Talk

If you want a small location decide what sort of location (church, register office, other registered building like hotel, museum etc) and find out their availability. Think that's probably the best place to start.

I agree. First you need to decide what type of wedding you want and venues.

Venue availability may decide when you get married.

My advice would be set the guest list first so you know numbers and then look at a venue that will accommodate that number.

Aside from family politics, as long as you do the legal bit it can be anything you want.

Agree that a guest list, if any, is a good start.
Questions to ask yourselves to get started:

Is there anywhere special to you?
Would you rather come back to your own home?
If inviting people would you like the ceremony and do in the same place?
Are you religious?

I had a big wedding in a hotel, most guests and us stayed. Vast contrast, my parents just went to a registry office with the neighbours as witnesses and came back an hour later with their marriage certificate and a quick supermarket shop...

And keep your plans completely to yourself until you are happy with what you want to do . Families can muscle in with their opinions and "helpful" suggestions given half a chance...

Numbers, then venue, then caterers and photographer.

Another thing to think about is time of year you would like to get married.

If you want a spring/summer wedding for eg then you will need to get a wriggle on.

Thanks repliers , really nice of you to help.....a few ideas starting to brew already in our brains but have a new baby so sleep deprivation taking over the organisation! X

You should have a look in some wedding magazines, they have lots of different real life weddings of all kinds, from massive ones in castles to intimate ones in very cool venues. This will give you some inspiration! When you get an idea of the sort of venue you want the rest comes together.

Also wedding blogs like Rock and Roll Bride, Whimsical Wonderland Weddings etc will give you a good idea and often cover budget weddings.

Part of what kind of wedding you want, will help you decide what day of the week will suit you best. If you want everyone you know to party the night away, then a Saturday will work much better than a Sunday. If this is less important to you, the venue you fancy may cost a lot less to hire on Sundays compared to Saturdays.

Another thing thing to consider, is what time of year do you want your anniversary to be. All the best.