After the ring, time to get down to the details

Wedding planner offers advice for planning the big day

‘‘The best thing to do first is think about the budget — that will determine everything,” Nelson said. ‘‘It’s essential, essential that you are realistic about the money you have.”

After the couple and their families figure out how much they can spend on a wedding, they need to decide how to allocate the money, she said.

‘‘You have to make those decisions — that’s why it’s important to have someone who has the experience in the beginning to guide brides and grooms,” Nelson said.

A Washington, D.C., bride told Nelson, 33, of Damascus three things were important to her: the cake, the flowers and the venue.

To create a unique wedding cake, Nelson went to the Food Network’s ‘‘Ace of Cakes,” Duff Goldman in Baltimore. He created a multilayer cake featuring swans and jewels in her blue and yellow color scheme, Nelson said. A bouquet of hydrangea, calla lilies, roses and chrysanthemums with jewels complemented the cake.

Couples may decide music and photography are more important and should take a considerable piece of the budget, or they may opt to put more money into the church, reception hall and food, she said.

Weddings can be planned in any price range, Nelson said.

Starting with the reception hall, rental prices can range from $550 for Damascus American Legion Post 171 to $5,000 for the National Audubon Society in Chevy Chase.

The cost of renting the Damascus Volunteer Fire Department Activity Center, which can hold 500 people, starts at $650, said Mike Burch, who is in charge of rentals.

Woodlawn Manor in Sandy Spring, at $1,200, is a less expensive option for an elegant wedding, but the manor only holds 50, Nelson said.

The Chapel at Milton Ridge in Hyattstown offers an elegant setting for up to 150. The starting price to rent the reception hall is $2,900, according to the Web site.

In Maryland, plan to spend $200 to $250 per person for a nice wedding, Nelson said. Nationally, the average wedding costs $28,000.

She recommends couples meet with a wedding planner, even if just for an initial consultation, to help guide them through all the elements of a wedding.

‘‘Weddings are huge events and a lot of brides and grooms don’t know what they’re getting themselves into,” Nelson said. ‘‘People with the $5,000 budget need wedding planners the most.”

Nelson was a graduate student working on a doctoral degree in cellular biology studying breast cancer at Brown University in Rhode Island seven years ago when a friend asked her to help her plan her wedding. She decided she loved planning weddings and hated biology.

Nelson completed and internship with a wedding planner in Maine before her husband’s work brought her to Maryland five years ago and she opened her own business, Elegant Event Planning and Design.

Now Nelson plans to give something back to breast cancer research. Next month, she will donate one day of her commission, up to $750, to the breast cancer charity of the bride’s choice. The couple will receive a tax deduction for the contribution.

‘‘I want to give back to breast cancer doing something I love,” Nelson said.