The question has been asked and you’ve now been promoted from girlfriend or boyfriend to fiance. Doesn’t it sound like a dream? I’m sure you’ve known this day would come eventually, but now that it’s here, it’s kind of surreal referring to your significant other as “fiance.” Right?! You’ve probably snapped some shots of the ring, posted to social (hashtag #engaged, am I right?), celebrated with friends and family, but then tomorrow comes. It’s time to start planning your wedding. You’ve probably thought about where you want to get married. Maybe even a season of the year you would like to celebrate. Does this sound about right? At this point you may be scanning blogs, videos, how-tos, looking at bridal prep binders, and a million other resources to help get you started. The problem is, there are so many “voices” telling you what you should or shouldn’t do that wedding planning starts to look daunting, maybe even stressful! Hopefully, this blog can help relieve a little stress.
This is not a blog telling you how to plan your wedding. There are enough of those blogs and videos available. This is a blog addressing that period between proposing and planning your wedding. This blog is also an extension of our podcast episode, “Holy Crap! I’m Engaged! What Do I Do?” (if you don’t follow our podcast, be sure and do so!)
What do you do after getting engaged?
First of all, relax and enjoy this time. The engagement period may only be a few months or two years, whatever it is, it’ll go back so fast that you’ll look back and realize you forgot to simply enjoy this stage of life. Go on a date, celebrate this time of being fiance. This is a time that you will never get back and the best thing you can do during this stage is to enjoy this time before you hit the ground running with making your wedding plans.
Second, before contacting any venues, work on your guest list. Why? Your guest list will more than likely determine the venue you need. Maybe you’ve been considering a large venue, but after going through your potential guest list, you realize that venue may be much too large for your wedding. Or maybe the opposite happens. You’ve had your eyes set on a venue for a long time, but it only holds 150 people, and your guest list is pushing 250. At this point, you know before planning anything that you need to either look at different venues or trim your guest list. This is a tip that was brought to us by Brianne (blushed. event + design co.) on our podcast episode with her, check it out here.
Third, and my last tip for this blog, book your venue. Venues are notorious for booking up rather quickly. Some venues book years in advance! For example, next year 10/10/2020 is potentially one of the most popular days for a wedding. At the writing of this blog, we are about 13 months away from that date. It would more than likely be too late to book that date, or you may have to settle on the location. If you have a flexible personality, then this might work out well for you. A venue can be a determining factor in a couple’s wedding date. If a particular date isn’t important to you, this may allow you to get the venue you would like. Money-saving tip: Plan a Friday, Sunday or off-season (winter) wedding and potentially save a little money.
Bonus Tip! Book your photographer. I know, I know, I would say this, wouldn’t I? Being a photographer, I know I hold pictures to a higher standard than most, however, like a venue, photographers can book up pretty quickly as well and for a lot of people, that have particular photographers in mind because those photographers provide an image style and/or experience that really resonates with them. Any vendor that might be one that you know you REALLY want without a shadow of a doubt, once you book your venue and have your date in stone, do not wait to book your must-have vendors. If you know you want them, you might as well get them set as quickly as possible.
At this point, it’s now time to plan the other details of your wedding. All 1,940,329 details! At least that’s how it can feel. Last bonus tip: Don’t go at it alone. Your wedding vendors LOVE talking wedding. They love helping out with wedding plans. Don’t be afraid to ask your wedding vendors for help or suggestions. For me, specifically, I’m always happy to chat wedding plans and give any tips or suggestions. Whether it’s in regards to the timeline, the location, other vendors, don’t be afraid to ask because we love helping out!
Happy Wedding Planning! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me using the link above or below on my site! Or send me a DM on social!
