[Continued from Part 1 of “Congrats! You’re Engaged…Now What?”]

I decided to split up this post to prevent any of you new brides from getting overwhelmed with the first steps of planning your wedding. It’s a whole new experience, and it is SO much fun! (Warning: You will spend HOURS looking at photos of decor, flowers, dresses, cakes, etc, etc, etc) These next recommendations involve taking the steps towards making your wedding come together.

4. Hire a wedding planner and establish a budget. I include both of these steps in one because it really is incredibly important to have a wedding planner involved in your wedding. Now, you can’t really do much of anything without knowing your budget. There are resources online, such as TheKnot and Brides.com to help with planning your budget, but a planner can also help you understand the costs of everything that a wedding entails. Whether it is just for consulting, planning the entire event, or just for the day of coordinating, I can’t even imagine what a wedding is like without a planner being involved. (And that is the honest truth speaking as someone working in the wedding industry, not as a wedding planner.) I will delve into the need for a planner more in another post, but for the time being, you can read this previous post or check out this article by Melissa of Masterpiece Weddings.
5. Find your venue. The venue decision of course hinges on what kind of wedding you decided you wanted in Step 2. However, the urgency of finding a venue could depend on your location. If you are getting married in an area that has plenty of venues, you can take a little bit of time to look around. It is recommended to have your venue booked at least one year in advance. If you are in an area that only has a few venue options (such as my hometown), I would recommend booking a year and half in advance if you can, because the dates will fill up fast! But don’t forget to consider the type of wedding that you envision as well as your budget!
6. Book your photographer. This step and the previous step can be interchangeable, depending on the amount of time you have, the level of importance you put on photography, and the availability of venues. However, photographers also book up to a year and half in advance! If photography is something that is important to you, you should start your search now! Be sure to read these previous posts on choosing your photographer, and don’t forget that you aren’t limited to only choosing a photographer who is in the same city as you! That’s something that as a bride, I didn’t know!

The winter is one of the most popular times for couples to get engaged. It could be the cool weather, making people want to have an excuse to snuggle more or the idea that a sparkly ring would be THE perfect Christmas gift, who knows? I was one of the couples that fell into that popular statistic, but it really was the perfect time. It was a few days before Christmas, and my whole family was already around to celebrate! We hardly had to make any phone calls to share our news! (And we finally didn’t have to hear, “So, when are you guys getting engaged?”)

You’ve gotten through all of the excitement and well wishes, told everyone you know, and now you just can’t stop looking at that shiny new bling on your left hand! What do you do next? What are your first steps towards planning your wedding?

If you’re like me, you’ll want to start planning the next day and buy a ton of bridal magazines, and then spend way too long looking at wedding dresses. However, you could just be incredibly overwhelmed and not even know where to start! I’ve compiled a list of some of the things to do upon your engagement…

1. Start thinking of a date. It’s one of the first questions that everyone asks, and it’s the very first thing that should be done, since you really can’t do anything else until this is decided. (It’s very difficult to reserve a venue and book a photographer without your date!) When choosing your date, remember to consider your favorite time of year, favorite holidays, work schedules, the weather, or maybe even your anniversary. 
2. Consider WHO you and your fiance are as a couple. Your wedding should be a reflection of the two of you. It’s a celebration of your love and your new life together. You want it to be amazing, of course, but you don’t have to conform to what an everyday wedding is. Stop and think about what you truly want your wedding day to be like. Decide on what style of wedding you want. If you don’t know where to start, look through some wedding blogs and magazines to get some ideas of different types of weddings. Take a look at this article by garter designer Julianne Smith for more insight into this topic.
3. Start your guest list. You are now entering new wedding territory. You really need to know how many people you will be having at your wedding before going any further. Both establishing a budget and booking a venue will require taking into account the number of guests you will have. And of course the type of wedding that you decide on will also help to determine the guest list. For example, if you want to have a destination wedding, you probably won’t be having 250 guests. 

There are of course more steps, but I’m saving those for Part 2, which will be posted tomorrow. These are just the baby steps that need to be taken in order to start planning your wedding! Have fun!