Congratulations! If you are here you just said “yes” to your best friend and you are Engaged To Be Married! While you may still be floating on an enchanted cloud of bliss, you’ve got things to do! We are here to help! Your engagement will go by super fast. Trust us, you will get to your wedding day and won’t believe “It’s here already.” So to help delight in it below you will find our top things to do after saying, “Yes.” From spreading the news to finding your wedding dream team – you will be set for victory!
1. Shout it from the rooftops…
You are marrying your soul mate! Or maybe call your friends and family first before posting it on Instagram. They will love that thought of them before sharing it with the world. But then don’t even apologize for posting that new bling everywhere you can!
2. Start Daydreaming
We know you have been planning your wedding since you could walk, but now is the time to let all those flights of fancy run free! Jump on Pinterest and go hog wild! You will want to hone in on which wedding style best fits your personality and get started. Don’t fret if you love it all, a great wedding planner will be able to plan your dream wedding, even if you don’t know yet. Here are a few questions to ask before you start wedding planning: How much can we spend? Who do we want to be there? What vendors do we need? What do we want our day to look like and feel like?
3. Set a Budget
Next, you are going to need to set a budget. Not the fun part of wedding planning, we know, but necessary nonetheless. You and your partner should discuss your priorities, and make a list of things you cannot live without. Some smart ideas that we have seen are once you set your budget starting a little miscellaneous fund. Wedding planning can have a few unexpected hurdles and having a little extra cash can come in handy. And if you don’t use it you have a sweet honeymoon fund.
4. Create a Guest List
Creating a guest list is your next step in your journey. Making your guest list prior to meeting with vendors will help determine what type of venue will work best and the type of food you might have.
5. Find a Planner
If you want to work with a planner, now is the time to find one. They will be able to help you on your journey through the next phases of planning. And hiring the event planner of your dreams and connect you to all their favorite vendors to work with and make life a lot easier for you to not have to scour google for great vendors in your area.
6. Find a Venue and Set a Date
Then you are going to want to Venue shop and set a date. These can flip flop if you want to make sure you get that perfect venue you might be flexible with your date. And if you want the perfect date then you might need to be flexible with your venue. The first thing you will want to think of is do you want to have a local wedding or destination? Once you start looking, don’t forget to take notes and pictures.
7. Vendor Team
Next, you will want to build your vendor team. The earlier the better as good ones get taken about 8 months to a year in advance. For your major player vendors photographer, videographer, and florist you will want to jump on a phone call, video meeting, or in-person if possible. You will want to be comfortable with the person behind the business, so it’s key to make sure to get on a call or meet in person. Especially your photographer and videographer who will be with you all day long. After that, you better believe that your favorite photographer or florist has a team of vendors they love working with and can refer you to like-minded industry professionals. Above all your wedding vendors should feel like family making your wedding day amazing.
8. Engagement Photos
Once you have found your photographer, schedule a time to take your engagement photos! You’ll want to do this as early as possible to be able to send out save-the-date cards if you are planning on doing that. Also, when choosing your photographer, whether or not they offer engagement sessions in their packages or collections is something to consider. We suggest that your wedding photographer be your engagement photographer as well. That way you will have more experience with them and feel more comfortable trusting them on the big day!
9. Find The Dress
Now on to one of the best things! Finding the dress! Don’t wait too long to start dress shopping because it can take six to nine months for your dress to arrive and that does not include alterations and fittings or the time it takes to shop for it. At your first bridal appointment, you’ll want to discuss a few things with your consultant. Timing, your budget, and what you have in mind as far as style are all important factors. And you will want to keep an open mind, your dream dress might not be the one you saw in that magazine.
10. Stay Organized
Our last tip for you is to stay organized! We recommend grabbing a wedding planner/journal that has about 12 months in it to keep you on track for what to do and when. There are loads of great resources out there just hit up Pinterest and knock yourself out.
This is us! Harry and Tanya McSween
We hope that this list is helpful for getting you into wedding planning mode. And we would love to chat with you all about your day when you are ready to book a photographer!
