To have the most choices for a Colorado wedding destination and venue, address these items two first and go into it with a few possible dates in mind. In order to save time and cross this off the checklist, utilize Destination Colorado’s website to browse venues and hotels by region of the state and to submit a request for proposal (RFP) to a variety of venues, hotels and more.

Finding an outdoor Colorado venue with a scenic backdrop might be one of the first items on your wedding checklist. Photo courtesy of The Little Nell, Aspen.

Don’t let the word RFP scare you away as it’s just a fancy way to describe filling out a simple form that includes details like number of guests, dates, type of event, etc. in order to get responses from Destination Colorado members who are experienced at hosting and assisting with weddings, right down to the photographer.

From mountains and cities to plains and smaller communities, Colorado is a spectacular place to get married and honeymoon. Destination Colorado stands ready to assist from the wedding checklist to finding dependable and creative partners that will make the whole process sweet and easy. Happy planning!

A happy ending is the goal of any Colorado wedding, stars and amazing sunset included. Photo courtesy of Mount Vernon Country Club, Golden and Angel Photography.

Beth Buehler is editor of Colorado Meetings + Events and Mountain Meetings magazines, has planned numerous meetings and events and enjoys exploring Colorado.