The ultimate handbook for getting hitched with full hearts and zero regrets, from the wedding-planning gurus behind Wedshed.
Weddings, at their heart, are about two people joining their families and communities together in the name of love, good times and the future.
But when couples start planning their big day, they often find themselves contending with waves of unsolicited advice, old-school rhetoric and overwhelming decision fatigue. Enter Get Wed: the wedding-planning bible to help you navigate everything from budgets to venues, traditions to vows, and run sheets to vendors, to plan a wedding that says 'this is us'.
With practical information, thoughtful first-hand experiences and sage advice off the back of thousands of weddings, Get Wed takes the unknown out of wedding planning to ensure your milestone moment is smooth-sailing, perfectly personal and positively brimming with good vibes.
A couple of things before we get startedWho made this thing?
Digital resources
1 GETTING STARTED
Setting your priorities
Traditions
Setting a date
Your guest list
The location
The venue
The budget
2 YOUR WEDDING TEAM
Your W-team: your wedding vendors
Good wedding-vendor etiquette
The W-team: who's who (and what they do)
3 THE PLANNING
Your to-do list
Event style
DIY vs done-for-you
Invitations and save-the-dates
Your wedding party
Your wedding ceremony
Food and drink
Styling
Florals
Fashion and outfits
Kids at weddings
Pets at weddings
Family, friends and your partner
Photography considerations
Wedding rings
Planning etiquette
Sustainability
Special guest considerations
Wedding registry and gifts
Uncontrollables
4 THE LEAD-UP
Your wedding vows
Your wedding speeches
MC duties
Wedding favours
Seating
Hens/bachelorette/bucks/bachelor parties
Bridal showers/kitchen teas
Beauty
Wellbeing
Weather
Music
Gifting your people
Creating a timeline for the day
The week of your wedding
5 ON THE DAY
Wedding day
What to do
Your photo session
No regrets
6 NOW WHAT?
Post-wedding recovery party
Official things
Thanking your vendors
Honeymoon
Life ahead
TEMPLATES
How to uninvite guests
How to invite guests later (after initial invites have been sent)
How to tell a friend who's expecting to be in your wedding party that they're
not
How to tell someone they're not invited to your wedding
How to follow up with guests for an RSVP
How to follow up with a venue/vendor
How to decline a venue/vendor's services
How to discuss price and budget with a venue/vendor
How to cancel a venue/vendor
How to issue a complaint to a venue/vendor
How to postpone your wedding
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INDEX
Amy Parfett and Melany McBride are the co-founders of Wedshed, a digital platform helping couples get married in a way that reflects what they're all about, as well as Gravy, a gift-tech company that enables people to give and receive truly meaningful gifts for all occasions - including weddings. Best mates since childhood, it's fair to say that the duo understand weddings back to front, having sat on both the bride and business sides of the proverbial fence. Both women organised very DIY weddings (with plenty of lessons learnt - and shared), have launched venues from scratch, and have consulted with wedding businesses for the best part of a decade. Together with a small team of wed and tech-loving people, they've built a platform reaching hundreds of thousands of people every year. Their goal is to encourage people to rethink everything they know about weddings in favour of creating a day that authentically says "this is us".
